Topic: SOL Bivvy preview (Read 7459 times)

Rich.H · « **on:** July 05, 2014 »

Had this arrive today but won't be getting a chance to use it for a week so just first impressions.

I already have a good sized hefty gortex bivvy but spotted this brand some time back and had been wanting one for awhile. The premise being twofold, first up it will work happily in conjunction with an ultralight sleeping bag to add a few extra degrees of warmth letting me carry a smaller lighter bag in a wider range of seasons. Secondly it will also serve as a survival bag should the need ever arrive. I already have one of the big plastic orange death traps, but I hope it now becomes nothing more than a weed mat for the garden. I never really liked the design as they have zero ability to let any moisture out and so you would end up freezing in your own sweat.

So the SOL escape bivvy range works on a three way system, on the outside is a wind/water resistant orange layer that keeps off the worst of the elements and can be used as a signalling device if needed. On the inside of this is a reflective layer that works along the same lines as the cheapo space blankets. Finally the entire thing is breathable so as to allow moisture vapour from your sweat to get out. What I like about this is how it combines many things into one product meaning less crap to lug about, in addition it has the look and feel of a super light sleeping bag and works just like one, you can take it out and stuff it away again to reuse. I always found the space blankets were pretty much one use objects and flimsy, and the orange death bag just never seemed to want to fold back into it's original shape meaning you had a bulky item.

The escape bivvy comes in three flavours, the emergency bivvy which is meant purely as a survival bag. It is totally water/wind proof but at the expense of any breathable functions, though it will fit in the palm of your hand with ease. For me this was a no go as at 108g it was just too heavy for what it actually was. The escape lite comes in at 155g and has breathable fabric but it is only rated to be wind/water resistant, finally the escape model comes in at 240g and is again breathable, the main difference being it has a half zipped side and it geared for use as an actual bivvy outer bag.

I got the lite version as it is meant as part of my lightweight gear and also to be used within a tent. My thoughts were it will not be getting bashed about on rough ground or in gale winds and so I did not need the extra durability or bulk. But being breathable it should work well with a down bag, and the water resistance should sold any problems of condensation inside a tent. So far the material looks strong enough for tent use and should I ever need it to it would function perfectly well as a survival bag. All the bags are around 81cmx210cm so should be good for just about anyone
. My only gripe about the lite model is the stuff bag as there is no way I can just stuff the bivvy in there, instead I have to carefully fold and roll the bag to make sure it fits, I may end up swapping the original bag for a micro compression bag depending on how fiddly it is when outdoors.

So the final stinger is probably the price, the escape model is around £35 at the moment, the emergency can be found for around £6 and the cheapest I found my lite model for was £50. This price was the reason I held off getting this bag but then considered what it was and what it can do, the total cost of effective items to do all the jobs was that much or more and this saved me weight and space. It's one of those things you have to decide if you want good kit your willing to pay for or poundland parts you replace every trip.

Once I get out with this properly I will come back and give it a better review but for now some quick pics.

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Author Topic: SOL Bivvy preview (Read 7459 times)

Rich.H

SOL Bivvy preview

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