[Closed] how long could you bivvy for?

45 mins.

me- 10 minutes before I go looking for the nearest Holiday Inn

I'm hoping it will be ok for 7 nights in May/June. Most I've done so far is 2 consecutive nights. I reckon it would be easy to stretch that by either using a b+b for a night or even just a campsite.

Depends on the weather perhaps? No less luxury otherwise than a tent.

If you mean wild camping, up to you!

Should add that the tent I'd normally take camping on one/two nighters os the gelert solo, so it's coffin like regardless, I suppose not much different!

cynic-al, aye the weather is the one thing I'd be concerned about, but as you say that's the same in a tent.... Aye would be wild camping. probably would add a night somewhere, just to get squared up properly tbh as scotroutes mentions..

Going longer than 2 nights is a push, even in good weather, for me. A B&B night, then I'd be fine for another 2 nights bivvy I reckon. You'll be able to get a room unannounced in April no probs I reckon.

All depends on the weather and how comfortable you are with your kit. If you sleep well in the dirt and the weathers fair more nights than not there's no reason you couldn't go for weeks like that.
Ideally take a small tarp and know how to set it up if needed to keep the worst of any rain off the open end of your bivvy.

I wouldn't want to have to carry more than two days food so as long as you can resupply then I would say 10-14 days. Pennine way walking and wild camping was longer but I didn't really enjoy it that much!

Depends on the weather really. Scotland > April 😕

I've done a few 5 nights in a row without any issues, but longer than that wouldnt be much fun.

As a rule i'd say 2-3 nights out biving, then hotel/B&B/Hostel/ Campsite/Bothy and repeat. Last summers trip worked on that basis for a full month.

Are you on the run?

The whole plan is just to be flexible and follow our noses and stop and start when we feel. As for carrying food, wouldn't really be an issue, just be a case of eating in pubs etc, if we needed to carry food, wouldn't be any longer than the next available pit stop, which is never really all that far in scotland at most I'd be carrying dinner and breakfast over night.

woodlikesbeer - Member
Are you on the run?

Chew - Member
Depends on the weather really. Scotland > April

in 2008 I bivvyed for up to 6 nights before a night under shelter - it was warm though

Scotland > April

Yeah, I'd predict 2-3 nights max at a time for myself )

I don't know how the Way breaks up for cycling but there's 2 campsites with wigwam things, one at Inverarnan (Drover's Inn) which you actually pass through on the Way and one just before Tyndrum which is about 2 minutes ride off route, could be a good alternative for one night (though they tend to book out in advance).

There's always baggage forwarders- if I ever get myself together enough to do it, that'll be how I do it.

Did 3 days in good weather in the Lakes, I reckon a week would be my limit!

Slept outside in bivi for 6 weeks in Canada, it was mainly dry. Every night under the stars. Pull the flap over your face and snooze. In the UK I use bivi with hoop. Less weight and far more efficient at keeping you dry.

A bivi and tarp won't weigh much less than a small lightweight tent and your sleeping bag and bivi will need aired/dried every day if there is condensation.

I have persevered a few times with bivi and tarp as I do find the idea appealing but whenever I try it I can never get on with it for more than a night. I always revert back to the small tent setup, much more comfortable especially in conditions encountered in Scotland.

It's probably worth adding that a small tarp and a waterproof bivvy bag (essential for Scotland) won't be much lighter than a lightweight tent (like a F10 Helium Carbon 100).

EDit: 🙂 someone else just did!

Did a week a few times in the Lakes as a kid, but we knew a couple of spots with guaranteed shelter and were rarely up high enough for severe weather to stop us getting to a road or a town.

Don't know the West Highland Way, but if there's a chance of continuous severe weather I like to be able to get somewhere safe as quickly as possible.

There are some very weathered types in central London been doing it for years.

Northwind - Member
I don't know how the Way breaks up for cycling but there's 2 campsites with wigwam things, one at Inverarnan (Drover's Inn) which you actually pass through on the Way and one just before Tyndrum which is about 2 minutes ride off route, could be a good alternative for one night (though they tend to book out in advance).

