Problem? Its 214cm long so theres plenty of head room while being 66cm wide at the shoulders so even when youre tucked up there is still space to move. Enjoy your future bivy adventures! Just because they can't keep you warm and dry in a heavy downpour doesn't mean they don't have their place. This is the ideal shelter for minimalists who are looking to trade weight for speed, agility, and performance. Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. This review was done in November. When to Switch from a Tent to a Bivy Sack? Read Review: Outdoor Research Helium Bivy. This has to be one of the more robust and spacious hooped bivvy bags on the market, says Dan Bailey, and if you can make the investment it ought to offer years of good service. The bottom line is that you can make a bivy work in many places where a tent will not high rock ledges, tight snow caves, tiny flat campsites on rocky terrain. On a very windy night I did notice some draught on the windward side; I can't say if that was coming through the air permeable fabric, or through the zip. I've found I can read a book inside the bag for instance. Wild camping in the Lakes next to a tarn and looking up at the stars was everything I want out of a camping trip and despite two nights of challenging weather in two different ways I cant wait to get back out there and do it again. Do you put your shoes in some sort of back for the night? Synthetic insulation will retain its insulating properties and keep you warm if it gets damp or even soaked. It also has obvious application in an alpine setting since it is genuinely light enough, while still offering you a good bit more than a simple sack design. He's as familiar with rock climbing as he is with backpacking or mountain biking, and he brings this broad experience to help readers discern the advantages and disadvantages of different products for different pursuits. The Survival Frog Tact Bivvy 2.0 offers the smallest packed size of all the products tested, but it's more of a single-use bivy because it can be easily torn and rendered useless (think giant yard leaf bag). We aim to not only bring you the best of the best but the highest value, especially when it comes to performance and cost. Mon - Fri: 7am - 5pm PST, Every Outdoor Research product is covered by our Infinite Guarantee, Stay up to date with our latest deals and products, Thanks for signing up! The least protective are also often the lightest options. Orders placed BEFORE 2pm Mon-Fri will bedespatchedthe same day, usually withParcelforce(requiring a signature). When possible, selecting higher ground or a clearing under a tree will add a bit of extra weather protection and avoid pooling water in a nasty deluge. Whether or not to bring a bivy depends on many factors, and everything from weight to the weather forecast to the available space in your pack can influence the decision. It's fine when you can see what you're doing, but despite the addition of glow-in-the-dark zip pulls (a nice touch) it can be hard to know which zipper does what when you're half asleep in the middle of the night and fumbling to get out for a pee. At 183cm tall I can sleep in it with room to spare, so it's safe to say it's long enough for tall-ish adults. Nice review Dan. Diamond Fuse fabrics use yarns with unique diamond shaped filaments that lock together to create a durable and highly abrasion resistant fabric. Do not iron. With an emphasis onversatile three-season models, we look at a range of options for budgets of Samaya creates the Nanovent membrane and revolutionizes the single-wall tent by offering the lightest and most compact technical equipment on the market! Got feedback? In a perfect world, you would have a different and specialized bivy for every situation. Perhaps, but I don't think it would be significant. The Helium Bivy is ideal for multi-day minimalists who are looking to trade weight for speed, agility, and performance. Both of these options were fantastically waterproof and offered substantial protection from the elements. On the surface, this bivy appears to be something to reserve just for the unexpected emergent rain shower. Our testers have used them over all sorts of terrain - hanging off the sides of cliffs, basking in mountain meadows, and in riverside campsites in the desert. - - -, Cross the UK: Review of the Hardmoors 60 2020. - - - - -. Click and Collect items are available to pick up Monday Friday, 9:00 am 5:00 pm (excluding Bank Holidays), one working day after your order is confirmed. Testing was conducted in the field, in various environments, from swampy conditions to snow, to rocky ledges. Some great work by a fantastic group of DofE leaders, well done to all! These products cannot be purchased in our store. Incredibly quick to set up and breakdown, the ultralight Helium Bivy is 14% lighter than its last generation, and has everything the outdoor minimalist needs to be comfortable. Hope this helps. While the MSR Pro does weigh a bit more than the SOL Escape, it offers a significant advantage in comfort and weather protection. a work address. While the idea of We tested 15 of the top models available today to help you Who makes the best sleeping pad for a woman? This clamshell opening bivy is ideal for fast and light missions. All trademarks property of their respective owners As always, we recommend finding the product that fits your performance needs and financial limitations. Looking forward to working with our next cohort of outdoor leaders and life savers! Any Next Day orders received after this time will bedespatchedthe following working day. No matter what you intend to do with your bivy, packed size is important. With no doors or walls, like a tent, you are much more exposed to the elements and since a bivy is essentially a waterproof bag to sleep in, what else would you expect? Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Why? Please note any orders placed AFTER 2 PM on Thursdays will bedespatchedon Friday, but not delivered until the following week. Anymore questions just give us a shout. I've not yet bivvied out in prolonged wet weather - even a reviewer has to draw the line somewhere - but so far it's kept me dry in a passing shower and light snowfall. Backpackers and bikepackers love the Helium for its refined footprint and reduced weight, and trust its feathery waterproof and breathable Pertex Shield+ fabric that doesn't compromise on durability. On the second night we had already endured hours of howling 20-40mph winds and driving rain as we got to our camp spot which by then was definitely saturated ground. If your location means that your purchase is VAT-exempt, we are happy to deduct the VAT from your order before shipping. To receive our catalogs by mail, we will need a little more info, Privacy Policy / CA Consumer Privacy / Terms of Use, Visiting from another country? Nice run on the moors today. I now work with an outdoor equipment company who supply some of the lightest kit from the best brands on the market and I get to test quite a lot so if you let me know a rough budget you might have I can give you a few options to consider. Thru-hikers and bikepackers love the Helium for its refined footprint and reduced weight, and trust it for its durable, lightweight, waterproof Pertex Diamond Fuse technology. We personally tested each of these bivy sacks in a variety of terrain and weather conditions. In the real world, you're probably limited to one, and the OR Helium bivy performed excellently in every situation we threw at it, from heavy rain to not weighing down our pack for extended outings. Choose bluesign when you want to make an impact by reducing your impact on the planet. My only criticism of the Interstellar is that 315 seems a lot to pay for a waterproof bag, even a really nifty and innovative one. This website requires cookies to provide all of its features. From emergency bivys to the ultra-protective alpine expedition models, it's important to have a firm understanding of the characteristics of the bivy you're considering. Over We spent hundreds of days testing 15 of the best Best Emergency Bivy on a Shoestring Budget. Privacy | Cookies | Terms, We bought and tested bivy sacks from Outdoor Research, Black Diamond, Rab, Sierra Designs, and others to help you find the best. There are other bivy option available, with heavier weight fabrics and secure pole set ups right through to minimalist survival style super light ones but I like the all round design and weight of the Helium. Simply put, bluesign changes the environmental impact of textiles for good. Backpackers and bikepackers love the Helium for its refined footprint and reduced weight, and trust its feathery waterproof and breathable Pertex Shield+ fabric that doesn't compromise on durability. Speak with one of our experts. What are you looking for? In practise I've never once noticed any condensation buildup inside the bag - even the morning after, the inside surface of the fabric has been dry to the touch. And some bivys don't need trees or anything to anchor them down. You wouldn't want to spend more than a couple of nights in it on the trot, but for alpine climbing or short weight-conscious backpacking trips it would be the absolute business, and I'm sure there are users of either bent who'll readily make the investment. With a Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate (MVTR) of 30,000g/m2/24hr, this is also highly breathable stuff. An appropriately distanced ride (in every sense) in the glorious North York Moors! Put simply; it combines everything we want in a bivy better than any other product we've tested. The tarp set up was crucial in beating the wind and creating a comfortable place to sleep and shelter from the rain and despite being cold, wet and a little frustrated at fiddling about getting it taught and strategically placed it was worth it as I never felt any wind on me or the bivy and only the bottom of the bivy actually got rained on and this didnt affect me during the night. Personally, I loved it. It's hard to leave the relative comfort of the Escape on frosty mornings. While it's not a serious issue I have found that the upright section of the bag can twist a little in use, or lean slightly off the vertical, since the bottom ends of the arch are free to shift about; side pegging points might have stabilised the structure at the head (I'd be tempted to sew my own if I was sure of doing a decent job). 225.00, Special Price The SOL Escape Bivy is a remarkable and simple emergency bivy. We were thoroughly impressed with the Outdoor Research Helium's low weight despite its fantastic comfort and protection. AscentShell is ever so slightly stretchy, which is good in clothing but I'm not sure really adds much to a bivvy bag. Learn how your comment data is processed. This is certainly not going to be for everyone. We also recommend that orders are sent to an address where someone will be available all day to receive the parcel, e.g. Get your gear back on track by filing a claim on our Warranty Page. While I'm not sure there's a useful distinction to be made between a backpacker and a thru-hiker in terms of kit requirements (or at all, really) the general theme is obvious - this is a minimalist alternative to a tent that's aimed at all weight conscious mountain travel, whether you're walking or climbing. This review is brought to you by OutdoorGearLab Review Editors and multi-discipline outdoor athletes Brian Martin and Brian Smith. GearLab is founded on the principle of honest, objective, reviews. A newly designed side entry makes getting in and out of your shelter faster and easier than ever before, while innovative zipper design and built-in sombrero allow you to sit up and perform tasks (like cooking and packing) without stepping outside. Taking this even further, if