Drawcord Bivy in the Wild. James S. Photo
Tag Archives: bivy
Oware Drawcord Bivysack Review by ireviewgear.com
“This bivy is great and just what I was looking for and affordable, water resistant yet breathable bivy that will work really well for my 3 season sleep system. After using it quite a bit I really have come to like the draw top closure and not having to worry about an ultra–light zipper snagging on the fabric. It is very simple and does exactly what I need it to do.”
Read more at
http://ireviewgear.com/cool-gear/oware-drawcord-bivysack-review
Bivysack prototypes,
Bivysacks
Prototype
one with cross chest zipper $45 postage paid
Regular length with room for thick mattresses.
Olive silnylon 30d waterproof fabric on bottom.
Silver grey durable water repellent 30d top.
Noseeum netting at face.
#3 cross zipper with two double sliders.
Line Loc 3 to pull out fabric over face.
Tie out at head and at foot.
74″ wide at chest
88″ total length flat
Weight chest zipper version 7 oz.
Needs the seams bound, serged or heat seared to prevent fraying.
Great price for a roomy light bivysack if you can do a bit of finishing.
paypal or call with credit card info
888-292-4534
do@owareusa.com
Cross chest
inside hem
Filed under bivysack, Do It Yourself, Oware Backpacking Gear
Neo Bivy Now available
Now here. New bivy with side zip and room for a Neo Air pad along with a thick down bag and you.
Various fabrics.
http://shop.bivysack.com/product.sc?productId=101&categoryId=2
Filed under backpacking tarps, bivysack, Oware Backpacking Gear
Rescue Bivysack/VBL
Used by Search and Rescue Skiers as a compact and quick tool to get a wet person out of the wind and wet. Wind and waterproof coated nylon sack stops evaporative and convective heat loss for the whole body in a super tough and compact 7 ounce package. The orange colors make a good signaling device and wind sock. Dimensions 85″ length, 71″ shoulder girth, 48″ inch foot girth. Can be compacted to fist size. Also works well as a roomy vapor barrier liner inside a sleeping bag to prevent condensation in the insulation. Silicone coated 30d type 66 nylon in either blaze orange or black. Group discounts available. Call 888-292-4534 for more info.
Lightest Waterproof Breathable Bivy?
Oware custom bivy 3.5 oz!
Fully waterproof with breathable top.
Size small.
Waterproof Breathable Cuben Fiber top (thanks to Joe @ Zpacks for the material)
Cuben Fiber Bottom
Waterproof zipper
Sewn then taped.
Filed under bivysack, Do It Yourself, Oware Backpacking Gear
NetTarp Redux
An old favorite returns with some new improvements. Used by Utah river runners when the bugs come out.
A flat tarp with noseeum netting around the edges and ends.Floorless makes it lighter and more compact. Less issues with spills while dining underneath too. No zippers to break or fill with sand or salt, just leave one corner un-pegged and lift it to enter.
Two sizes available, sewn to order with several fabric choices. NetTarp5 (10×14′) and theNetTarp2 (8×10′). These now come with a cat curve cut into the hems for tighter set up and line loc3 cord tighteners on the 4 center tie outs to adjust headroom.
Poles available too, but many use hiking poles, trees, or paddles for the uprights.
Purchase stock one here
bivysack.com or call for custom fabrics and prices.
888-292-4534
Filed under backpacking tarps, flattarp, NetTarp, Oware Backpacking Gear, oware tarps
Bivysack Review, Subzero weather. by Don Watson
Don and his son tried out two of the large side zip bivysacks on subzero outings this past year.
One was made with the mil-spec 30d nylon with a Durable Water Repellent finish. Not a waterproof fabric, it has a hydrostatic head (measurement of water pressure at the point of leakage) of over 400 mm.
The other fabric was a 70d ripstop nylon with a pTFE laminate on the underside. This is considered a waterproof and breathable fabric with a hydrostatic head of 3000 mm.
Both sacks used a silicone coated nylon bottom.
I asked Don to let me know about condensation and other considerations he discovered on using the two bivys.
Here is his report.
—–
OWARE BIVYSACKS FOR WINTER USE
I tested two of the OWARE large size winter bivysacks, one with the High Vapor Perm PTFE fabric and the other in Durable Water Repellent ripstop. fabric.
One night the temperature was a few degrees below zero Fahrenheit. My son and I used the two biviys directly on the snow after digging and firming up by snowshoe compression the base. The bivy sacks’ large size easily accommodated winter weight mummy bags and double sleeping pads. They were great for fitting in clothing and the many items such as winter mukluks or boots, clothing, etc that are needed close at hand on a winter bivouac. I was particularly interested in comparing vapor transport between the two bivy’s.
I found that there was very little if any appreciable difference in frost build-up between the HVP bag and the DWR bag. I think that vapor transport in far below freezing temperatures ceases to take place if the fabric isn’t close to a warm body, in this case the sleeping bag. When the vapor left the sleeping bag outer fabric and hit the cold bivy fabric, it turned into frost,.
I found that the black , textured PTFE fabric tended to harbor frost and snow within the fuzzy nap of the fabric on the top cover and was hard to thoroughly brush off.
I decided to choose the olive ripstop , very slick bivy as my winter bivy of choice.
The insect netting at the head was not just unnecessary for winter use, but actually a nuisance, as the netting accumulated frost from my breath and rained it down on my exposed face and sleeping bag. Much less of a problem (though still present) with a head opening lacking netting. I will probably remove the netting in the future since the Oware Large Bivy will be used by me for only winter use.
Another factor to be considered in purchasing gear is the sewing. The seams were all very tight and with no wander. All high quality zippers and material and made in America!
Buy them here
http://shop.bivysack.com/product.sc?productId=47&categoryId=2
Filed under bivysack, Oware Backpacking Gear
Flat Tarps
“Beaks”? We don’t need no stinkin’ beaks!
(or tent stakes or poles for that matter)
Backpacking Tarps
The lightest and most versatile of shelters, and can be used for a place for teaching out of the sun or rain. Their set up can inspire craftsmanship among students. They are used by many major outdoor schools and savvy go light backpackers everywhere. Our tarps are available in various weights of nylon with a thick waterproof coat of urethane or an ultralight silicone coating. To add strength, sewn on webbing loops are used instead of grommets for tying the tarp out and are also reinforced with an extra layer of fabric at high stress points. Custom size tarps also available.
- Flat Tarps TM
- We coined the term “Flat Tarp” to distinguish our rectangular and square tarps from the
- tarps with curves (catenary “Cat Tarps”) cut into the seams. A Flat Tarp allows for more pitching
- options in many shapes, while a Cat Tarp allows a taunt set up with fewer ties out, but is limited
- to a specific shape of shelter. Reinforced center tie outs allow a flat tarp to be set up sealed close to the ground on the sides and one end like the photo. This without the limiting shape of “beaks”. For those who want to go light (pun intended) but enjoy tarp
craft while using natural features to set up camp, a square or rectangular tarp can
be set up in many ways (see bottom of page).
Filed under flattarp
Oware 