I plan to try the military Gore-Tex bivvy soon, but what I had on hand was an SOL Thermal bivvy. So, last night I slept in the SOL bivvy. I laid out the bivvy and opened the Velcro closures across the top and part way down one side. I inflated my Big Agnes insulated air mattress and slipped that into the bivvy. Then I rolled out my huge, thick Coleman 0 degree sleeping bag and shoved it into the bivvy on top of the air mattress. Finally I wriggled into the sleeping bag on the air mattress inside the bivvy and closed the seams using the Velcro. Whew!
I’m 5′ 11′ and there was plenty of length to close the bivvy, but the bivvy itself was a tight fit, read straight jacket. I wanted to test this bivvy because the word on them is that they don’t breathe and you wind up wet inside because of condensation. I didn’t feel any condensation. Yes, at first I felt like a mummy in a sarcophagus, but by morning I was comfortable. I was never cold or wet during the night. The bivvy did the job it was asked to do. I did cause a small tear (4″) on the side seam when I was working to get into the bivvy, but that was my fault. I could have taken my time and not torn it at all.
Despite taking some time adjusting to the snug fit, I was comfortable all night. I’m impressed by this bivvy. And it wasn’t even the one I had planned to test. I planned to test the 2-man bivvy because it has enough room to roll around and it’s longer. However, this one weighs just 8.9 oz. compared to the 6 lb 7 oz of the North Face Rock 32 tent we carried to Glacier Nat. Park and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s a huge weight savings! I’ll post a review about the two-man bivvy as soon as I find it. Until then – peace!
Jerry W
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