The financial world we live in is just as wild, if not more, than the mountains and woods we walk through. We are told that the fundamentals of our economy are strong, but we can feel that something is wrong. My unique financial background and survival passion make Financial Survivalist and excellent place to learn and share.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

REI Minimalist Bivy Review

On a recent trip I used the REI Minimalist Bivy. I have read that many bivy sacs have issues with condensation. I have seen this first hand with the Sol Emergency Bivy. To this point I had done all of my backpacking and camping with several different types of tents and shelters, but I had not used an official bivy sac. I decided to try this one out.

The bivy seams to be pretty durable and waterproof, though it did not rain directly on me. I used it along with a 15 degree bag in weather that was in the mide 20s. I was so warm I never zipped my sleeping bag, although I did have my base and fuzz layers on. If I would have removed layers I probably would have been a little more comfortable and zipped my sleeping bag. We also had built a pretty amazing shelter that kept our temperature significantly warmer than immediately surrounding.

The screen is designed to lay directly on your face. This made me a little claustrophobic and I could not keep the bivy zipped. Instead I kept it open and off my face. This would be my biggest complaint of this bag.

In the morning my sleeping bag was mostly dry, but the area where my back was laying was wet. I imagine that if the bivy had been zipped closed it would have been much worse. However, compared to my friend who was sleeping in a Sol Emergency Bivy, it wasn't too bad.

In the end I will be returning the Bivy, but not because the quality is unsatisfactory. In fact I would be very satisfied with this bivy if the screen part didn't rest directly on face. I thought about trying to rig up my own support, but decided against it. I will be looking for another brand and design of bivy that keeps the screen off my face.

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