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Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Integral Designs South Col Bivy > Kelli Wise > Field ReportIntegral Designs eVent South Col Bivy - Field Report January 5, 2004
Personal biographical information Backpacking background: I've been car camping and hiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, but am new to backpacking. My backpacking style is lightweight but not ultralight. I am striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington so I get a lot of wet weather experience. Field information: For the field report, Western Washington, coastal, lowlands, below 500’ (152 m).
Product Information
Listed weight: 20 oz (567 g)
Features A little explanation of the eVent fabric is warranted here since it is one of the main features of the eVent South Col bivy. eVent is a "lightweight Direct Venting fabric" manufactured by BHA Technologies, Inc. The eVent fabric, unlike other ePTFE (expanded Polytetrafluoroethelene) laminated fabrics, does not require a continuous layer of polyurethane (PU) over the surface of the ePTFE to keep oils out hence reducing the breathability of the fabric. The eVent manufacturer calls this a "Dry System" and states that "Since there is no polyurethane layer covering the open-pore structure of the material or causing moisture to condense into it, perspiration vapor is free to pass directly through the fabric." This means that the fabric should stay dry on the inside.
Field Use: The weather this fall has not been great for backpackers. Early record setting rains and subsequent flooding washed out trails and roads to most of the prime winter hiking areas and the Forest and Park Services are both scrambling to repair the damage. The weather on weekends hasn’t been all that conducive to testing gear, so most of my testing of the bivy has been close to home - either in the back yard or in some undeveloped areas nearby. This hasn’t been all that bad since my home adjoins a forested area and is a little more like my camping areas than your typical suburban lot. The undeveloped areas are second growth forest consisting of coniferous forest less than 60 years old with some clearings, mossy forest floor, and deciduous shrubs. This is a maritime winter climate with moderate temperatures, rain, fog, and occasional wet snow. Elevations were below 500’ (152 m). Winters in the maritime northwest are typically rainy. Temperatures are moderate, usually highs around 40 F (4 C) and lows above 30 F (-1 C). We get the occasional cold spell where the temperature drops below 20 F (-6 C) and we get 2 to 3 snow storms a year with anywhere from 2 to 8 inches (5 to 20 cm) of very heavy, wet snow. In the mountains, temperatures are much colder, snowfall accumulations are measured in feet (meters), and the snow has the nickname of “Cascade Concrete” - it’s very heavy and wet. All around, pretty miserable for backpacking and a good worst-case test scenario for a lot of gear. I wanted to try the bivy in a cold rain. I set up my hammock rain fly in a flying diamond configuration, using my trekking poles and staking out the 4 corners. I put down a RidgeRest and Therm-a-Rest on top of that, placed the bivy on top of the pads and put my 15 F (-9 C) down sleeping bag into the bivy. I’m not a tarp camper and my tarp pitching technique leaves a great deal to be desired, but the tarp covered the entrance to the bivy and provided a place to put my shoes and other gear. The bottom end of the bivy was covered by the tarp, but was not well protected from blowing or splashing rain. The humidity was over 90% when I set up in a grassy area with no tree cover. Condensation started forming on the underside of the silnylon almost immediately. By the time I got the sleeping pads, bivy, and sleeping bag set up, the tarp was already quite damp. The rain had stopped for about 2 hours while I set up and got settled in and a few stars were showing in between the clouds but then the next storm system moved in and the rain, with a light breeze, began. I sleep very cold and figure that any sleeping bag rating is off by about 10 F (6 C) for me, so my down bag should be comfortable down to 25 F (-4 C) with my normal sleeping attire of microfleece pants and long sleeve top. I wear a balaclava made of a thin material called Thermax and Integral Designs Hot Socks on my feet. The top of the bivy has enough room to store my light and an extra pair of socks and I used an insulated vest as my pillow. These extra clothes were there in case I got cold or my bag got damp during the night. I left the hood of the South Col bivy completely unzipped but had the side zipper zipped up all the way. I configured the wire in the hood to hold the hood up over my head but it did not overlap my sleeping bag hood nor would it have provided any shelter from the rain. It rained on and off all night and the weather service reported that the total rainfall for the night to be about .25” (6 mm) with winds light and variable. I did get a nice breeze under the tarp but the humidity was so high that this was not adequate to keep condensation from accumulating on the underside of the silnylon. My thermometer recorded that the low temperature for the night was 34 F (1C). When I awoke in the morning, my tarp had sagged considerably and was touching the bivy in several places. (I did mention that I’m not very good at pitching a tarp.) Ice had formed on the inside of the tarp and sloughed off during the night into little piles around my bivy sack. The bottom of the bivy sack was quite wet from blown rain, condensation, and melted ice. The top of the bivy sack was very damp where the tarp was in contact with the bivy sack. I checked the inside of the South Col bivy for dampness and found the interior to be quite dry. There was no dampness on my sleeping bag. I slept quite well all night and was comfortably warm throughout the night. Wearing the balaclava helped keep my face warm. The tarp kept rain from blowing onto my face and eliminated the need to zip the bivy hood closed. This was very effective at keeping the inside of the bivy dry. Despite the high humidity, the