Best Bivvy Bags 2024 | Solo Shelters For Lightweight Bivouacking Adventures
Simple and lightweight, bivvy bags are a popular alternative to tents for a night of wild camping under the stars. Here are six of the best options for 2024
Bivi bag, bivvi bag or bivvy bag? Why there are so many accepted spellings for the same thing we’ll never know. We could just stick to their Sunday name – the bivouac sack – but that seems overly formal for such a down-to-earth product (literally), so simply for the sake of consistency, we’re going to use bivvy.
Anyway, let’s first look at what a bivvy bag is. It’s quite simply really; it’s a thin, lightweight, weatherproof sack that slides over your sleeping bag, making a dry night’s sleep possible without a tent.
And why on earth would you use one when tents exist? Well, such an approach – with your head open to the elements – offers an even more intimate interaction with the wild. The sounds of night creatures are unmuffled, the stars dazzle above you, and your senses are highly attuned to every raindrop and every gust of wind.
Fancy it? If you do, then you’re in the right place. We’ve done the hard work for you, putting several products – ranging in design, style, size and price – through their paces on wild camping trips to Scotland, the Brecon Beacons and the Lake District. So, whether you’re looking to venture into bivvying for the first time or if you’re a seasoned pro at sleeping under the stars, there’s something for everyone here.
The Best Bivy Bags Tested by Our Team
Below are our recommendations for six of 2024’s best bivvys. Or should that be bivis?
Best Overall Bivvy Bag: Outdoor Research Helium Best Value Bivvy Bag: Alpkit Hunka Best Ultralight Bivvy Bag: Terra Nova Moonlite Best Bivvy Bag for Comfort: Snugpak Statosphere Best Bivvy Bag for Tall People: Sierra Designs Backcountry 3000 Best Emergency Bivvy: Simond Mountaineering Survival Bag
This new version of the Helium, released only this year, comes in 14% lighter than the previous generation, and from what we can see there’s been no downgrade in performance either.
Unsurprisingly, the Helium is so-called because of its featherweight qualities. It’s Outdoor Research’s lightest bivy bag, a product designed for fast and light missions in the great outdoors. It’s a bit pricier than entry-level bags, making it an option for devoted minimalists who value the investment in a tough and high performing product.
This thing’s made from Pertex’s impressive Diamond Fuse fabric, a 2.5-layer ripstop nylon with specially shaped yarns that are intricately woven together to create a robust, abrasion resistant and highly durable fabric – one that’s both waterproof and highly breathable too.
It’s certainly a distinctive product due to the high, clam-shaped opening at its head, which utilises a single arcing pole to create a high (for a bivvy bag) ceiling. This makes for easy entry and exit and gives the user plenty of head space – after all, no one wants a claustrophobic bivvying experience.
This made it into our Outdoor 100 for 2022, with our Test Team all impressed by its superb fabric and lightweight qualities.
Pros: Light, durable, breathable Cons: Some will prefer options with higher canopies
Full Specifications
Bluesign approved Pertex Shield Diamond Fuse 2.5L / 100% Nylon, 30D ripstop upper / 100% nylon, 40D with TPU lamination floor / bluesign approved100% polyester mesh / single-pole system / reflective Logo and Trims / two stake loops / one guy line loop / high volume toe end / clamshell opening / two Internal fly fasteners.
As Rab’s cheapest and lightest bivvy, this is well suited to campers looking to ditch the tent for the first time. The Trailhead is crafted from hardwearing 40 Denier ripstop nylon with a breathable yet waterproof polyurethane coating on both its top and base. This durable combination ensures that any rain is kept at bay, while a zipped mesh vent enables appropriate ventilation. All seams are taped, completing what is an impressively watertight product.
It has an open-face style with a snap opening and stiffened peak. This is in contrast to the zipped face designs commonly found on most bivvy bags and Rab champion it as being less constricting. An integrated rain gutter manages precipitation effectively.
The bag stretches out to 250cm in length and is 85cm wide, which is larger than the average bivvy. This means there’s loads of space for your boots, backpack and anything else you want to keep dry.
We’ve found this keeps your sleeping bag protected from the elements but, with its lack of any poles to keep the material off your face, it’s unlikely to provide the most comfortable of shelters in a prolonged downpour.
It’s no-frills, but no-frills is sometimes fine if the bag is light and protective, and that’s certainly the case here.
