Double hooped bivi

[nobbythesheep]

So my youngest (9 yr old ) has decided he wants to start to come bike packing with me come spring so I’m looking for recommendations for a double hooped bivi ,he’s tried my Alpkit elan and doesn’t like it . What’s out there that’s light packs down well ( told him he’s carrying a large percentage of his kit) and most importantly won’t break the bank ?

[Bearbonesnorm]

How about something like this - can be had for less than £60 and still supplies all the drawbacks of a hooped bivvy

https://outdoorgear.co.uk/jack-wolfskin ... 2cQAvD_BwE

[PaulE]

My god that's heavy!

If you're anywhere near Sheffield and want to borrow an interesting alternative, I've got a Coleman Rigel X2 "tent"... It's a single skin, 2 person, sub 1kg hooped bivi type of thing. 2 adults is snug, and you'll never sit up in it, but it's surprisingly pleasant particularly if there's no rain and the roof vent can be left open.

https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Coleman_Exp ... l_X2_Tent/

[Tractionman]

This one is 1.27kg and £27.99!

https://outdoorgear.co.uk/outdoorgear-b ... ro-1-tent/

Mind you, looks more like a tent to me :-/

[Hyppy]

I've a Snugpak Stratosphere that I ought to get round to selling as I really don't use it, but I think that's going to be too similar to your Alpkit Elan, yeah?

[nobbythesheep]

Can it be propped up at toe end ?

[Al]

How about something like this - can be had for less than £60 and still supplies all the drawbacks of a hooped bivvy

https://outdoorgear.co.uk/jack-wolfskin ... 2cQAvD_BwE

I had one of those years ago! It was a great little tent until one night I had to get into it in the middle of the night in the pissing rain. I had to pull off boots and socking wet waterproof trousers and jacket and dove in feet first cuddling a massive bundle of wet goretex. I sold the tent shortly after.

[Tractionman]

This just popped up on Facebook, OEX Salamanda Bivi Tent
£125:

https://www.blacks.co.uk/15987150/oex-s ... 0/2013632/

Hope the link works.

[nobbythesheep]

Thanks for the replies guys ,got a few options to look at now

[lookrider]

How about something like this - can be had for less than £60 and still supplies all the drawbacks of a hooped bivvy

https://outdoorgear.co.uk/jack-wolfskin ... 2cQAvD_BwE

I had one of those years ago! It was a great little tent until one night I had to get into it in the middle of the night in the pissing rain. I had to pull off boots and socking wet waterproof trousers and jacket and dove in feet first cuddling a massive bundle of wet goretex. I sold the tent shortly after.

I'm inexperienced in bike packing and putting stuff together for future
I went and bought the jack wolfskin thinking that's a good saving
Then this review appeared ( damn )
I now see fjern do a gokotta all be it 3x the price
The materials in both seem similar to me in hydrostatic values but the fjern is way lighter and much more roomy
What makes the fjern lighter than the jack wolfskin ?? It also packs away slightly smaller ??
I may send this back as I cannot sit up in it comfortably
Thanks all

[whitestone]

I'm inexperienced in bike packing and putting stuff together for future
I went and bought the jack wolfskin thinking that's a good saving
Then this review appeared ( damn )
I now see fjern do a gokotta all be it 3x the price
The materials in both seem similar to me in hydrostatic values but the fjern is way lighter and much more roomy
What makes the fjern lighter than the jack wolfskin ?? It also packs away slightly smaller ??
I may send this back as I cannot sit up in it comfortably
Thanks all

The problem, as alluded to by Stu, is that hooped bivis are solutions looking for a problem. They are also pretty much the worst of both worlds: awkward to enter/exit in the rain without getting everything inside wet; often as heavy if not heavier than a tent. One of the smaller Alpkit tents https://alpkit.com/collections/tents - Soloist, Soloist XL, Aeronaut or Polestar would be more suitable. Obviously other makes available.

While certainly more expensive than some of the generic copies you are more likely to get a good proportion of it back if it's not right and you need to sell it.

[Lazarus]

hooped bivis are solutions looking for a problem

Not sure a hooped bivvy has a problem a bivvy bag does not have ( bit more weight ) , what exactly do you mean ? IME a bivvy is great if its dry and awful if its wet or you are wet as impossible to stay dry getting in or out. Not sure what additional issue a hooped one has.

What makes the fjern lighter than the jack wolfskin ?? It also packs away slightly smaller ??
I may send this back as I cannot sit up in it comfortably

Lighter material and poles
You wont sit up in any hooped bag I know off or many small tents.
I have a helium hooped bivvy that is about 500g weight but you cannot sit up in it

[Bearbonesnorm]

I believe that Jack Wolfskin tent is available in a number of different material options which will effect both weight and price ... I'm now assuming that the version I posted is the heavier one.

