Adventure Medical Kits Sol Escape Bivvy

Product Information

We have a 60-day return policy, which means you have 60 days after receiving your item to request a return. A sleeping bag is an insulated bag that is designed to keep you warm. This warmth is provided by either a down or synthetic filling that traps air around your body as you sleep. In contrast, the single-skin fabric of a bivyy bag provides negligible warmth. It is designed to keep out moisture (from rain, dew or snow) while having sufficient breathability to minimise moisture build up on the inside. A sleeping bag will often cover the head but doesn’t cover the face, where most bivvy bags allow for the whole person to be sealed inside (i.e. the bag is closed fully over both the head and face). Do I need a sleeping bag with a bivvy? The real test came on the Colorado Trail where weather, mostly rain, was a big part of my ride. I used a Marmot Atom 40* sleeping bag with the SOL Escape Bivvy and no sleeping pad. Overall temperatures ranged from the 50’s to upper 30’s at night. The first 3 nights were relatively warm but damp. The ground was wet, the bivvy stayed dry, and I remained comfortable and warm. Although not waterproof its highly water resistant so as an emergency bivy shelter it does its job, preserving heat and protecting your sleeping bag from the elements. Being tough it can be used over and again, especially if you are using it as a sleeping bag liner to enhance the rating of your bag.

Overall, would I recommend this bivvy for a month long tour in rugged terrain? No. It is bound to fall apart. The inside of the bivvy is aluminized to reflect your body heat Here you see what the opening looks like with the zipper fully open Bivvy Design and Construction I only used it for a night, but in a multi-day survival situation the amount of condensation could be dangerous or even life threatening, if there was no way to get the sleeping bag and bivy dry every day. I only tested it in the -10 to -15 range, and it is possible with the right bag and outside temperature there would be less condensation, but as this is meant to be a survival bag, it should work in relatively mild winter conditions such as this. Went on a Junior Forest Wardens outing in a Wall Tent with temperatures at -15°C. As there was not enough room in the tent for everyone I took the opportunity to sleep outside in a down mummy bag and the Sol Escape bivy. All in all I can say that the escape bivvy bag is probably one of the best, if not the best bivvy bag available even though it has a few little flaws.So then you have to ask yourself... What's the point if you can't use it as a bivy?? That makes it nothing more than a poor performing emergency blanket. The last night I stopped for an hour or so to nap. The rain was pouring and I was looking for a good tree to sleep under. After finding a somewhat protected area, I shut my eyes for an hour. I did my best to pull the bivvy hood over my sleeping bag hood, but the bivvy was too short to completely cover me without scrunching up inside my bag. Water would enter from the top of the bivvy, which got my sleeping bag wet. If I were to be out there all night, I would have been very soggy. Worked for intended Purpose? Marginally. Fall I cannot recommend this product to anyone. In fact, if it is acting as a conductor, it could possibly be considered dangerous.

Waterproof seams plus a drawstring hood closure and side zip mean you can seal out the elements entirely or use the bivvy like a traditional sleeping bag, and the high-visibility orange exterior makes it easy for rescuers to spot you even in areas with high tree cover. The escape bivvy, in my opinion, is a bivvy like no other. It’s durable, warm, and comfortable. It does have its downsides though like the fact that you can’t move your arms very easily while inside, especially when using a sleeping bag inside of it. Adventure Medical Kit's SOL Escape Lite bivy is an emergency bivy that is breathable - it can be used as a sleeping bag liner to uprate your bag when not required in an emergency situation.

Low weight and a compact shape are the most important factors for runners, since a bulky or heavy bag makes running feel awkward and also more strenuous. Is a bivvy better than a tent? With my 40 degree Marmot Atom and the SOL Escape Bivvy, I would say I had an extra 5 degrees to work with. Pretty much when it hit 35 or below, I was shivering. I would say if you plan to use this bivvy in colder conditions, you should consider a sleeping bag with a lower temperature rating. Note: I don’t have much meat on my bones. THERMAREST & MSR: Sale! 30% Off all MSR Tents and Thermarest Sleeping Bags including the award-winning Parsec 0! Next, consider the nature of your running excursion. For a long adventure (more than a few nights), the importance of comfort and plenty of rest can't be underestimated. This is where a slightly heavier set-up might be preferred (eg a one-man tent with some space inside and a comfy sleeping mat). The SOL Escape Bivvy is a heat reflective, lightweight emergency shelter that minimises condensation whilst protecting you from the elements.

