Camping

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What Are Bivy Sacks And What Do They Do?

To the uninitiated, bivy sacks are sacks in which to store your bivy, but then again, have you got a bivy? Not that I know of, and if I have it’s probably down to old age and gravity, that seems to be responsible for everything these days.

What is a Bivy Sack

Bivy Sacks are not designed to keep your bivy tidy, it’s actually short for “bivouac sack” originally designed for and used by mountain climbers and other super adventurous types who needed to be prepared for lightweight protection against emergency weather conditions and a method of keeping their sleeping bags dry – when they were stuck halfway up a mountain without a “Motel 6″ in sight.  It’s kind of like a mini tent for you to put your sleeping bag inside, but they certainly wouldn’t suit everybody.

Who Might Need a Bivy Sack

Bivy Sacks are certainly not everybody’s cup of tea. They’re only needed by the most serious hikers, climbers and campers, the ones with trail names like “Travelsalone” or “Billynomates”. You should consider getting along to the camping equipment store and buying a bivy sack if:

• You’re always hiking around the back country on your own
• You like climbing up mountains, rocks and walls which need an overnight stop
• You’re likely to set off on a long bicycle trip – I mean really long that’ll take you a few days, not to your mates house down the road
• You want to seriously cut down on the weight of your backpack on your next trail hiking expedition
• You don’t have a problem snuggling down to sleep without the space to move your arms (not even enough to scratch your nose), turn over in your sleep (no room for the “recovery position” in a bivy sack) and you don’t mind having your face tied up so tight that only your nose pokes through (which you can’t scratch remember). Think anorak hoods with tie cord only worse . . . much much worse!

Modern Day Bivy Sacks

Modern day bivy sacks are designed to be lightweight, I mean, for some of these activities every single ounce of weight in your back pack counts, so that really is the first priority. Original bivy sacks were just  simple water raincoats for your sleeping bag, but these days they’ve got a little more sophisticated than that (but no bigger!) These days the majority of hikers and climbers choose bivy sacks which have two separate tiers – think of the bottom tier like a tent floor, to help keep your sleeping bag dry and snug, and the top tier is still waterproof (rain comes downwards as well as seeping upwards) but is made from a lighter, breathable fabric to help with ventilation and reduce condensation problems.

Bivy sacks these days are designed to not only keep a hiker, camper or cyclist dry, but also warm on those chilly nights – up to 10 degrees warmer than your sleeping bag without the bivy sack, although personally I think that a double sleeping bag is a much more sociable way to keep warm on a cold winters camping night . . . body heat is much more fun than being wrapped up like an Egyptian Mummy . . . at least then they waited until they were dead (I believe so anyway).

Oh well if you put it that way, sleeping out under the stars, I think I owe a . . . .

Bivy Sack Users Apology

Okay, I’m sorry about all the “Billy no mates” and “Egyptian Mummy” comments . . . bivy sacks really are great and make the whole camping, hiking and trail walking experience much more comfortable for thousands of enthusiasts, and what’s the use of a double sleeping bag if you don’t have anybody to share it with! Sorry, sorry . . . it won’t happen again!

No wonder he took his bivy sack with him . . . they’ve obviously been on camping and hiking trips together before.

 “Hiking is the best workout!… You can hike for three hours and not even realize you’re working out. And, hiking alone lets me have some time to myself.” -
Jamie Luner