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Long Term Report - Integral Designs eVENT South Col Bivy
April 18, 2004
Name: David Sowards-Emmerd
Age: 26
Gender: Male
Height: 5'8'' (1.73 m)
Weight: 155 lbs (70 kg)
Email Address: dseATstanfordDOTedu
Location: Los Altos, California, USA
Date: April 18, 2004
Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking semi-frequently about three years ago, soon
after moving to California. I generally take weekend (1 night)
trips, and occasionally take 3-4 day trips. Most of my
backpacking experience is at moderate altitude, 6,000'-12,000'
(1,800-3,650 m), in conditions ranging from dry desert to hail/heavy
snow in the mountains. In winter and spring I split time between
Southern California (So Cal) deserts and snowshoeing/snowcamping in
the mountains. Summer and fall I tend to stick to the high country.
My pack weight has generally been in the 60-90 lb (27-40 kg)
range (including food/water and a bear barrel) over the past few
years, but recently I've been buying lighter gear. So now before
each trip I'm stuck deciding whether to go lighter, or just carry
more 'toys' to make up for the lost weight. My pack was only 28
lbs / 13 kg for my last warm overnighter (90 F / 32 C and sunny
in March, go figure).
Product Description:
Product Specifications:
Product Information:
Manufacturer: Integral Designs
Model: eVENT South Col Bivy
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Manufacturer's Website:
www.integraldesigns.com
Size: Regular
Zipper: Left
Manufacturer's Specifications:
Weight: 20 oz (570 g)
Girth: 69'' (175 cm) at shoulders, 55'' (140 cm) at feet
Width: 32'' (81 cm) at shoulders, 22'' (56 cm) at feet
Length: 84'' (213 cm), accomodates 6' 1'' (185 cm)
Packed size: 5'' x 8'' (13 cm x 20 cm)
As measured by tester:
Weight: 550 g /19.4 oz (566 g /19.9 oz in stuff sack)
Length: 87'' (221 cm) end-to-end
Girth: 56'' (142 cm) at feet, 68'' (173 cm) at shoulders
Packed size: approximately 5'' x 8'' (13 cm x 20 cm)
Product Description:
The design is simple and seems to minimize the number of seams.
Aside from the black bottom footprint made of Tegraltex, the rest
of the bivy is constructed from eVENT fabric. The workmanship is top
notch, all of the internal seams are felled and seam taped, and the
zippers are all YKK.
A 22'' (56 cm) waterproof zipper on the left side is more than enough
for exit/entry and provides a reasonable vent. There is also a second
zipper - in addition to the waterproof side zipper there is a zipper
(non-waterproof, but has an inch long eVENT flap that covers it) -
with three pull-tabs just below the hoop. This zipper was not visible
in the diagram on the Integral Designs website. It allows venting
through two separate openings with the three pull tabs (one 6'' /15 cm
opening is recommended to avoid suffocation). Almost directly above
this zipper is the copper wire hoop, which is removeable/replaceable
and folds easily when rolling up the bivy. This half circle of wire
serves to keep the fabric off of the face and allows better
ventilation inside the bivy. It seems that it could have been slightly
longer. Above the 'inside' zipper, a flap extends 6'' (16 cm) from the
hoop towards the feet. The bivy does not seal completely shut, as the
two zippers do not intersect exactly, and leave a tubular opening to
the outside, about 3'' (8 cm) in diameter.
The Integral Designs patch/badge on the top is not seam taped, but it
is external to the zippers. The small eVENT tag right next to the ID
tag is effectively a loop for keeping the hoop as high as possible
(tying off to a tree or between snow walls).
Previous Field Testing:
Previous testing included two nights in the desert (Death
Valley National Park, CA and Rainbow Basin Natural Area,
CA), a cool night on the snow in northern Michigan
(Wilderness State Park, MI), and a brief test in my shower
to see just how stormproof the bivy was.
For more detailed information on the earlier field testing,
see my Field Report.
Field use since the Field Report:
Yosemite National Park, CA
Upper Pines Campground
7 February 2004
Conditions: Sunny, clear sky, not sure what the overnight low
was, but the temp was 21 F / -6 C at 8AM the next morning.
Few feet of snow on the ground.
This trip was where I realized I could stuff more clothing
between the bivy and my sleeping bag and the tension would
hold the clothing in place where I put it. Also this trip
convinced me that that the bivy added considerable warmth
and that I could get away with using a summer bag for most
of my winter backpacking. For my sleeping setup, the
padding was a standard full length Therm-a-Rest, paired
with a 3/4 length RidgeRest, and a Therm-a-Rest SportSeat
and a small pillow. Insulation consisted of a Nunatak
Ghost Blanket and a Feathered Friends Frontpoint Vest
positioned over my torso. All of these were inside the
bivy. For primary shelter, I was underneath a GoLite Hex2
(no groundsheet). I stayed plenty warm that night (also
I cheated and had an insulated hot water bottle in there
with me too). In the morning, the Hex 2 was covered with
condensation, whereas the bivy was dry on the outside. A
small amount of water condensed on the floor of the bivy
around my sleeping pads but otherwise my blanket and vest
remained dry.
Henry Coe State Park, CA
Los Cruzeros
20 March 2004
Conditions - HOT (90 F/ 32 C) and sunny when
setting up bivy. The temperature dropped quickly around
sunset (35-45 F / 2-7 C is my estimate of the low that
night).