you opt for an ultralight bivy, you might even be able to pack it down to the size of one of those mini coke cans, saving loads of space in your pack. Access to a year's subscription to Rockfax Digital. For added stability in wind you can guy it out at the head end - though no guyline is supplied. How can we improve GearLab? Time spent in an uncomfortable or cramped bivy with creepy crawlies getting inside can turn a user away from bivy sacks for good. Skip to the beginning of the images gallery. A tent offers comfort with a lot of floor space which typically gives you enough room to sit up, read and hang out, or store gear. You are, as cheesy as it sounds, one with nature. Did you know that each of a Dandelions petals are in fact separate little flowers called ray florets? If you choose a bivy because you want a shelter that weighs less and takes up minimal space in your pack, you should also expect less space for you inside. Although it isn't the lightest or most weatherproof, it offers features found only in the heavy-duty models, such as a bug screen and an inventive way to prop up the face of the bivy, giving a nice bit of breathing room to the occupant. If you prefer email, you can send your query to info@outdoorresearch.com. This bivy surpassed our expectation and has become one of our favorite bivys, ever. Any thoughts you can share with me here? The Interstellar comes in only one size. All rights reserved. Just real, honest, side-by-side testing and comparison. Hi Chris, the tarp is a Rab SilTarp, the one person size. Nice, too, that you can sit around at a camp and still stay out of the weather; in a standard bivvy you're either lying down snug but entombed, or you're out in the cold. The result is that if it's raining (or, in the case of the above picture, very cold and windy) you can sit up and perform close tasks such as cooking without having to leave the shelter of your bag. It is fully seam taped, and on paper its hydrostatic head of 15,000mm makes it easily waterproof enough for a night out in heavy rain. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. However, if you're looking for something suited for emergencies as well as ultralight missions into the hills, we think the waterproof fabric, ample footprint, and ease of setup on this model make it a welcome companion. However, if you need this for multiple nights in a row and youre already concerned with condensation then I probably wouldnt advise this as the best option. Our customer service is waiting for your call at 855-967-8197, on weekdays Monday-Friday between 7am-5pm PST. This has to be one of the more robust and spacious hooped bivvy bags on the market, says Dan Bailey, and if you can make the investment Lorraine McCall swaps her usual lightweight titanium pots for this sturdy and user-friendly steel cook set from Sea to Summit. We compared not only floor space but headspace and width at the shoulder when assessing our comfort ratings. I agree to allow Outdoor Research to send me email marketing messages. The Helium Bivy from Outdoor Research is a top selling bivy with a good reputation hitting the mid price point for bivy bags. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. For quick trips where a storm can creep up at a moment's notice, or for adventure excursions that require the lightest packs so you can be fast on your feet, a bivy sack can perform and protect as well as a tent. It was an amazing night for me with an uninterrupted view of the stars whilst laid warm and comfortable in my bag. Ideally, select a campsite where one of the open ends is against a bush or large rock. The Sierra Designs Backcountry Bivy is a past favorite and proved once again that it's an effective and functional bivy for a wide variety of situations. The OR Helium is intentionally designed to be a lighter-duty version of heavier-duty and more protective alpine bivy sacks. Please note that this is a guideline only as a different delivery method may be used depending on the size/weight of your order if you would like any more information on your delivery pleasecontact us. However I don't want to make too much of that since it is the best bivvy bag I've used, hands down (or out). To accept cookies from this site, please click the Allow button. It simply velcros into place - there are no eyelets, as you'd find in most tents. We adder laugh! If you're in the market for a bivy strictly for emergencies, the SOL Escape is our favorite. Others will feel too constrained by the bag itself, particularly if the weather is poor and you are without a tarp. Most importantly is the realization that if you're looking for the burliest and most durable of bivy bags, this isn't it. While you can now find options for full-sized ultralight tents that are less than two pounds, these tents aren't usually four-season shelters, and they lack the versatility that a bivy sack of similar weight will give you. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. I'll have to update this review as the summer progresses. The proprietary "metalized spun-bonded olefin" fabric proved to be lightweight, very weather-resistant, breathable, and added a significant amount of warmth to the 35-degree sleeping bag that we used during testing. If ultralight isn't your focus, our in-depth reviews also highlight the best in backpacking and camping gear. The clever set of features includes a zippered bug screen, the ability to elevate the bivy face without a pole, and a low overall weight make this piece of equipment stand out against the competition and ensure it can compete with some of the more expensive models. Thanks for this review of the OR Helium Bivy. I can also keep a torch, book, bottle and spare clothes at the head end of the bag without losing everything. While we are thoroughly impressed with this bivy, we'll do our best to be objective and point out its flaws. The Outdoor Research Helium Bivy