Reviews of REI Minimalist Bivy Sack - Regular

Comments:

Recently took this out for a cold weather backpacking trip on the north shore of Lake Superior (Superior Hiking Trail). I agonized over making the transition to bivy hiking for months before just deciding to bite the bullet. I couldn't be happier with the decision. The bivy was fantastic as far as warmth (adds about ten degrees to your bag), wind protection (which was almost literally a life saver), was quite roomy and comfortable (consider having a thinner sleeping pad than the NeoLite Air to maintain room in the face), and was a breeze to set up and take down. The only downside to this particular bivy is that there is nothing but mesh around the face, so no rain protection. I set up a small tarp in case of rain, but I imagine that good placement under a good group of pines would probably do the trick.

Comments:

I used this in San Diego, which has a very temperate climate. Temps ran to the mid-30s at night. The bag worked well except for the fact that it collected too much condensation inside just from the dew and vapor emanating from my body. Fortunately, I was using a synthetic bag, so I did not get wet. I would be less comfortable using this with my down bag. The other criticisms I have are that the sack is a bit too narrow (I have a 42 chest which is not very large, but I still felt confined) and the fabric portion of the hood portion does not cover enough of the top of a mummy bag. Fine in nice weather, but if it were raining . . . . On the plus side, the zippers worked quite well (I was in and out of the sack at least twice during the night) and the bag is very inexpensive for a bivy sack. That said, you get what you pay for. Based on the condensation problem, I would not recommend this sack. REI can do better.

Comments:

I used this bag for the first time last night and when I woke up my bag was pretty well wet. I was still warm, but I had to pack my bag and the bivy sack wet. I'm not sure what the performance would be like in the rain or snow, as it was dry, but I know the condensation was too much for it. From now on I'll be sticking to me ENO tarp.

Comments:

I have owned four of these so far - along with others. For the price point, and the proper trip, this is a very good bag.It does have challenges, but they are not insurmountable. This bag could be improved most certainly, but it is workable if properly applied as it is.When one examines the "common threads" found throughout the reviews for this product, one can readily understand that the users were not aware of the intended useage; of this bivy sack.This really is a two season bag, which can be used three seasons, with the absence of Summer as being the intended use. When I state Summer, I mean Summer at lower levels of elevation, at Summers' peak period, wherein one may experience high humidity.Since as hominids, we evaporate at least a litre of water overnight - and more - depending on size and physical stature, mositure is to be expected.I use this bag in my hammock for layering. The inerior of the bag receives either a micro fleece blanket, or REIs' sleep sack; which works well.If the hammock I use has no bug screen, then I use the bivy bug screen as follows.I take a small leader line, pinch the mesh, wrap the leader line around the mesh and tie it off. The other end ties to my ridge line. An alligator clip with a line on the end will do just as well.If I am on the ground, I have a piece of bug screen - rectangular - which REI sells, which I drape conical shaped, over the entire bag.This allows the absence of the built in bug screen, and further allows the opening of the zipper at the foot of the bivy, for through ventilation.In inclement weather, I set up an overhead tarp with a ridge line, and the bug mesh drapes down from the ridge line and over the entire bivy.Since the moisture level is higher to begin with, one must account for enviornmental dynamics.Keep in mind please, the bivy sack doesn't know what your are intending. It's up to you to adapt to environmental challenges.Now granted, many people would rather have a do it all fully adaptable bag, which requires little or no intervention. But this bag is not "it"If that's what you really want - instead of [$] for the bag plus tax, you may spend close to 400.00 for the bag, and get Big Agnes three wire bivy - 2012 model. Which has e - vent material. It's been updated to combat the ravages of complaints, that it collects condensation?Regardless of what you get, tent, bag, tarp, hammock, sack or what not, still must you adapt to environmental challenges.Using a sub zero down bag in summer, is comparable to bathing in a boiling pot of water!If you elevate your temperature by layering agressively, no bag or small tent can expunge the moisture you will introduce efficiently. There will be condensation.A little knowledge can go a long way towards making the experience you are expecting enjoyable.In future, look to your adventure with a mind set of adaptability. That way, the wilderness experience will be a positive and memorable one.Good Bag REI!! Let's have vents please, and I love the…

Comments:

Not all Gore-Tex is created equally. The fabric used in this product is NOT WATERPROOF. The material used is a cheap form of Gore-Tex that absorbs water like a paper towel and doesn't breathe well at all. I have used many bivy sacks before and this is far and away the worst one. I used this in rain, humid conditions, and bone dry desert conditions. Every time I have ever used it, I woke up with a soaking wet sleeping bag that needed to be dried in the sun to avoid mold issues. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra one or two hundred dollars for a Bivy sack made out of a quality breathable Gore-Tex. I recommend the Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy instead, but REI no longer carries it. Minor condensation is occasionally an issue with all bivy sacks, but the REI Minimalist bivy will always let you down with major condensation problems and will allow rain to soak into your sleeping bag. I threw my Minimalist Bivy away.

