What is a bivy bag?

What is a bivybag, or bivacks bag and when to have one? Don't need a real tent?

Why should you use a bivybag?

The original idea of ​​a bivy, or bivac, was to have a light and small option that can provide acute protection if nothing else was available.

Convenience has historically always got to iron on the foot of those who choose to sleep in Bivybag. The one instead wins is mainly reduced weight and small pack size.

The first bivybagen were simple waterproof protection for the sleeping bag that would keep the rain out but they have major problems with condensation in the bag. Modern bivack bags use lightweight materials that provide protection against water while still breathing to reduce the condensation.

Today, Bivack is not only popular among climbers who acute seek protection if they get stuck overnight, but also among ultralight hikers as an alternative to a tent.

Advantages and disadvantages of bivybags

Advantages

Easy - much easier than a traditional tent, but keep in mind that ultra-light tents and tarpaulins can offer solutions of similar or even less weight.
Small Pack Format - Important If you bring a lot of other equipment, which climbers may do, or if you aim at a minimalist solution
Sleep where you want - a bivack is quick and easy to look up almost anywhere. It allows you to sleep on ledges, small glances, and places where it would be impossible to look up a tent.
Warmer sleep - a bivack can improve the sleeping bag temperature with as much as 3 degrees Celsius. Some ultra-light walkers use this benefit strategically, it allows them to use a thinner ultra-light sleeping bag, thereby reducing the weight of the total gasket with reached kilos or more as a result.
4-season - Bivys can offer better winter performance than many competing ultra-light tent solutions, and some are suitable well for four-season use.

Disadvantages

Lack of space - a tent gives an opportunity to sit up and drink their morning coffee with their things inside. It is not possible to do in a bivy, you will probably need to place your pack outside during the night. In bad weather, a tent is a much better place to wait a storm on.
Only solo - If one is 2 or more people, an ultra-light tent will usually be a better solution than two bivys when you ultimately add weight and size.