eVent fabric was able to vent all the moisture from my body and I could vent all of my breath outside of the bivy and bag. Another night brought us our first really cold, clear weather and I couldn’t resist testing the South Col. I set up the bivy with both sleeping pads as before, mostly to insulate me from the cold ground and provide enough padding that I wouldn’t be awake all night from discomfort of sleeping on the ground. Since no precipitation was expected, I didn’t pitch a tarp and just slept under the stars. I used the same down bag, slept in the same microfleece top and bottom, wore a Thermax balaclava, Hot Socks, and added some down mitts. The down mitts were used to warm my hands up after I finished setting everything up as my fingers had gotten quite cold. I brought an insulated jacket, used as a pillow, and a backup pair of wool hiking socks plus my rain pants in case I got too cold. The expected low temperature was predicted at 19 F (-7C), well below my adjusted temperature rating for my down bag. I left the hood of the South Col completely unzipped for ventilation. The rest of my gear was stored in waterproof sacks near my bivy bag. The low recorded temperature for the night was 20 F (-7C) and the winds were light. Thin clouds moved in during the night, which made for a beautiful rose colored sunrise. Everything around me was coated in frost, including the bivy sack and the exposed parts of my sleeping pads! The cold air on my face was bearable but my eyelids got awfully cold while sleeping on my back. I had to unzip the side zip of the South Col during the night since it kept touching my face. I noticed that frost had formed on that portion of the bivy fabric and it brushed off onto my bag when I got up in the morning. I expected to get cold during the night and have to add clothing layers, but I actually ended up taking off the down mitts after about 30 minutes as they were just too warm. I did slide one of the down mitts up onto my shoulder when I slept on my side and that provided plenty of extra insulation to keep that shoulder warm. I was very surprised to find that, not only did I not get cold, I was actually pretty toasty warm all night long. My feet, usually the first thing to get cold, were quite happy and I was somewhat reluctant to get out of my nice warm cocoon. While the outside of the bivy was coated in frost, the inside felt slightly damp. This could have been because the material was so cold against my warm hand, but I did notice a few tiny droplets of moisture along the coated nylon floor of the bivy. My sleeping bag was dry everywhere except around where my breath contacted the material and some moisture must have condensed there.
Some other observations about the South Col eVent bivy: The bivy sack is much longer than my sleeping bag and I would like to make use of the unused area inside as gear storage, but with the short side zipper, I just can’t reach the bottom of the bivy or anything that is stored in the bottom, so the space is largely wasted. The hood of the South Col bivy is big enough that it does provide some nice storage space for small items like lights and extra clothing. The coated nylon floor of the South Col bivy does not slide around on the sleeping pads and I’ve never had the bivy slide off of the pads during the night. The eVent fabric is light enough that it does not seem to cause any compression of my down bag. The down bag is able to fully loft inside the bivy and the coated nylon floor of the bivy prevents my sleeping bag from sliding around. In foul weather, I don’t think I would use the bivy without some sort of tarp. Without a tarp, there is no protection for your sleeping bag while getting in and out of the bivy. Without a tarp, the hood zippers need to be closed more and this will result in much more condensation inside the bivy and dampness accumulating in my sleeping bag. Without a tarp, there is no good place to store gear out of the rain. Without a tarp, there is no way to put on or take off rain gear without getting wet. With the extra protection afforded by the bivy sack, I believe that I could use a poncho tarp successfully. This would allow me to have one piece of gear that would keep me and my backpack dry while hiking and would provide enough coverage around the South Col eVent bivy to keep my sleeping bag and clothing dry. The bivy will provide all the protection necessary from blowing or splashing rain and the combination of these two items weighs about the same as my hammock and rain fly. A couple of tie down loops would be handy as I’m concerned that windy weather in the bivy might prove to be disastrous. Without my weight in the bivy, I don’t think my sleeping bag alone will keep it in place. The eVent fabric seems to vent moisture pretty well as long as I’m not breathing into the bivy. I’ll be looking to see how well it vents when the bag is subjected to precipitation. I’ll try setting it up with the lower half of the bivy exposed to the rain and checking to see if I get any condensation building up on the inside of the fabric. The wire in the hood is badly misshapen and it gets more difficult to get it into a nice round shape every time the bivy is packed into its stuff sack. This is a feature I’ll be keeping track of in the future as it is my least favorite thing about the South Col eVent. A longer brim on the hood might be sufficient that a tarp would not be necessary in light rains. The setup time is almost negligible. Just pull the bivy sack out of the stuff sack, lay it out and put your sleeping bag inside. Without pitching a tarp, the whole process is under a minute. This would make the bivy much more valuable in an emergency situation where getting into shelter is critical. There are no thinking or fine motor skills required. I plan to carry the South Col eVent bivy with me as my emergency shelter for dayhikes and snowshoe trips where sudden storms may be a problem.
Summary
Pros
Cons
I would like to thank Integral Designs and BGT for the opportunity to test the eVent South Col bivy.
Reviews > Shelters > Tarps and Bivys > Integral Designs South Col Bivy > Kelli Wise > Field Report | |||