Pros: Very light Cons: Low on features
Full Specifications
40D ripstop nylon with PU coating / fluorocarbon free DWR / 10,000mm hydrostatic head / 10,000 MVTR / taped seams / snap opening and stiffened peak.
Looking for something decent but low cost? This comes top of our list as the best value bivvy bag
Packed Size: 15cm x 13cm Weight: 330g Price: £55
The first thing to say about the Hunka is its price-tag. No, we didn’t accidentally leave a one off the front of the price in error. At £47 it is the cheapest bivvy under test by a long way – an absolute bargain, by anyone’s standards. The second thing to note is that, unlike any of the other bivvy bags on test, the Hunka has an internal stuff sack pocket. The sack is integrated into the body of the bivvy, so that’s one less thing to worry about blowing away in the wind. We admit it – we’ve been there, chasing a fly-away stuff sack around a blustery mountainside on more than one occasion. But it’s never a concern when you’re using this Alpkit bivvy.
The Hunka comes in three different colours: green, red and blue. It isn’t the lightest, but at 330g it’s still a big weight saving on any tent. It has a hood that goes nicely around the outside of your sleeping bag hood, with a simple drawstring at either side so it can be tightened around you and your bag. It has no additional venting or faffy zips and the bag tapers towards your feet. You can pair it with a tarp for added protection from the elements, if you like, but many choose not to. And that’s it. There’s not much else to say. The Hunka is a simple product with no-frills. But, on a clear summer’s night, where your aim is to feel at one with nature with your face exposed to the fresh air, then it’s absolutely the best value product on the market.
Pros: Cheap; internal stuff sack Cons: Low on features
Full Specifications
2.5 layer Ripstop nylon upper / 10,000 mm hydrostatic head / 10,000/m2 breathability / width: Shoulders – 80 cm; Foot – 50 cm
Here comes the lightest bivvy bag on test. The Terra Nova Moonlite weighs in at only 210g, including the lightweight stuff sack. As with most ultralight adventure products, it also boasts one of the highest price tags. So is it worth the extra cash? In short, yes. The Moonlite is a high-end, top quality product. The fabric is waterproof and breathable, with taped seams; the absence of a hood, with the ground sheet ending flat beneath your head, saves space and weight; a draw cord enables you to cinch the bivvy tighter around your body; and the black colour is excellent at absorbing the morning heat.
Marketed as a sleeping bag cover – nothing more, nothing less – the Moonlite, like Alpkit’s Hunka, is another no-frills product. There are no extra hoops or pegs and tapering towards the foot end ensures there’s no wasted fabric. You’ll struggle to fit anything else in with you, neither your pack nor your boots – but that won’t matter if using it on a clear, dry night. Sadly, there is no way to fully waterproof the bivvy around your head, but there is a fully-zipped mosquito net mesh at the head end, although there is no way of stopping the net from flopping onto your head.
But these minor gripes are a small price to pay for an excellent, ultralight product with amazing packability. We certainly wouldn’t recommend using the Moonlite in very bad weather, but if weight and size are key factors for you, then this bivvy is in a league of its own.
Pros: Ultra lightweight; superb packability Cons: Expensive; low on features
Full Specifications
Waterproof fabric with taped seams / zipped hood / 200cm x 76cm.
The best bivvy bag for comfort. If you like a more spacious and less claustrophobic sleep, this is the bivvy we’d recommend.
Packed Size: 31cm x 14cm Weight: 1130g (includes pegs and poles) Price: £160 snugpak.com
If you’re progressing from traditional camping to bivvying, but you’re concerned about being too exposed or too claustrophobic, then the Stratosphere is the perfect transition option. Snugpak have designed a solid, tent-like structure to one half of the bivvy, enabling a night of guaranteed comfort with no flapping mesh nets or fabric collapsing onto your face. How does the Stratosphere achieve this? Two poles criss-cross to create a free-standing, sturdy, spacious hood. Once inside, there is a surprising amount of head room, far more than any other bivvy on test, and the zipped stretch pocket above your head is really handy for a torch (or midnight snack). On wet nights, the bivvy can be fully zipped around your head, thus providing waterproof shelter – and there’s no worry about condensation, as a rear fixed mesh with its own waterproof cover provides adequate ventilation. On warm nights, you can leave the bivvy completely open, or zip up a mesh to keep out the midges.