Comments:

A birthday gift from my sister - but I chose it! I just got back from using it the first time, camping out on a section of the pre-Ming dynasty Great Wall in China near Beijing. Camped outside, not in a watch tower. The overnight temperature was -15C (5F) and I had this bivvy around my down sleeping bag and an REI inflatable mat. I was not toasty, but not so cold I couldn't sleep. The bivvy bag performed well. There was some condensation between the sleeping bag and bivvy, which was frost in the morning. I found this to be minimal, unlike some other reviewers. Yes, the SB was a bit wet in places, but no worse than if you are in a small tent and your bag rubs the tent wall. Comfort - well, I felt just like I feel in a sleeping bag. You don't notice you're in a bivvy bag, you just feel like you're in a SB. The mesh doesn't press up against your face, so really it is no different a sensation than being zipped up tight in a mummy bag. Because it was so cold, I was really zipped up tight, with just a crack for my face. As noted by someone else, the area around your mouth gets wettest, because you're pumping out all that hot breath. There was ice on my SB here in the morning, but that had nothing to do with the bivvy bag. Try to keep your nose or mouth (whatever you exhale from) facing the open air and I think the condensation problem would be minimised. Overall I was very pleased with this on my first outing. It's tiny, lightweight, and very fast to set up. Basically unpack it and climb in. Haven't slept out in the rain yet - hard to say how comfortable that's going to be. Treat this as what it is - a bivvy bag, not a tent - and I think you'll be satisfied.

Comments:

This Bivi sack is easy to pack and is definitely and ultra light sack. Although, Every time I have used I have woken up to a soggy sleeping bag, and while out back packing or ski mountaineering I don't have the time to dry my whole sleeping system out in the morning. I like the bag a lot for the price, but with a down sleeping bag and cold temperatures I am going to return it and invest in a more breathable bivi sack. I hope REI recognizes this and changes the fabric to a more breathable option. Happy Trails!

Comments:

The minimalist bivy lives up to its name. Do not confuse this with a true stand alone bivy sack. The mesh screen will allow rain to get you but if you sleep under the simplest of tarp shelters you will remain dry and your bag will be protected from splatter and splash. Multiple zipper configurations are available providing plenty of ventalation options and allow for left or right hand zippered sleeping bags. The mesh screen kept a big camp spider from becoming too friendly and allowed air exchange. The bottom of the sleeping bag was slightly damp by morning but quickly dried. The extra warmth was a plus, allowing packing of a lighter bag. The large opening makes for easy entry and exit.

Comments:

Ive tested this out for a while now. Yes, the netting is aggravating, but after enough uses, you will figure out how to manipulate it. I used this for camping for a couple weeks out of town for a job where there was nowhere to camp. Slept in a field with tall grass and no one can see you (getting in and out is the difficult part). I had a 5 hour rain session with a REI Radiant Down sleeping bag, the shell did get wet with condensation, but NOT rain, but I was fine (sleeping bag is coated with DWR). Recently, slept in the bivy with snowfall, and my sleeping bag got a little dicy, but made it thru. Its my fault for having a down bag though, but need the weight and size to hide it in my pack and not look like a vagrant. lol. for its intended purpose, it will do, thats why I gave it 4 stars. Is it comfortable - not really. Also, if you keep things inside (radio, phone, etc..) you will have trouble locating them because they slide around everywhere. This bivy will handle a short thermarest pro, but if you are on even a slight incline, it will slowly slide down. also, if you turn over a lot while sleeping, you will wake up in a different location than where you fell asleep. no big deal, but make sure your not next to a bush that can puncture the fabric because you might wake up with a small hole like i did. there are too many zippers in my opinion, you go to pull it and you accidentally have 2 of them so you just negate what you were trying to do. the netting is aggravating, like i said. If REI made a loop on the OUTSIDE of the bivy, right in the middle at the base of the netting above your chin area, you could realistically bring a small rope, and with a stick or whatever, pull the netting up and secure it, at least giving the ability to get comfortable and fall asleep. Im sure it would fall though during the tossing and turning. In the rain, what I do is turn on my side and manipulate the netting a certain way so i have just a little hole to breath through. the only downside to this is 1) if you have a pad, you have to re-adjust it off center which usually requires getting out and manually doing it (it can be done while inside the bivy, but requires a great deal of effort) and 2) the zipper cover is now exposed the wrong way to the rain, and it will seep in a little. like i said, i was in a 5 hour downpour, kinda trapped with a down sleeping bag, and i was ok except for moderate condensation. there must be a minimalist way of designing this so the netting isn't in the face with some sort of inner pole. all in all, for emergency shelter and stealth camping (the color green helps), i am pleased with it.

