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Today on How To Tuesday we will discuss how to make your own Bivy. I have tried several styles of bivy in the past, from the one time use Emergency Bivy to the most expensive Tent Like Bivy. They each have their positives and negatives. For example the Emergency Bivy will keep you warm, but moisture is trapped and condenses on the inside of the bag.
I was looking for something that would keep me dry from weather and condensation, didn't make me feel claustrophobic, and was cheap. After much research I decided that I was either going to spend big or make it myself.
I looked into homemade bivys and discovered Tyvek is a popular material used. Tyvek allows for water vapor to escape, but liquid water cannot not pass. My father in-law is a chemical engineer for Dupont and works on Tyvek all the time, so I gave him a call and got some insider tips. Then I purchased a piece of Tyvek house wrap on ebay.
I found a very thorough but poorly done Instructable, on making a bivy from Tyvek. Then I did my own spin on it.
I was looking for something that would keep me dry from weather and condensation, didn't make me feel claustrophobic, and was cheap. After much research I decided that I was either going to spend big or make it myself.
I looked into homemade bivys and discovered Tyvek is a popular material used. Tyvek allows for water vapor to escape, but liquid water cannot not pass. My father in-law is a chemical engineer for Dupont and works on Tyvek all the time, so I gave him a call and got some insider tips. Then I purchased a piece of Tyvek house wrap on ebay.
I found a very thorough but poorly done Instructable, on making a bivy from Tyvek. Then I did my own spin on it.
I designed it so I could tie that flap to a tree, allowing for extra ventilation, and preventing the feeling of claustrophobia. I also added netting from the fabric store for mosquito protection.
I designed it so that if the weather got really bad I could just tuck that flap under the bivy and stay dry. Because tyvek breathes there isn't as much need for ventilation, though I'm sure under these conditions it might get stuffy.
It rolls up pretty compact.
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I tried it out on a MBO last week. Camped in about 8" of snow. The bivy offers almost nothing in the way of insulation. However, it did keep the wind off me and the snow. There was a little condensation on the inside of the bag, but that's because it was so cold that my breath instantly condensed. I look forward to using it in warmer conditions and seing how it does.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean Instructables is a really bad website?
ReplyDeleteGood point. I should clarify that a bit. I love Instructables.com, I just didn't really like this one. I actually used the bivy again last month on a trip with Dan from TheDailyPrep.com. It worked really well. I was very happy with it. However, moisture did condense on the inside.
ReplyDelete