My sleeping setup consisted of 3/4 length Therm-a-Rest
UltraLite mattress and an Osprey Aether 60 as padding, a
Nunatak Ghost Blanket for insulation, and a fleece vest
for a pillow. All of these items were kept inside the
bivy, along with all my other non-kitchen gear. No tarp,
groundsheet or other form of shelter was used along with
the bivy. Since it was not that cold out, I left the
top zipper open, and the side zipper unzipped about
halfway. As the temperature quickly dropped that night,
we hit the dewpoint and the outside of the bivy became
very wet (good sized droplets formed). This was before
I got in, so I had to shake it off and also be careful
not to get wet just getting into the bivy. In the
morning, the outside of the bivy was completely soaked,
however the inside and my sleeping bag were bone dry
except for two strips of water droplets on the bottom
of the bivy (Tegraltex fabric) running along the edges of
my sleeping pad. The bivy dried out quickly after wiping
it down with a small hand towel and I was the first one
packed up and ready to go that morning. Everyone else I
was backpacking with had a soaked sleeping bag that
morning, along with wet tents and hammocks to boot! The
bivy kept my pack (foot pad that night) nice and dry too!
Below is a photo taken of me while making sure the bivy
was dry on the inside.
Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA
Forest Lake
3 April 2004
Conditions - Sunny and warm (60 F/ 15 C) during the day,
and the temperature dropped below freezing soon after
sunset as the wind picked up.
As promised, this time I used the bivy inside a snow cave
(spent 2-3 hours, mostly alone digging it out - probably
less total work to lug in a 4 season tent instead, but
it is something everyone should try once). The door to
the snow cave was large enough to allow good ventilation
(along with the holes in the ceiling), but kept the breeze
out. A photo of the bivy in the snow cave is posted below.
This time I tried sleeping with some of my pads outside
the bivy. Underneath the bivy, I placed a 3/4 length
RidgeRest and a sit pad of the same material (which was
most of the remaining 1/4 of the original pad). Inside
the bivy, for added insulation from the snow, I used a
3/4 length Therm-a-Rest UltraLite pad along with a
Therm-a-Rest SportSeat. Again, insulation was a Ghost
Blanket along with a Frontpoint Vest, and one hot
insulated water bottle for extra warmth. I kept the top
of the bivy completely unzipped, and stayed comfortably
warm all night. Aside from a few drips of snow cave
melting on the bivy, I obtained the same result as the
two nights above - a bit of water next to the pad (more
on the side that was up against the wall of the snow
cave). The blanket was dry and the vest was only
slightly damp where it had slid off the blanket and onto
the side where the water beaded up.
Other Uses:
The bivy works well as a stuff sack for a sleeping bag -
I put the sleeping bag at the foot end of the bivy,
compress, and then roll up the rest of the bivy sack
around that. Basically it means I carry one less large
stuff sack, my sleeping bag stays dry, and I don't have
to worry about getting the bag wet when putting it into
the bivy sack.
When using my down blanket inside the bivy, I can add
considerable warmth to this system by placing my down vest
(jacket would work too) between the blanket and the bivy.
For my particular setup, the bivy applies just enough
pressure to the vest that it's held in place over my torso,
but it isn't so tight that the down vest or blanket lose
any noticeable loft.
Pros:
- Fairly lightweight for a stormproof bivy (I don't consider
EPIC fabric bivys to be stormproof after this last rainy
season biking to work in an EPIC jacket.)
- The fabric seems to breathe very well (as well as I could
have hoped for!) - I have not noticed any moisture on the
inside of the eVENT fabric in all of the testing. However,
this breathability does not mean that water on the bottom
of the bivy (Tegraltex fabric) will magically evaporate
when it is resting on a cold surface.
- Watertight (unless the zipper is submerged, in which case
you've probably got a serious problem)
- Definitely adds considerable warmth (and keeps the wind
from blowing under my down blanket). I haven't had to switch
to a colder bag this winter - only used a 32 F/ 0 C down
blanket.
- Nice compact packed size
- Excellent choice for use with a snow shelter - 'should'
still keep me warm and dry if I don't have time to dig a
shelter.
- The head end has plenty of space for extra items: pee
bottle, flashlight, wallet, extra gloves/hat etc.
(actually, the pee bottle is down and to the side, not
next to my head).
- Aside from some discoloration on the bottom of the bivy,
it does not appear to have sustained any damage so far.
- The wire hoop seems to me to be a good alternative to a
pole. It is still easy to set up (requires a bit more
de-kinking than when new), but provides plenty of headroom
when used with a down blanket. I have not yet felt the
need to tie up the hoop with a rope.
Cons and possible improvements:
- The zipper, while it has worked fine so far, could be
lengthened. I worry about ripping the zipper when getting
into the bivy, and even an extra 6-12'' (15-30 cm) would be
enough to fix this. However, a 3/4 length or full length
zipper would be best - I would not mind the extra weight.
This would also make setting up my sleeping system easier
since I generally use multiple pads (including 'shortie'
sit pads) and have to move these into place from outside
the bivy - luckily I have not had to do this in blizzard
conditions.
- Optional bug netting would be a nice accessory for
non-winter use. I woke up at Henry Coe to find several
squished earwigs and several active in the bivy with me.
I haven't used the bivy around mosquitos yet (we don't
get that many here in SF Bay Area, CA, but Lassen
and Yosemite are another story), but I will probably
modify the bivy for summer use by adding some hook-and-
loop fasteners so that a small netting patch can be
attached over the opening.
- Two to four loops for staking down the bivy would be
nice for windy days.
Overall:
It's an excellent addition to my winter gear list (my
wife can now officially keep my old Mountain Hardwear
Conduit Bivy SL). The bivy will probably see some summer
use this season on cool or damp nights and will be
definitely be included in my standard winter pack for
many years to come.
Finally, I'd like to thank Integral Designs for testing
with us, and look forward to testing a eVENT MK1 Lite
(hint hint)!
Read more reviews of Integral Designs gear
Read more gear reviews by David Sowards-Emmerd
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