offers fantastic weather protection, comfort, ventilation, and breathability, all in a relatively lightweight package. A boggy swamp in spring? If you're venturing into a cold and dry climate, you could certainly get by with the SOL Escape as your primary shelter. If we recommended a bivy solely upon its price-to-performance ratio, this might be the highest-rated bivy we have ever tested. Another reason people will use a bivy is when they are headed on long adventures and want something to protect them from the elements in an emergency or if they find themselves unexpectedly benighted. Whatever your needs are, we thoroughly tested each of these bivy sacks within their intended boundaries and beyond to know where their limits really are. Fliss Freeborn trials dehydrated chillis from seven brands with varying results. A dimple in the fabric at the hoop end is shaped and sized to perfectly fit onto your head. I bought the Sea to Summit Solo tent last year and the condensation was awful. If you appreciate UKClimbing then please help us by becoming a UKC Supporter. If your bivy can be staked out or has a pole to give you space around the head, taking advantage of these features will add extra air space between your body and the bivy walls, which significantly improves its ability to ventilate. I do trail running and I look for a good and lightweight sleeping system. In warmer conditions you can tie up the waterproof outer and just have the mesh across your face which has a huge, positive impact on condensation build up too. Other request? We were originally attracted by the Helium's claimed weight and the OR reputation. I can certainly see myself using the Interstellar on trips like the Cuillin Traverse. I might be less inclined to use this option if I was out for multiple days in constant rain or in areas with lots of biting insects constantly after me as there is no escape and a tent would definitely be most appropriate. Keen to make ultralight backpacking more enjoyable? Built from the recommendations, feedback, and favorites of Outdoor Research employees, the Interstellar Bivy represents years of idealizing the perfect night spent outside. Top model in a new range from Outdoor Research, this excellent hooped bivy (alternative spelling) is as light as some bag-only bivvy bags, and it has a unique feature too: The hooped end can be worn on your head, like a large waterproof sombrero, allowing you to sit up and cook etc whilst remaining inside the bag and protected from rain. That's a total of twelve zippers, each of which is double sided so that you can use them from inside or outside the bag. It is made from Pertex Shield, a 2.5 layer, fully waterproof material. In terms of height, while you won't be sitting upright that hoop does give a bit of headroom and holds the fabric well away from your face so there's less of that enclosed feeling you can get in a non-hooped bivvy. Alternatively, get a large capacity heavy duty packliner to put your pack and spare kit inside while youre in the bivy. It performed way above average in most of the metrics we tested and its overall score was higher than any other bivy sack during our testing process. Sounds cheesy but, like OR says, it really does blur the line between apparel and accommodation. Versus a small single person tent, the Interstellar comfortably beats most mass market models for lightness. The Backcountry Bivy was a strong contender in this year's bivy lineup. The SOL Escape is on the snug side but still useable for our 5 foot, 11-inch gear tester. We measured each product when packed up in its (usually provided) stuff sack. We will contact you if this is the case. Outdoor Research products made with bluesign-approved materials have gone the extra step to provide the greatest safety, quality, and integrity of responsible chemicals management. Your email address will not be published. Im guessing the condensation concerns are linked to using a down sleeping bag too? Conversely, four-season models often have wire hoops or tent poles to help increase volume, leave room for the face, and provide an experience very similar to sleeping under the stars with all the protection of a tent. While other models might offer high performance in just one or two areas, the Helium is a true all arounder. Well worth the few extra grams. Great people to work with in achieving their outdoor first aid qualification. This can be a one-off One of the easiest things to do to prevent condensation if you have dry weather is to keep the zippers open as much as possible. Underneath the waterproof layer is a secondary flap made of insect-proof mesh. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. It's a neat idea, and a solution to a genuine issue since such things are normally a bit of a struggle to achieve in a standard bivvy bag. Before purchasing a bivy sack, consider the conditions in which you will use it. The Interstellar is a more spacious bag, and I think that extra 174g is a price worth paying for the additional livability you're getting. Many people don't realize that some bivys can give you enough headspace to read or to sit up a bit so you can comfortably sip your coffee or slurp your miso soup. I imagine that would be lovely on a warm summer night in the deserts or mountains of the US, where this bag was designed. Materials:UPPER: Pertex Shield 2.5L100% nylon30D ripstop, LOWER: 100% nylon 40D with TPU lamination floor. It weighs in at just over 500g with the bag and pole included, or you can take that down to around 450 without the pole. Ultralight and minimalist models can often be less spacious to cut down on the amount of material used. Its simple, youre sleeping, sweating and breathing in a waterproof bag when the temperatures are dropping outside. We also paid attention to packed size, weight, comfort, and compatibility with other items.
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