To be honest, I'm just getting tired of having to set the tent up, to take it down (wet most of the time let me remind you) to either put it back up or let it dry then put it away again and continue the same damn thing. Well, the true definition of insanity is doing the same over and over and expecting a different result and I think I've gone insane with this tent shit. So, after 25 years of camping I want simplicity, and this was the solution.
I picked up this particular North Face bivy at EMS. After looking at many across the internet through REI, Kittery Trading Post and EMS here in Concord, either from Outdoor Research to Mountain Hardware then finally North Face, I didn't quite find what I was originally looking for, but I actually found something better. I was against the poles at first as I don't want the hassle of setting up poles, but I have to say this North Face system is simple and quick. It's up in two minutes and down in two minutes.
Something I like a lot about this particular system is the pole structure keeps the bivy off of me which avoids the feeling constriction and claustrophobia, and the internal volume has enough room inside to allow me a roll over in comfort and store some water bottles or small camp essentials. This isn't a sack as much as it is a bivy tent and more an individual, minimalist cross-over between tent and bivy that has simplicity. Secondly, the bivy has enough floor room to accept an air mattress such as my EMS Crash Pad or for some of you that might use a Thermorest, it would fit that also. The ability to keep the air mattress internally saves wear on your air mattress rather than being utilized externally which is open to weather and debris. The zipper system is extensive enough as for me, a 220 lb dude, I can enter my sleeping bag as it's inside the bivy, rather than outside. Certainly a bonus on wet days.
Just as any tent, a ground cloth is important and good practice to not only wick ground moisture to retain heat inside the shelter, its also good to save on the wear of the shelter. Ventilation in this sucker is okay, but I found it a bit stuffy on a humid summer night. The shelter is designed well for ventilation, but I'm assuming this is a limitation of the structure and its use with a need to keep you dry while ventilating at the same time.
Certainly it's not the perfect shelter system as its always good to have larger shelter such as a tent for gear when its wet, but with a tarp in any weather condition or on its own in fair weather, I think its a great solution for simplicity outdoors. It saves space in your gear and is quick to setup, so it does what its designed to do, and does it well. At $199 bucks, it was more than I wanted to spend, but reasonable in comparison to other models with either less or more features.
So, on a scale of 1-10, its an 8. Comfort and ease of setup a definite plus. Ventilation and price point not the best. So overall, not a perfect score, but pretty dam good. So in other words, I like it just fine and would actually recommend it to those looking for gear that has more for less.
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