WHAT IS A BIVVY BAG, AND WHY DO I NEED ONE?

• A bivvy bag is like a waterproof jacket for your sleeping bag. It’s a thin, waterproof bag. You use it over the top of your sleeping bag.
• A bivvy bag is cheaper than a tent.
• It’s a lot smaller than a tent.
• It’s very discreet and allows you to sleep on tiny patches of flat ground.
• You are not cocooned from the environment as you are in a tent. In a tent you are basically in a rubbish version of indoors. In a bivvy bag you really are outside. You feel the breeze on your face, look up at the stars before you sleep and sit up to a brilliant view in the morning.
• It feels more exciting and more wild than a tent.

HOW DO I USE A BIVVY BAG?

• Just slip it over your sleeping bag. If I am organised I do this before leaving home rather than doing it later in the dark and pouring rain.
• Pull it up over your head when you sleep. Just leave a small gap for your mouth to breathe out of in order to minimise the condensation.
• I tend to leave my sleeping mat on the outside. If the weather is foul or if you have a large bivvy bag you can experiment with putting it inside the bivvy bag.
• Remember to take a large waterproof bag (eg bin bag) to put your other stuff into at night. I tend to use my boots and rucksac as a pillow.
• A bivvy bag is colder than a tent so make sure to take warm clothes.

WHICH BIVVY BAG SHOULD I BUY?