The Stratosphere has a series of other useful features. The poles are colour-coded to their corresponding sleeves and snap reassuringly into loops on the ground sheet; six alloy pegs enable you to fine tune the position and structure of the bivvy, creating maximum space and comfort for your night under the stars; and the military shade of green is ideal for stealthy wild camping. The generous three quarter length side zipper makes the Stratosphere easy to get in and out of; the thick, hard-wearing materials used provide a waterproof cover; and the low-profile performs well in the wind.
But all of this comes at a price. With two poles, six pegs and a top-loading stuff sack with multiple compression straps, the 1.1kg Stratosphere is the heaviest bivvy on test – and it weighs in heavier than many one-person tents. But Snugpak aren’t looking to break any ultralight weight records with this product. And, if you’re after a comfortable, hooped bivvy, rather than just a glorified sleeping bag cover, then the Snugpak Stratosphere might be the bivvy for you.
Pros: Excellent head room; tent-like structure; well-ventilated Cons: Heavy
Full Specifications
50D Ripstop outer with 5000mm hydrostatic head / 5000g/m2 breathability / 70D Ripstop floor / 8.5mm aluminium poles / supplied with ultralight alloy pegs.
This is the bivvy we’d recommend for taller people out there.
Will using the Sierra Designs Backcountry Bivy in the Cairngorms.
Packed size: 25.5cm x 10.2cm Price: £130 Weight: 400g
This bivy bag follows the basic bivy design – basically a simple waterproof back that you climb into – but there are some nice touches that elevate it above some of the other simpler options in this round up. It has a little mesh window, for instance, which is covered by a zip sealed flap. It’s also PFC-free, has a fully taped seams and comes with a handy burrito-style sack that makes packing it all away (into a nice small bundle) quick and easy.
The fabric feels light and quite thin so you wouldn’t want to lay this down anywhere where there’s a risk of a puncture. The same can be said for many of the other bags in this round up though, including the Snugpak Stratosphere and the Alpkit Hunka.
We used this with a thick Exped Ultra 5R sleeping mat and found there was still plenty of space to sleep in this comfortably.
Overall, out of all the bivy bags here, we’d say this provides the best balance between weight, performance, feature set and price. As it’s available in a long version that caters for anyone up to 200cm in height, so it’s a good option for any taller campers out there.
Pros: Lightweight but well-specced Cons: No pegging loops
Full Specifications
Top fabric: 20D 10,000mm / base fabric: 30D 3000mm / large U-shaped opening with storm flaps / mesh window for ventilation / fully taped seams / 1 guy loop to increase peak height.
Slightly high-spec than the other Rab bivy in this round up, the Trailhead, Rab’s Storm Bivi is a lightweight, single-person bivvy with a host of excellent features. The breathable 70D Hyperlite Storm fabric is waterproof and breathable; a small mesh panel improves ventilation and helps to minimise condensation; and the Velcro-sealed waterproof cover, which can be fully zipped over your head, ensures optimum waterproofing. The bivvy bag is also longer and wider than average, and doesn’t taper at the foot end, thus enabling you to store and waterproof your equipment such as a backpack or pair of hiking boots.
At 664g it is the second heaviest bivvy bag on test, but at £140 it is very competitively priced. One gripe is that the Velcro straps around the waterproof cover are fiddly to close when you’re in the bivvy – but that’s nit-picking. The Rab Storm Bivi is another top-notch offering from a well-respected brand and a solid choice for all of your bivvying needs.
Pros: Competitively priced Cons: Relatively heavy
Full Specifications
70D Hyperlite Storm fabric / end zip entrance / small mesh panel vent zip rand / wide sleeping bag profile design.
This simple survival bag gets our pick for the best emergency bivvy bag
Packed Size: Weight: 100g Price: £10
It might look like a giant crisp packet, but this thing could save your life one day.
While all the other bivy bags in this article are basically poleless tents that people choose to sleep in, this product is more of an emergency option intended to be carried as a just-in-case option. Lightweight, packable and capable of trapping and radiating your own body heat back to you, these kinds of bivvies can mean the difference between life and death when you’re in the mountains and they’re also now included on the mandatory kit list for a lot of ultramarathon events these days.
This particular one from Decathlon is very roomy – big enough, in fact, to fit two people inside it. It weighs a ridiculously light 108g and, best of all, it comes with a little zip pocket so you can fold it up after your first emergency and keep it for your next one after you’ve lived to fight another day.
Pros: very lightweight, compact, good value Cons: only serves as an emergency option
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