Hideaway Bivy

I was exactly what I was looking for. Super easy set up, lightweight and tons of head room.

This bivy is just what I was looking for. It's much roomier inside than the average bivy. At 5'2", I can comfortably stash my pack in the foot box- keeping the rest of my gear safe from the elements and lifting the fabric off my legs for greater comfort. There is also plenty of room to read, roll over, and, with a bit of twisting, give myself a sponge bath and change clothes. While not technically freestanding, I've set this up on granite (without stakes) and found the pole stayed in place enough to continue to lift the fabric off my face. As with any bivy, ventilation is a challenge. Although there is a small mesh panel behind one's head, this seems to provide almost no protection from condensation if the bivy is otherwise zipped up. So, despite Aqua Quest's promoting this item's waterproofness, I'd be reluctant to use it in a heavy rain unless I brought a small tarp I could set up overhead so I could leave the bivy partially unzipped. Still- this bivy serves the purpose I bought it for- a shelter with a very small footprint that could be set up quickly on just about any surface in less than two minutes. Great for those minimalist trips where you plan on spending most of your day on the trail, not in camp.

Definately listen to the product description and get a tarp for OVER the bivy. My son unfortunately used it in a downpour and did not have an upper tarp and ended up wet. Make sure you are on top of a tarp and have one over you as well. Also, if you situate yourself between two trees and tie a rope from the trees to the middle loops to hold the center of the bivy up off of your body it really helps with the condensation. This is the first time we ever used a bivy and we are not fans. If you're used to and want a bivy this one will work fine as long as you take the proper precautions in the event of a downpour.

This is excellent. Lots of room for my clymit 30 inch pad. With one or two poncho liners depending on the weather a very light and water proof tent.

I used the bivy with the Aqua-Quest ultra-light tarp on a 3 night motorcycle trip including some rain. Kept the head end of bivy under the tarp but the bottom half outside. Found it easy to set up, get my two pads and large down zip-open bag inside, and then get myself in. I'm 5' 8.5' and 150lb. I camped above 6500' so nights were cool and I did get condensation. Even with the head end unzipped (but skeeter net still zipped) I ended up with condensation (NOT leaking). I sleep on my side(s) but almost never on my back, so my exhaust goes mostly into the bivy rather than out thru the skeeter net. My personal opinion is that the condensation is not due to the Aqua-Quest design but is a fact of bivy life when it's cool outside and you're not a back sleeper. If you read reviews for a bunch of different bivys, they all seem to have a few condensation experiences and I think that's dependent mostly on temp and sleeping style. I have several other Aqua-Quest products and find them to be very well designed and ruggedly constructed. It's definitely a keeper for me. I may try to learn back sleeping.