[lookrider]

Can I have a little help please before I return the jack wolfskin gossomer
Bear bones seems correct in materials used as the flysheet is advertised as 4mt head and the groundsheet a 10mt head this removing needs to purchase a separate groundsheet cover
I'm sure when I compared it to others it was advertised as 3mt and 5mt which seems the average
This may explain how the gossamer seems heavy as it's a more robust material and therefore it's not right to compare weight to the fjern as it's different materials
As a post above had it damp Inside on a rainy day would I be correct in thinking a tent with 3mt fly and 5mt ground sheet would also have been equally as damp ( or more ) on the same day / place
Or is it the tunnel design that does not bode well to rain
Furthermore there's no description booklet with the tent as to which materials have been used

I get you cannot get away from the aesthetics of the tunnel being hard to get in etc
But I wouldn't want to swap this for the fjern that's more comfortable but maybe of less quality materials in our rainy weather

Thanks all for your opinions
It's hard for beginners to take all this available web info in before a purchase

[whitestone]

Generally 1000mm hydrostatic head/pressure is good enough for a material to handle rainfall but you might want a higher value to cope with heavy rain especially if it's allied with high winds.

The 'static" part of hydrostatic is just that: "static" - the test is how tall a column of water can sit on the material before it leaks. Adding wind is increasing pressure on the material without increasing the height of the column (if that makes sense).

Groundsheets tend to have a higher value as you are kneeling/lying on them, basically increasing the pressure on the material. A bit of reading - https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/wha ... head-i1245

But a material can "leak" in other ways - often contact with the inner surface appears to cause a leak but really it's just the temperature differential between you and the material causing condensation from the air in the tent/bivy. Also the contact point can act as an accumulator for the fine condensation that builds up on the inner surface.

There are conditions where condensation will build up on the inside of whatever you are using no matter what, basically all surface temperatures are below the dew point. The only real ways to deal with this are to have adequate through ventilation and enough room to avoid touching the shelter material. I've had mornings in a two person tent where everything was wringing wet and we had to take turns in getting dressed and up to avoid touching the inner walls of the tent.

[Hyppy]

Can I have a little help please before I return the jack wolfskin gossomer
Bear bones seems correct in materials used as the flysheet is advertised as 4mt head and the groundsheet a 10mt head this removing needs to purchase a separate groundsheet cover
I'm sure when I compared it to others it was advertised as 3mt and 5mt which seems the average
This may explain how the gossamer seems heavy as it's a more robust material and therefore it's not right to compare weight to the fjern as it's different materials
As a post above had it damp Inside on a rainy day would I be correct in thinking a tent with 3mt fly and 5mt ground sheet would also have been equally as damp ( or more ) on the same day / place
Or is it the tunnel design that does not bode well to rain
Furthermore there's no description booklet with the tent as to which materials have been used

I get you cannot get away from the aesthetics of the tunnel being hard to get in etc
But I wouldn't want to swap this for the fjern that's more comfortable but maybe of less quality materials in our rainy weather

Thanks all for your opinions
It's hard for beginners to take all this available web info in before a purchase

You'll likely be fine whatever you decide. A lot of kit choice is personal preference and beyond the basic advertised functionality of any product becomes about seeking marginal gains, whether that be in performance, weight, comfort or whatever. 'Better' kit ain't gonna make you a better bikepacker (There is a ranking scale, yeah? ) but may make you a little more comfortable. It's worth noting that for near every 'Product X is the best and stayed dry' you'll find a 'Product X sucks and I got wet' review.

From those you've mentioned, I'd probably go with the Sports Pursuit/Fjern one. The reason simply being that if I'm carrying any form of tent, I want to be able to sit up comfortably in it. If I'm considering a tent over a bivvy it's usually that I envisage conditions where hiding away in a tent sounds beneficial.

[Bearbonesnorm]

As a post above had it damp Inside on a rainy day would I be correct in thinking a tent with 3mt fly and 5mt ground sheet would also have been equally as damp ( or more ) on the same day / place

If it's a like for like design, then most likely. As mentioned, condensation can strike anything under the correct conditions.

But I wouldn't want to swap this for the fjern that's more comfortable but maybe of less quality materials in our rainy weather

The lighter materials of the Fjern will probably be considered of higher quality as they're lighter but lighter will very often also mean more fragile and sometimes shorter lived.

[Lazarus]

As mentioned, condensation can strike anything under the correct conditions.

Whilst true its also true a bivvy bag is about the worst for this* and a double skin tent will fait better ( evennl if its just becsuse the wet material is far enough away to not touch you.)

* i mean without a tarp** and especially if breathing into it sealed up

** never tried but presumably better as you can nreathe with bivvy open.

[Charliecres]

Personally, I’d send the hooped bivy back and get the Fjern, an Alpkit tent or this https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/trekking- ... R-p-305777

I never use a bivy (hooped or not) without a tarp unless there’s zero chance of rain.

[lookrider]

I've took advice off a couple and sent the tunnel tent back
I wait till January to see if there's a deal on the fjern
I like the " double door " entrance on the side of the fjern as it easy for me to get in/out
A YouTube post shows it's also possible to put up inner/outer together in conjunction with the correct groundsheet which is also helpful if raining
Apologies to OP for going off track on his post but this happens often and hopefully been a lot of wise advice to other beginners like me