There's always baggage forwarders- if I ever get myself together enough to do it, that'll be how I do it.

tbh it's probably a spring board to long trips in more places that we don't really know, so the whw is as good a place to get the experience, as should things go tits up, well it's not really all that remote, so easy enough to get yourself out of trouble.

I'm just thinking out loud really, as only set thing is that the whw will be getting done in April, I'm really just talking out ideas.

Suppose the weather forecast the day before we go will ultimately decide our plans. Which could even completely change the route aswell, as you know what scotland is like, can be pissing half a mile up the road, but sunny where you are.

Depends what the biggest challenge is:

In a sheltered cove, with stones and moss for building materials, the pair erected a hut which was to be their home for the next eight months.[79] With ready supplies of bear, walrus and seal to keep their larder stocked, their principal enemy was not hunger but inactivity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nansen%27s_Fram_expedition

rene59 - Member
A bivi and tarp won't weigh much less than a small lightweight tent and your sleeping bag and bivi will need aired/dried every day if there is condensation.

Good point about the condensation thing though, will look into that. cheers.

Keep your gear dry and and with the right frame of mind you can bivi for as long as you like. Gelert solo tents are useless in my opinion, once in them you can do nothing but sleep because they are so small. Lightweight tents are an option but will cost four times the amount that a tarp and bivi bag weighing the same will cost. I have done the WHW and the north east end of Loch Lomond is a nightmare, be prepared to push, drag carry and scramble with your loaded bike for 3 to 4 hours depending on your fitness. There is also a 12 foot ladder to climb. If that's ok with you then go for it otherwise get the ferry. If your going for it then Doune bothy is a welcome stop over after your epic bike hike, it also has a fire with lots of wood easy to find. Have fun.

aye know all about north of inversnaid, currently got about 5 or 6 options about how to tackle that! My current mind set if just to go for it, but I know it can be avoided various ways.

Cheers on the Doune bothy heads up, was wondering about that.

I've done five nights in a row bivying in the alps, carrying everything on my back (plus a water filter).

After three nights it's grim. Esp if it's been raining. Three nights seems quite nice tho, done that a few times.

Weight for weight a [u]well set-up[/u] tarp will give you nearly as much weather protection as a tent but much more room. Quite often you won't actually require a bivvy bag under a tarp, so condensation becomes less of an issue.

I can't see any reason why you can't spend the same number of nights under a tarp as you'd be willing to spend in a tent.

If we were talking about a bivvy bag only and no tarp then that'd be a different matter 😉

Five nights on the Spey, well plush, in winter.
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8188/8138128117_36a8dcebd3_b.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8188/8138128117_36a8dcebd3_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt_outandabout/8138128117/ ]Canoe river Spey[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/matt_outandabout/ ]matt_outandabout[/url], on Flickr
I reckon indefinitely like that.

[IMG] [/IMG]

This was home for 3 or 4 nights when our tent was flattened on a canoe trip on Lewis, one of my best camping trips ever, and the wind which flattened the tent kept the midgies away.
Midgies can make a bivvy hell.

Did a fair few nights on the bounce in my old job..

I did 1 nights bivi last year, hated it, did 2 nights cycle camping too, hated that, loved it when I was younger.
nice comfy b n b for me from now on, or a hostel bed at a push.

I'd say that midges would be more of an issue than weather. At least with a tent you can crawl inside and read a book or something. I know you can zip up bivvy bags, but it gets very confined, especially when the sun isn't due to set for another five hours. For any more than one night I think I'd take a lightweight tent instead.

[i]Weight for weight a well set-up tarp will give you nearly as much weather protection as a tent but much more room[/i]

How much would your setup weigh? As I've a small 2-man tent that weighs under 2kg, and big enough to actually live/cook in.

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26949

b r, not sure on the weight. Looks like you can get bivvies at around 350g a bit of tarp wouldn't weight that much i'd imagine? Anyone let me know roughly the weight of tarps, some ropes and a pole or 2? But consider a gelert solo is 1.5kg I wouldn't imagine a tarp would be anywhere near the difference.

Ton, shame about that I love any type of camping, cycle camping in particular, getting lighter and taking less stuff every time, defo the way forward.

Kenny midgies will be fine in April, usually not bad up till June, though the mild winter this year could play havoc with that...

