BootsnAll Travel Community

i'm thinking that a bivy shelter could come in useful on my trip. i love to hike and plan on spending a fair amount of time up in the mountains. i was wondering if i should bring along a bivy shelter:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IU11MS

i've never used one and so wonder if it'd be useful. amazon says it's only 4 lbs which isn't that heavy, but on a year-long trip around the world, i think even an extra pound could get heavy.

thoughts?

Nah, the pack becomes lighter the longer you carry it. (Well, you get stronger.)
4lbs...you get a proper tent for that. The question really is, do you need it. You talk about spending time in the mountains. Wouldn't you need a stove then as well? Water purification? Etc? One doesn't make that much sense without the other.

Well, that really isn't a bivy shelter anyway. It's just a cheap tent. And, it's not really even a solo shelter as you could probably squeeze two people in it.

yeah, texsport is not quality stuff. if you're going to go with a bivy sack, which i usually do if i am going light weight, go for a bibler bivy sack, or mountain hardware, something that has a good reputation for tough durable stuff. a bivy should weigh two pounds or so, not four - may as well bring a tent like mentioned above. personally, i like traveling with a sleeping bag, bivy, and tarp. lightweight and adaptable.

just put this up in europe travel forum too about bivy sacks. http://www.rei.com/camping/Tents/Bivy+Sacks?cm_re=toc*ultralight*bivy_sacks they work good with a tarp system for the rain and are very flexible and lightweight. i usually lug around a bibler ahwahnee three season tent for spring or fall to account for the weather, other wise sleep under the stars if you can.