I’ve always been a bit of a gear whore. I can’t help it. I like nifty pieces of kit. As a result I found myself one day standing in an outdoors store faced with a dilemma. Do I delve into the world of Bivvi’s?

What a fucking stupid question of course that’s a yes.

I didn’t need one straight away, I’m mid way through the university semester so I’m not camping (Which sucks). So away I go on my phone like every other millennial and one week and a botched delivery (Eat a dick Australia Post) later I’m holding in my hand possibly the smallest piece of survival kit I’ve ever seen. The product in question is the SOL Emergency Bivvi, purchased from www.boardworld.com.au for around $24 aud, way cheaper than anywhere else I’d seen them. Having had a chance to use it in place of my quilt and sheets twice I’m going to deliver my initial thoughts on this, this isn’t a full review and I as of yet haven’t done an overnighter in it yet, so be warned.

Size: This is a truly small package, stowed up it is smaller than my clenched fist in the supplied bag, yet when unwrapped it is big enough to fit me in from head to toe. Not only is it long but it is wide too, being approximately 2m by 0.9m. While we all know that when we receive the product it never packs up as tight, SOL has thought of that and the bag will fit it even if roughly stuffed in.

Material: This is where the best and worst parts of the bivvi are. It uses a polyethlyne material, which is both lightweight with a reflective coating on the inside keeps the heat where it is needed. The outside has a reflective orange coating which would prove useful if in an actual emergency scenario. Where it does lack however is in breathability. Snuggled in it for an hour revealed that condensation did start to appear on the inside walls, the material does not breathe so you will need to accept this. SOL does acknowledge this and there is a bigger version that is breathable, but it is also costlier and heavier. The material to the hand is soft and has some give in it. SOL does say if you tear or puncture it, duct tape will be an acceptable fix which is good to hear.

Build: The seams and edges of the bivvi are sealed quite well, and while I haven’t had the chance to test it in poor weather I am confident that it will have an acceptable level of water resistance (Just not around the big opening where you stick your body in). Just bear in mind the material is rather thin, it won’t stand up to repeat abuse. It certainly is not something to use for an end to end on the Bib or a month out in the wilderness. Rather it is a last resort item, or something to use as a novelty. For that purpose it is pretty good, just remember the limitations.

Would I buy it again?

Yes.

Would I want to use it in the field?

I’m certainly going to try at least once. But from my limited testing, this is more designed for survival over comfort. This is an excellent gift for that someone that has lacking navigational abilities or is one of those sadistic super ultralight hikers.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you out on the trails!

-Andrew

Share this: Twitter

Facebook

Like this: Like Loading...