What's your bivy set-up , I will be going to Colorado for the entire elk season and will bivy most of it. I have one small 5x7 tarp and one 10x10 tarp both good sil tarps , I have a military gortex bivy bag and a cheap hoop bivy but it is a POS.
Thinking about a better lighter bivy bag but is it worth the $$ over the military one..
,,Sam,,
Here is a few of my bivy sets from last year , so I'm not new to it just looking for new ideas...
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I'd just omit the bivy and use a the bigger tarp.
Might want to try a hammock some year. Like everything they have their advantages and disadvantages.
I have the same Tent Sam. Eureka Solitaire under my Tarp.
Keep my gear on the edges under the tarp to keep dry. Sometimes I don't bring the tent, I just sleep under the tarp.
A couple more weeks and I headed west!
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I bought a Kifaru slick bag for this year , I always worry about moisture on my old down bag.. Always have moisture ( damp ) sleeping bag when I wake up under a tarp or in a bivy bag. Not so bad I the military bivy...
,,Sam,,
Looks like you've got the bivy thing figured out. Unfortunately I think there's only so much you can do to dress it up. I really like my OR helium bivy but it is small.
I used a tarp for shelter in Colorado several times. I got wet and cold too many times. One trip, I was covered in snow that had blown in around the tarp. Could barely hunt after that.
I went to a center pole type tent. Replaced the steel pegs with aluminum, and made a guide from a piece of cord, for the poles lengths, to be cut at camp. Total weight was really not much more than the bivy camp, and was much dryer and more comfortable. Room for all my gear too. A lifesaver when you get a week of bad weather.
Sam why would you not go with something like a hammock set up? The one I have is a mosquito hammock. I use an underside blanket and it probably weighs 7 pounds total. I know it gets cold off the ground in the mountains but I have had some good sleeps in mine.
Otherwise a tarp and good bivy sack has been my go to. I got the bivy sack from Cabelas and used a simple 9 ft Kelty Noah tarp. Anyway good luck amigo.
I always thought my Military goretex bag was unbeatable. Keeps the sleeping bag warm and I stuff it all (blow up pad, sleeping bag, mil bivy) in a compression sack. Bivy bag keeps me on top of my sleeping pad, too. Weighs little and takes up minimal room. The tarp overtop it definitely good, but i usually omit that and find natural cover.
I use a 2 person Kuiu Morning Star, not much heavier than a tarp and bivy. Good tent and sleeping bag make your hunt. I think the difference is in how much you are ready for your hunt more than a pound less in your backpack
I have a mil bivy as well. I use a larger tarp to keep gear dry. If I'm gonna be in a heavily wooded area I have switched to a hammock. It's nice waking up dry on day 5 :)
i have a kifaru super tarp and i made my own bivy after being disappointed with designs of others. it has a waterproof floor, head and foot box and breathable top with bug mesh panel. it has a center zip with 3 sliders like the kifaru center zip sleeping bags.
if it's fine weather i just use the bag alone. it packs down to the size of a coke can.
Quote from: Kevin Hansen on August 04, 2019, 09:30:27 AM
Might want to try a hammock some year. Like everything they have their advantages and disadvantages.
What Kevin said. If I can find trees, my hammock is worth it's weight in gold.....and then some.
homebru
I'm a big fan of tarp shelters! I've tried and made quite a few. I sewed up this Trailstar copy summer before last and it's my favorite so far. Really versatile, can be setup in many configurations, bomber in nasty weather and eliminates the need for a bivy sack. Only downside is it's big footprint. Not good in thick timber.
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Please excuse my ignorance here. But when you say bivy do you mean you have a base camp you hunt out of but use the bivy if you go long for the day or is that your camp and you hike in X miles and hike out of that camp, moving as needed to find animals to hunt?
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Never sleep in the same spot always moving unless I find some elk to hunt in one spot. Will hunt for 5-10 day hunts before going back to the truck for food and clean up. Longest for me was 13 days out of the pack before getting back to the truck to reorganize....
,,Sam,,
Wow that's roughing it for sure. Where can one park a vehicle that long and have it secure?
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I run several of the smaller TarpTent tent options and find them better for me then the tarp and bivy option. When it gets real cold I'll move up to a Kifaru Sawtooth and titanium stove.
