Which roomy Bivy sack fits a long RECTANGULAR sleeping bag?

I cannot find a site that shows width of bivies, so please help me. Here is what I need in a bivy:

- weight is no issue. I do not backpack so I dont care how much it weighs.
- under $130. i am not climbing mt shasta or anything requiring high quality.
- i use a bivy about 25 nights/yr in summer and fall months in PA.
- i want lots of head room.
- it must be rectangular, full cut. not a mummy shape. i want roomy bivy to fit my large long rectangular north face sleeping bag.

HELP! No width info posted on sites i checked. Many dont show full view of bivy. thanks!

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In searching for bivies, I notice some sleeping bag makers are claiming their synthetic bags are not affected by moisture and wetness, suggesting they are fine getting wet as long as you dry them out the next day. A majority of my nights outdoors I just confront dew, not heavy rain, and I am not backpacking so I can easily dry it out during the following day.

Will one of these newer synthetic bags be fine without a bivy for dew conditions or mist conditions, as the makers claim, as long as the bag is dried out fully the next day? I am questioning the need for a bivy for much of my summer outdoor (in the back of my open bed pickup truck) camping.

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I have an Outdoor Research Alpine Bivy and use it with a rectangular sleeping bag (75"x32") and I have about 5" of extra space at the head when I sleep. So it would depend on how much longer your sleeping bag is, if it would fit. The Outdoor Research website posts the dimensions of their bivy's < http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/browse/Shelter%20Systems/Bivy%20Sacks.html > - click on any bivy and it will tell the list price of the item and dimensions of all the sacks. I understand your desire to have lots of headroom as I am not fond of small spaces, which is why I stuck with the Alpine Bivy. However, I think it will be hard to stay under $130 and get what you are looking for. I paid $139 for mine, but was lucky enough to have a friend who works for an outfitter and he ordered it for me.

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Headroom isn't as important for me as I first thought, in hindsight. Also, you're right, I need to prepare for up to $200 for the bivy I am seeking.

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Thanks for the OR website link, but it only identifies "max width". That dimension doesn't help me unfortunately, as I want a true rectangular bag. Not tapered. Not mummy. I want as much room at the feet as at the shoulders. Again thanks for your input though as it does have some useful info on that website.

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On your question about synthetics - Most of the synthetic fills used in sleeping bags are "hydrophobic", meaning that they do not absorb water. If you get one soaked (for example, by dumping it in the lake or spilling a bucket of water on it), you can just roll it up tightly to squeeze the water out (the fibers themselves don't absorb the water, but the water will be inside the shell in the air spaces). If you repeat this a couple times, there will still be some moisture in there, but much of the insulating power will be there. You will lose some heat through your body heat trying to heat up the water, of course. Fastest way to dry the bag is an industrial-sized clothes dryer (the large ones you find in the neighborhood laundromat). Unfortunately at the present rate of $1 for 5 milliseconds, you will have to stick a lot of quarters in the machine (Ok, I exaggerate a bit, but the prices of the driers sure are high these days, plus you aren't likely to find a drier at most campgrounds, except maybe KOAs). But opening the bag and spreading it out in the sun (bad for the nylon shells of the bags) will generally dry them in a couple of hours, if you have squeezed the major part of the water out.

Look for the better synthetics - Primaloft (closest to down in terms of warmth for weight and compressibility, but you will rarely find it in a rectangular bag), Polargard (several versions), and Hollofill. The cheaper ones, like Quallofil, which are found in cheaper bags, are pretty heavy for the warmth and not very compressible.

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So I really dont need a bivy for my truck camping usage, from what I am hearing. A synthetic bag can get wet from dew or mist or light rain and, as long as I dry it out the next day, wont harm the bag -- is that what I am hearing?

And an industrial clothes dryer machine is better than hanging it outdoors on a clothesline in the sun - is that correct?

I love my North Face rectangular bag and want it to last a good long time.

Thanks for the info.

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Scott -

Yes and yes. Also, you probably will find that you will get condensation on the outside of the bag on cool nights from your body perspiration that passes through the insulation and condenses on the outside of the bag. Not a problem and dries quickly during the day. But it is a signal that your body oils are also getting on the inner liner, so wash the bag properly every so often (true dirtbag woodsy types do this every 100 days of camping or perhaps less often ;) - actually, the bag will last longer if you do wash it properly once in a while).

When you dry the bag in a dryer, set the heat to low (if it isn't adjustable, find another laundromat). It is a synthetic, after all, so "wash and wear" settings are the appropriate ones. The soaps/detergents made especially for insulated clothing and sleeping bags are much better for the bag than regular detergents (NikWax and McNett make the best, but REI and others have such products with their own label at lower prices).

If you are on a trip, it may be hard to find a handy laundromat, but you will find that the tent will act as a greenhouse and heat up a lot during the day, which works just fine for drying things out.

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I bought one of the army surplus gtx bivy's off ebay for my son for about $40. He uses it in the Adirondacks for overnight trips in the winter. On the way home from visiting him last winter I stopped at an army surplus store in Saratoga Springs and they had the exact same bivy for sale for just $10. I bought it have had used it with my North Face Dolomite long synthetic bag. It is heavier and a bit less rommier than my campmore rectangular ripstop bivy.

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Scott,

Don't know if you are still in the market for a bivy, but I think REI is putting the Outdoor Research Alpine Bivy on sale this coming Friday (5/2/08). I have this model and have been happy with it. Just an FYI.

Tom

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