Cheers for the pics earlier BTW very interesting.

Kenny midgies will be fine in April, usually not bad up till June, though the mild winter this year could play havoc with that...

It varies I guess from place to place and year to year. I always cram as much as possible in the window from mid April to mid/late May as I reckon that's the best balance between warm weather and no midges. As you say though, the mild weather this winter might mean loads of the little sods!

So I've been googling some bivis, alpkit hunka looks about the best value eh? How waterproof is that? Would you need a full tarp to go with it in the rain, or would some kind of half micro tarp do for the top half of your body suffice? If so could probably get the weight for the combo down to a good bit less than a kilo, which isn't too shabby at all.

Think I'll buy something like that regardless, if I don't use it on this trip there'll be plenty of other opportunities to do so.

For value you cant beat a Hunka. They are waterproof but the issue you'll have with any bivi bag is condensation/breathability in heavy rain.

For that reason i'd always say take a full length tarp to give you coverage to sleep under, store your kit, keep yourself dry.

Weight savings for bivi's over tents will always be marginal, but on short trips I always prefer a bivi. You'll feel more connected with your surroundings as you can watch the sun set/rise from the comfort of your bed.

Inspiration/Ideas
[url= http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=497 ]Bivi a Month 2012[/url]
[url= http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1471 ]Bivi a Month 2013[/url]
[url= http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2961 ]Bivi a Month 2014[/url]

Cheers chew, will have a gander at those links. Think I'm defo going to join the bivvy ranks, whether for this trip is debatable at the moment but be plenty for opportunities for me to use it.

Yes, you could get a super lightweight tent. It'll cost you a fortune, and they all have one thing in common. Claustrophobic. Hunka and tarp roll up to about the size of two cans of juice, and space is more important to me than weight.

and space is more important to me than weight.

That is my main motivation bulk is pain on the bike. Though does look like there would be some weight savings going by hunka/tarp verses the gelert solo, so I'd not complain.

My main concern about bivvying now is midgy protection in the later months. What's your thoughts on that? Rig up some kind of mesh for your head?

Actually that's one place where the gelert is good. I have just used the mesh inner alone on good nights. Great for midgy protection.

How much would your setup weigh?

A few of us are planning on walking the Haute Route from Cham to Zermatt. We are hoping to bivvy for the full 10-12 days barring maybe a refuge stop half way to get clean etc.

Has anyone ever done this or similar? I realise wild camping is illegal in France but we'd only be camping there for one night anyway, and i doubt the gendarmerie patrol the high hills.

My main concern about bivvying now is midgy protection in the later months. What's your thoughts on that? Rig up some kind of mesh for your head?

Actually that's one place where the gelert is good. I have just used the mesh inner alone on good nights. Great for midgy protection.

You could try suspending the tent inner underneath a tarp in place of the bivi bag? Might be best of both worlds.

seosamh77, a hunka and a large basic silnylon tarp and lines will be around 700-750g, maybe a bit more. Poles can help, or just use the bike. So not a lot lighter than a tent, but on the nights you don't need a tarp it's quicker and as people mention above, more open, better views etc.

Has anyone ever done this or similar? I realise wild camping is illegal in France but we'd only be camping there for one night anyway, and i doubt the gendarmerie patrol the high hills.

[quote=seosamh77 ]
My main concern about bivvying now is midgy protection in the later months. What's your thoughts on that? Rig up some kind of mesh for your head?
Actually that's one place where the gelert is good. I have just used the mesh inner alone on good nights. Great for midgy protection.
There are bivvy bags with midge netting at the "open" end. I've also had excellent results using Smidge these last two summers. In fact, it was only after managing to camp in a midge-infested Glen Feshie with the tent door wide-open and not being eaten alive due to the Smidge that I really considered bivvy-ing an option.

If you're worried about midges, put your midge net over your head before closing the bag. You then get the net over the opening in the bag instead of worrying about a bivi bag with an integrated net.

mate and i were out for six days a few years back.... just a tarp, a ground sheet, mats and sleeping bags.

this was, however, in the alps and the height of summer.

don't know how long i would have held out in Scotland with the midges.

reckon you'll chuck it in after the first rainfall....