I tried this couple years back. Flapped in WY wind all night bugs got under. Maybe if I had tool to get dirt up around bottom it would help. Going back to one man four season tent.
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Jack... I'd suggest digging in the the center pole and stretching that puppy really tight.
Check out Borah Bivy. I've used an oversized bivy sack for a few years now & love it for what it is -- bug protection and emergency weather protection. Longest I've stayed is 3 nights at a time so not real long-term. I got the smaller tarp to go with it and, in retrospect, I wish I would have gotten the larger one. It's extremely light and small -- probably 10-12 oz plus whatever stakes & cord you bring. Wasn't very expensive, as I recall. Also made by hand here in America by a small business owner (as in the whole company is just one guy sewing these things) -- things I feel good about supporting.
I've started to relegate it to more of the ultra-light packing category when I spend all day covering miles, not sitting in camp or awake enough at the end of the day to read at night, sip on some tea, etc. So it doesn't get much use for hunting. I'm way slower & more relaxed for most hunting so I like a more comfy camp. But for days of long, hard miles, my Borah Bivy & tarp is in my pack.
If you're looking for a compromise between a light-weight tent and a ultra-light bivy, you can always pair a floorless tipi (trekking pole setup) with a bivy sack or even just some netting for bugs. tuck the netting under your sleeping pad & you're good for almost anything nature can throw at you in the warmer months.
This is a cool thread.
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I don't have a lot to add, this setup was one of the only times I felt comfortable with just a tarp. Couldn't find a spot big enough for my tipi I had along that didn't have lots of rocks. Found this spot on the downwind side of a downed log and used the log as a back wall, seemed to make a difference on warmth and helped keep the rain out too!
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Here's a daylight shot of same setup, replaced trekking pole with a stick and rolled up my stuff that I left in camp inside my tyvek ground sheet.
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My go to ultra lite set up was a north face bivy and sil- ny 10 oz. tarp. Then came my new Nemo tent it weighs less.
MAP
I used a tarp for several years but switched to the seek outside LBO 3yrs ago.
I like the extra head room to sort through my pack/reorganize gear and ability to sit up to take on and off my boots.
I usually use just the base. The vestibule is nice when the weather turns foul.
As stated above, the only drawback I have found is the larger footprint, especially when utilizing the vestibule.
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Got in a new sip-tarp today ( 10x12 ) , I have a 5x7 and a 8x10 so now a big one to try...
,,Sam,,
Tradarchery, I see what looks like a space blanket under your sleeping pad.
I Imagine that works well.
I have a SO Cimarron tipi coming in the next few days and was thinking of tyvek for an under pad but....
Kevsuprg,
Good eye. It works pretty well. It is thicker than typical space blanket, more of a light weight tarp. With the extra thickness I dont worry about pine needles, rocks and other pad flattening things. but the trade off is extra bulk. This year I am going to test a footprint for a 1 person tent that I found on sale.
Let us know how the cimarron works out.
Where do you get Tyvek in small enough pieces for ground cloths? Here it seems you have to buy a whole roll and it isn't cheap.
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I just use tyvek scraps if I have them. Can find some in dumpsters near new home sites.
If I don't do a space blanket I'll try 4-6 mm plastic sheeting.
I got a whole roll , next time you go to Granger let me know ( I'm 30min away )
We can meet up and I'll give you some..
,,Sam,,
Quote from: GCook on August 10, 2019, 10:04:40 AM
Where do you get Tyvek in small enough pieces for ground cloths? Here it seems you have to buy a whole roll and it isn't cheap.
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If you need some faster than getting it from Sam you can order off eBay and maybe Amazon
Sam-
You are a heck of a lot tougher than I am!
I gave up the tarp and bivy many years ago. I just couldn't keep the weather out and the heat in, on cold wet nights (after a while they ALL seemed like cold wet nights). I also seemed to continually wake up soggy in a bivy sack and just didn't sleep good flat on my back. With in the last few years I have gone to a Big Agnes sleep system. Sometimes I think they call stuff a "system" so they can charge more, but this sure works for me. The sleeping bag doesn't have any insulation on the bottom (which just compresses and does no good anyway). It has a sleeve for an inflatable pad with insulation inside. The whole thing is supposed to be rated to 15 degrees but I know that is a moving target. Mine is also a wide-long so I don't feel like a sausage inside.
