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Post by kenflannery on Jan 4, 2016 21:29:14 GMT -8
Hey! I'm new to the boards here, I'm Kenny. I've been on the road since 2007, living out of my backpack hitchhiking, thru-hiking and otherwise traveling.
I came up with an idea of my backpack turning into a bivy sack, a small little solo tent to combine the two and save weight, plus I just thought it was cool. I met a guy who makes ultralight hiking gear and told him the idea, he helped make it happen. Figured I'd share it all with you:
Let me know what you think!
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franco
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Post by franco on Jan 5, 2016 0:36:38 GMT -8
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Post by kenflannery on Jan 5, 2016 10:49:37 GMT -8
Sweet thanks for those links. Only the first and last are actually backpacks, though, and unfortunately they're all vaporware, it looks like that last one never even made it out of 3d rendering software.
I spent several years searching for this, that's why I finally just built it myself. It was important to me to make it light too, our current prototype is 1.5 pounds and by the time we ship in March/April we'll have shaved off another 4+ ounces. I really wanted to make it to a pound or less, and we'll actually be making a few of those using cuben fiber, but using "regular" (read: not crazy expensive) materials it's a bit trickier.
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franco
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Post by franco on Jan 5, 2016 13:53:09 GMT -8
There have been other prototypes /ideas along those lines that never made it to the retail market or passed the first few trials.
And that is part of what I was hinting at.
The reason are many but for a start one needs to be happy with both the pack size and the bivy environment.
Second as much as that design, having a rain jacket on top, seemed to be working for you in the rain, I doubt that many would be comfortable with that solution particularly the ones that have spent a night or two in wind driven rain.
At the same time so far 26 people think it is worth investing in it so it depends on how much you have invested and what you expect to get back from it.
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Post by kenflannery on Jan 5, 2016 14:57:23 GMT -8
Yeah this certainly isn't for everyone, even bivys by themselves turn a lot of people off. It's perfect for me, though, it's for anyone like me who's obsessed with efficiency and traveling light. It's also my personal bivy style of choice, I wanted something with just enough headroom and enough bug netting to see and breathe.
I've spent many nights in really windy, rainy conditions with the jacket setup, I really like it. It is a hard sell, but it works perfect.
Overall the project is pretty low key, we're not trying to sell thousands at a time, we wouldn't be able to keep up. Kinda nice, though, because we can customize on an order by order basis, so if someone wants a dedicated rain fly, we make a rain fly, or someone like my brother who jumps out of planes with guns for a living wants some more durability and jump loop attachments, we just do it.
Making gear is fun!
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Jan 5, 2016 16:56:54 GMT -8
Where are you suppose to keep all your gear when you are in the bivy? With a traditional bivy your gear stays dry in your pack while you sleep.
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Post by kenflannery on Jan 5, 2016 17:14:15 GMT -8
I'm using most of my gear - inside my sleeping bag, on my pad and using my bag of clothes as my pillow. The rest of what I have, food included, I keep in a 20L dry bag. I either hang that in a tree or keep it next to me outside the bivy, although there's still some room for small things around my head and shoulders if I need it close by.
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tigger
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Post by tigger on Jan 5, 2016 18:05:10 GMT -8
Where are you suppose to keep all your gear when you are in the bivy? With a traditional bivy your gear stays dry in your pack while you sleep. When I use my bivy as my only shelter, I bring my backpack in to use under my legs for insulation and all the rest of my gear (including my boots) get pulled inside. Mind you, my bivy has slept two a few times (hypothermia recovery...seriously) so it has enough room to shove my gear along the sides and top without much issue. |
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Post by kenflannery on Jan 6, 2016 14:11:53 GMT -8
I usually don't go as far as bringing my shoes in with me (they're waterproof Keens anyway), but I'm totally on board with using extra gear under my legs. I use a 3/4 pad, so I usually put my pants folded up below my legs at the very least. Maybe I can try putting my Keens below my feet area too, maybe even under the whole bivy, could be cool.
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jan 8, 2016 7:42:27 GMT -8
I've made a few gear items and looking at your bivy, it looks like the pack saves maybe 2 sq yards of fabric, at most. That's like 2.5 oz for current UL fabrics. I think you lose an ounce of that by having to have a "real" dry bag to put extra gear items in at night when your pack is being used as part of your shelter.
I also find it interesting that you market it as being an advantage to have your shelter inseparable from your pack. I think the opposite. I often don't want to put my wet shelter inside my pack in the morning, or use it mid-day if I stop for lunch on a rainy day, etc. Maybe I just prefer tarps over bivies in general.
I do like the idea of the pack frame being able to do double-duty as your shelter support. Nice for those people who don't use hiking poles.
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Post by kenflannery on Jan 8, 2016 12:47:32 GMT -8
For me I use a real dry bag anyhow, it's my food bag and often lives outside any tent or bivy I'm using. Part of the weight savings is also the double duty of the frame being the bivy poles as well, as well as my preference to use my rain jacket as a fly. I'm not a fan of hiking poles myself, which sucks sometimes when I see the super light tents and tarps that utilize them.
I really love the idea of tarps (and hammocks too) and how tiny and light they can get, but bugs are the deciding factor for me. At the end of the day you need some bug netting or a bug bivy to be universally prepared, so I've always preferred to solve the whole problem with one piece of gear. I also live out of my backpack, solely, so I don't have the luxury of choosing my gear based on the climate or hike I'm about to go on.
A big part for me with this bivypack is volume as much as weight. Like I said I live permanently out of a backpack, so while I do a lot of camping I also can go weeks or even months without camping, so it's nice that the extra part of the bivy is hidden in the collar of the backpack, it's like it's not even there.
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