You may take a bivvi bag with you when you go walking already, just in case (well done, better safe than sorry!)… You may have crawled inside when the clouds down and you're starting to chill… but have you considered just taking that extra bit of thought, kit and planning to use your bivvi bag in anger?
Here's a practical guide to sleeping out in your bivvi bag for the first time, to steer you away from the pitfalls and towards a comfortable and safe night in the hills.
Nothing quite compares to reaching that summit or topping that ridge to find the world laid out beneath you in the ultimate wrap around widescreen stretching to a 360 horizon. Nothing but sky above you and only rooted to the earth by your feet.
Stretch out your arms, breath in the best lungful you'll ever know, close your eyes and feel the fatigue of the climb slide from your body.
But....everything has to end sometime, can't stay forever, eat your lunch, wind chill is picking up, better get moving, another quick photo, last look round, check the map and start to head down, greeting fellow dayglo walkers making their personal pilgrimages. Soon it's all but forgotten as you focus on getting down safely, already planning your next trip, step by step back to reality.
But… hold on a minute, you've done the tough bit, you're up high, wouldn't it be great if you could just stride off across that ridge or head out towards that distant peak and sit and watch the sun slide below a deserted horizon. Oh, and what if you could fall asleep watching shooting stars streaking across the blackest sky you'll ever know, the moon floating in a glassy tarn. Then, what about being woken by the first of the morning sun on your face with a precious few hours ahead of you walking on high in perfect silence, totally alone, before the hordes from the valley's b&bs disgorge into the hills.
Sound attractive? Then welcome to the world of bivvi bagging.
Yes I know, sleeping in a bag! In the open! Not even a tent? But think less Andy McNab and more free spirit. Sleep where you want when you want and find the spiritual open space we all crave when the hills are alive with, well, just you. Before 9 and after 5 you're pretty much alone…bliss!
For the cost of a couple of nights accommodation you can buy all you need to keep you warm comfortable and safe in the worst weather and terrain this country will throw at you. You can pay hundreds of pounds for that kit on the high street but my advice is to reap the benefit of the research and development paid for by us taxpayers for the afore mentioned Mr McNab to keep us safe at night and head to your local army surplus or click onto ebay for the same kit and I reckon you're good to go with little more than £100 heading south.
You will need a rucksack, ask for a "bergen" and you'll see the eyes of the ex-forces guy behind the counter moisten as the jargon reminds him of that cosy 40 mile stroll across Norway with his mates on exercise twenty five years ago. As with all this kit it may have someone else's name written on it in marker pen but hey, for £25-£30 don't quibble.
Sleeping bag, now here comes a decision. Do you buy a 2 or 3 season bag that will squash down to nothing and will weigh less for you to hump around all day? Or do you opt for a special forces, 5 season, arctic sleeping bag with hood and a handy mesh pocket for your torch and damp socks that will keep you toasty in any weather you can imagine? Well, having spent a few cold and sleepless nights out in the open I'll always opt for the slightly heavier and slightly bulkier bag, especially when you remember that the temperature drops 1°c for every 100m you ascend. The cost of your wrap around, hilltop duvet? Expect to pay £30.
A bivvi bag, it's just like a tent but without poles and with a drawstring at the top no, really, don't knock it until you've tried it, there is nothing quite like being snuggled down in your sleeping bag and bivvi bag on what was a bitterly cold and hostile hilltop, listening to the wind and rain whip over the sheltered dip you've found to spend a few hours rest or to spend the night. Most are made from breathable goretex and should cost around £30.