Comments:

Took this product on a self supported cross country cycling trip. Basically it keeps you dry from unexpected weather, but you need to make sure you rig something over the screen to keep water from flooding in during a rain storm. If water gets in there is no way you are getting it dry that night. It is basically a giant raincoat with no Gore-tex. Also the mosquito net is not free standing. If you don't figure out a way to rig it so it is off of your face (I slept with my helmet on my face, under the bug net), the bugs will bite you anyway. Condensation will build up if you sweat or breath into the bag so keep the vents open if you can. The price is decent for the product, and it is super light.

Comments:

the minimalist is perfect for a minimalist like myself. it is my home away from home and it has served me and my adventures well. that is, until the mosquitos come out. yes, yes, there is the mosquito netting, but if it is laying across your face, the mosquitos can have a face feast. if you put your arm up to try and keep the netting off your face, they go to town on your elbow. i nearly drove myself mad the other night trying to figure out a way to prop up the netting off of my face without touching it directly with an exposed body part. i would have traded my breakfast for a baseball cap. all in all it's done it's duty valiantly -- i just need to macgyver myself a propping mechanism for those nights that the mosquitos swarm.

Comments:

I bought this specifically for use on small boat trips to the Channel Islands and some inaccessible coastal areas. It's wet out on the ocean primarily due to fog and overcast. I used it for one night and woke up covered in condensation on the outside (expected) and inside as well (hoped it wouldn't happen but it did). This is not the right product for the job.

Comments:

I just tried this out in the BWCA last night. With a wife and 2 kids, I usually get out for a night or two at a time. I didn't even notice it in my pack: Set it up on a foam pad on a tarp. I didn't sleep well at first: Probably because it was the first time I slept without a tent. It seemed too hot, but then I undressed and used my sleeping bag as a pad, and it was fine. When I woke up, I thought I had a lot of condensation on me. I think it seemed like more than it really was because it was the first time I have used one. It couldn't have been that bad, because when I fell asleep, I slept through the night to sun-up (which I usually don't do). It was dry by the time I was ready to head out, and my bag too. After hiking out, I arrived at my car soaked from the condensation from the chest down, so it was super damp. Overall, I think this is perfect for my 1-2 night trips. If it starts to rain, I figure I can hang a tarp or cover the mesh with my raincoat.

Comments:

This bivy is tuff as nails. I take along a tyvek sheet to keep sharp rocks at bay but the bottem is 2 to 3 times the streagth of the average tent sold and the multiple zippers allow many ways to open and reach out for a water bottle, light, etc. I also use a thermarest short and put my emptied out flattened backpack under the bottem half, where my pad stops. at 15 ouces, it cant be beaten! I've slept on forest floors crawling with bitting ants, scopions and spiders of all sorts and to them, i'm totaly out of bounds, out of reach and untouchable. I highly reccomend it.

Comments:

First of all, buy the larger one. I bought this online and the specs said it had an 82in length. I haven't measured it but when I lay down in it, I fill the bag.. I'm 69 inches tall and 145lbs with a 30 inch waist.. And there's no hood btw, so if you're in the rain, you have to fold over the hood (one "clasp" included, should have had at least two or three). Then when you do that, you're really fitting in snug and you don't have any room. I've found that if you encounter rain, the best thing to do is clasp the "hood" and then roll the bivy on it's side, that way rain won't come in and you can breathe through the vent. It's actually pretty comfortable. There is some extra space on the sides of the bivy, maybe for your boots, a change of clothes for the morning, not much else. You're going to have to find something else for your bag/gear. Waterproofing is good, didn't notice any leaks. About the condensation thing, if you lay like I do, mouth facing the bug vent, the moisture from your breath will escape. To the people saying that their bags are soaked.. I'd wager your sleeping bag is rated too low for your conditions (remember the bivy adds extra warmth too) and you are probably sweating in your sleep. Try picking up a "woobie" aka wet weather poncho liner from your local military store and use it while laying on top of your opened bag). You'll sleep much better in warmer weather and you can use it to line your sleeping bag in colder weather. All in all the bivy is good for the money, but I would highly recommend going for the larger sack even if you're average or shorter height than me. The extra space/room will be worth it, believe me. if you have more money, invest in something better, but if you don't want to spend too much, get this one, it's worth it.