Following on from this post I’ve received a number of emails requesting additional information about the Borah Gear bivy and the answers to which may be useful to others so this is an update to that original post.
I managed to get out and give the bivy a trial last weekend on a trip to Wales. The weekend was forecast to be wet, windy and fairly cool to boot and this prophesy turned out to be all too accurate on the day! A trip report will follow but in the meantime here are my experiences and a couple of answers to those questions.
We arrived fairly late and as a consequence we ended up pitching quite low down off the main ridge. This was wise as the wind up there was fairly strong and the rain with it would have made for a miserable pitch considering our short time out there.
I set up the Neoair and my sleeping bag in the bivy and with the side zip this was real simple to do. No faffing, just open up and slide it all in. I hooked the tie out on the mesh panel to one of the hooks on the Trailstar and this worked well, except for the fact that it highlighted just how much material there is!
Unsurprisingly then there is ample room inside this version (size is Regular length, wide girth for the Neoair) and once inside I found that there was plenty of space for me to sleep on my side, store things inside with me and comfortably move about – as I do! On reflection I wouldn’t remove any fabric from this version as I think this affords more options in use and the weight is low enough for this to make an insignificant difference.
I zipped myself in to the bivy on this first night as there were quite few bugs about and I also wanted to experience what it would be like to be within its confines! In use it was fine and I drifted off without issue. What I did notice after a time was that I was slipping down inside the bag whilst the bag inselft was also slipping! The solution would be simple: to add tie outs to the top corners of the bivy and some silicone spots on the base of the sil-nylon or my Neoair. My advice then is to opt for John to sew in some tie outs for you when ordering –this is an option and you just need to ask for it.
By morning I woke with my body lower down inside the bivy than expected and on opening the zip to sit up and take in the view I found that there was a dampness between the momentum fabric and my sleeping bag. It soon dried once I’d opened the bivy but I can’t help but think that the damp, warm conditions, along with our sheltered pitch and water vapour in my breath had created ideal conditions for condensation. I’m not worried about this at all and in fact I think that with my modifications above I’ll not introduce so much warm moist air in the future and any ‘natural’ condensation is acceptable. Som have seam sealed their bivy’s and for a fully waterproof bag this would be advisable. However with this type of lightweight bivy seam sealing would simply further reduce breathability and isn’t required.
Overall I really enjoyed using it and the weight is seriously impressive for the price. The service and ability to modify to your own design is another endorsement in favour of low volume, cottage manufacturers. This brings me nicely on to the last query I received regarding my modifications, which were quite simple. I asked John to replace the full net hood with a rectangular strip running horizontally across the hood at about face height and add a pull-out to the mesh. Picture below to illustrate (apologies for the thoughtless framing – I was in a rush!)
So then, after first use I’m still happy and very confident this will suit my needs perfectly. My advice, in summary, is to opt for the tie outs in the corners and drop a few spots of silicone onto the inside of the sil-nylon base to reduce slippage. Amen and happy bivvying!*
*spelling?
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