As far as I'm concerned this bivy has no reflective qualities whatsoever, and that's the only reason I even considered it. There are much better options out there that offer more protection and are much more durable. A bivvy that BREATHES, keeping you dry from the inside out. Highly weather resistant so you stay dry in any conditions. But if you’re racing, then pace tends to take precedence. In a short race (only one or two nights), it’s easier to rough it and sacrifice a good night's sleep in favour of better running performance. But for long, expedition style races or Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempts, the situation is more complex, with the aim of the game being to maximise performance over a prolonged period and changing circumstances. In this situation, you'll need to consider the following: will you be able to cope with prolonged sleep deprivation? Will you be able to dry out your kit? What is the terrain on the course ? What is the climate and season?

Our Verdict

Over the last two years I have spent probably 300 nights in it. Did half a 2018 PCT in it, only adding my quilt for maybe two days a week. I finally tore a fist-sized hole in it by snagging on a branch, though a cuben patch stopped the tearing. Still operational, but I bought the new version w/o the zipper, which I like even more. A bivvy bag is essentially a lightweight sleeping bag cover that protects you from the worst of the elements but offers little in the way of shelter. It is usually composed of a waterproof bottom fabric (groundsheet) and a lighter upper fabric that is waterproof but also breathable. What is the difference between a bivvy and a sleeping bag? Some one-man tents are now so small and light, it’s hard to imagine that it’s even possible to take a more minimalist approach. But it is: enter the bivvy bag. What is a bivvy bag? Excellent product. Part of my kit ALWAYS. Even use it at home in cool weather, under blankets or blankets inside. Reflects 70% of your body heat to keep you warm and alive! Versatile, can be used as a sleeping bag liner, emergency bivvy or as an ultra-light summer bag.

The complaint with most ultra-light emergency shelters is the same: condensation builds up inside as you get warm, leaving your clothes soaking wet. The SOL Escape Bivvy is categorized as an emergency bivvy, with the usability for an ultra light sleep system. The bag is made out of a thin water resistant fabric with microporous to give it its breathable capabilities. It comes with a reflective interior that helps retain 70% of your body heat, and the seams are waterproof, ensuring heat stays in and the elements stay out. My final test was a few fall trips where temperatures were cooler on average than both my above experiences. These trips would involve a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and a full nights sleep. All but one of the trip nights I would wake up shivering. It did not rain, but I did experience frost on the top of the bivvy, and woke up with a significant amount of moisture built up inside. Keep in mind that the temperatures may have reached as low as 28 degrees. I tested out the Klymit Inertia X-wave and X-lite pads inside my bivvy but outside my sleeping bag. The X-lite gave me much more maneuverability as it is 18” wide, where as the X-Wave is 25”wide. The wider the pad the more the bag stretches out, thus giving me less room to move. Worked for intended Purpose: For the most part. So what does this all mean? Having read the promotional materials which state that the bivvy retains up to 90% of your body heat, I was curious if a ground pad would be needed. It is. I can definitely say that conductive cooling where you touch the ground still happens through the bag. To protect myself from mosquitos, I wore a hat and headnet with the bivvy. With a ground pad Barely tipping the scales at a half of a pound, the SOL Escape was one of the more impressive models we tested. Made from SOL's proprietary fabric (which feels similar to a DuPont Tyvec Lab suit) and an inner reflective coating, the SOL excelled at keeping us warm while also relatively dry on the inside. Before we go any further, it's important to note that this bivy isn't in the same ballpark as the much heavier, or even the mid-range adventure models. The Escape isn't suited for long expeditions or sleeping in snow caves unless you have tigers blood flowing through your veins; instead, it fills a niche for lightweight, durable warmth for ultralight endeavors.

The material showed extremely promising waterproof capabilities, but on the others side, it does not breathe all that well. For the short naps it was not an issue, but after a full nights sleep, I woke up with moisture that was trapped inside the bivvy. When I first bought it, I didn’t understand what breathability meant. But I discovered its importance when I first used it. My friend and I went minimalist camping in the mountains, bringing only a tarp, our bivvy bags, and sleeping bags as shelter. The night went smoothly for me, but my friend woke up with pretty horrible surprise, his sleeping bag was completely wet from his sweat. It turns out that because his bivvy bag wasn’t breathable, his sweat built up and couldn’t escape like mine did. So started my day dry and rested while he was wet, cold and miserable. As an emergency bivy bag with a sleeping pad, it is reusable unlike less expensive emergency blankets No idea why others have reviewed this negatively. Maybe they are really big...? Not used to UL gear? I'm 5'6" and 160. This bivy is small.