I am also running a lightweight tent. It is marketed as a 2-person but it is really a 1-Keith size. It is a little "stake-intensive" but doesn't take any longer to set up than finding and cutting braches for poles or jimmy-rigging a tarp. The tent is made by Mountainsmith, and is the Lichen Peak 2 model. I included a couple of photos below. One is from a recent fishing trip to New Mexico the other is just a catalog photo so you could see it better. Weight wise I think it all balances out to near the same I think. The bag and pad actually smoosh down smaller than my old bag and bivy. The tent might add a little weight but doesn't take up much more space. It has a good vestibule to get gear in out of the weather as well. Its pretty nice to crawl in and zip shut knowing what ever weather is outside will stay outside.
I have a hammock set-up as well. I like it and sleep well in it but find myself fiddling around a lot with where to hang in it and getting it all just right. The tent I can flop out just about anywhere. I'm sure its because I haven't totally committed to it and put in the time.
Sounds like you have a wonderful trip planned! I am already looking forward to seeing all your photos from the trip.
OkKeith
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I've found a few pieces in construction dumpsters but they are usually too small and always in bad shape.
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Gary, If you pm me your address, I can mail you a length of Tyvek. I had to buy a roll of it. Cut some for myself, son, son-in-law and a friend and still have a bunch. I am in Shady Shores (Denton).
Quote from: 76Aggie on August 15, 2019, 03:24:54 PM
Gary, If you pm me your address, I can mail you a length of Tyvek. I had to buy a roll of it. Cut some for myself, son, son-in-law and a friend and still have a bunch. I am in Shady Shores (Denton).
Sent.
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How do you keep rain from running under the tarp and soaking your stuff?
Gary, good talking to you. I will cut off the roll tonight and get it into the mail to you tomorrow.
Sam, I don't use a tarp but do use a Seek Outside floorless tent. We are always mindful of where we set up as not to have water running inside the tent but also take a small shovel or entrenching tool and will dig a shallow trench around the outside perimeter of the tent to channel water away and not get inside.
I also have a go-lite floorless tipi used it for many years , never had any issues with water getting under the tipi or tarps. I always look for a good spot to set-up and have never had any issues...
,,Sam,,
Quote from: Sam McMichael on August 15, 2019, 05:17:58 PM
How do you keep rain from running under the tarp and soaking your stuff?
It just doesn't unless it blows way in and I haven't had that happen yet and been through some pretty good storms. But if it's windy you don't pitch any side real high! I use a floorless shelter most of the time and it never gets wet more than an inch or so into the shelter, ground just soaks it up!
One of the skills taught in scouting. How to pick the right tent site.
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Quote from: 76Aggie on August 15, 2019, 05:28:43 PM
Gary, good talking to you. I will cut off the roll tonight and get it into the mail to you tomorrow.
And you as well. Hope to meet one day for lunch.
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I second Borah gear as well. 6oz bivy sack and a 10x10 tarp. Works really well for me.
I'm a hammock guy, makes for more comfortable sleep and just as mobile.
Quote from: GCook on August 16, 2019, 06:05:40 AM
One of the skills taught in scouting. How to pick the right tent site.
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You going this year?
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No sir. Having the knee worked on this fall.
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Quote from: GCook on October 04, 2019, 06:24:03 AM
No sir. Having the knee worked on this fall.
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Ur jus abt Bionic already aren't u?
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Hammock guy here too. This past season a storm blew in from over the mountain suddenly, and close to dark. The elk I had just called in got nervous and probably a sniff of my scent as the wind started going all over. I was basically in a cliff of aspens, and the entire mountainside where I was is all steep, every "flat" spot was wet. I quickly hung my tarp and sheltered until the wind calmed, hung the hammock and crashed. If I stepped out of my hammock on the upside my feet hit the ground, the downside I would fall a few feet...
OS just hung in a spot on the AT that was allot like that. Uphill side was feet on the ground downhill was @4 foot drop. Hammocks are great.
Don't know anything about them, but it sure looks cold to me.
Bivy is fun when you're not in places that there are critters that like to cuddle up with you, that's why I prefer a hammock. Just put a sleep pad under you and its all good.
Sam; sent a PM and a follow-up