I am writing this review as I couldn't find any on the web about this product.
First of all I would like to mention the way in which these bivvy`s come to you, it can`t be bought off the shelf in a shop but can be ordered online at Carp-Zone or on E-Bay. I personally ordered from E-Bay and it came very prompt and well packaged.
First Put up.
As I always do I have to have a play with whatever I`ve bought before I go to the bank just to make sure that everything is there and it`s in good condition.
You get a drawstring bag with the bivvy, poles, groundsheet, heavy duty pegs and two more zip in fronts (pvc and mesh) plus two more door panels (pvc and mesh). For the relatively small price you pay I think this is brilliant as you have options for the front of the bivvy and this is one of the reasons I bought this bivvy in the first place.
You get a drawstring bag with the bivvy, poles, groundsheet, heavy duty pegs and two more zip in fronts (pvc and mesh) plus two more door panels (pvc and mesh). For the relatively small price you pay I think this is brilliant as you have options for the front of the bivvy and this is one of the reasons I bought this bivvy in the first place.
As I tipped the contents out on to the garden I soon found what I believed to be my first problem, no manual. Yes this is a simple bivvy but a manual would have been nice, so a quick trip to you tube and I found a video on how to erect. So with the knowledge I attached the tensioning strap along the width of the bivvy and began to piece the poles of the ribs together. These have elastic cord going through the middle of them and go together very easily.
With the ribs together I can now place the mid-rib tensioning poles in place. These in my opinion need to be made differently. The wingnut part which allows you to extend the poles is in the wrong place as it only just clears the materiel loop that it goes through and if you would like the skin of the bivvy tight then it will press up against material loop and over time that will cause wear. This is only a problem on the front to middle rib. At first I thought I had got the poles the wrong way round but they are the same whichever way round you put them.
Last up is the back pole which leads to the ground. One end clips to the rib while the other goes to an eyelet at the base of the bivvy. This will not tension unless it is on the ground and if you follow the instructions on the video when you peg the front out first this comes away from the floor and flaps about until it is pegged down. I think all the rib tensioning poles need to be slightly changed.
All that is left to do is to peg the remaining pegs in and that is the bivvy up. It is a stable construction once pegged out and the issues with the poles don't seem to affect the stability at all.
Once the bivvy is up you can place the ground sheet in which has eyelets on so you can peg this down too but saying that I think you are meant to use the same pegs as the bivvy which means taking them out and repegging if erecting as instructed on the video, which is another little gripe. The groundsheet itself is of good quality and lays well inside.
The bivvy I purchased had a winter skin with it. This came in a separate draw string bag with its own set of heavy duty pegs. This skin is fine I have had no issues with this. Out the bag, throw it over the bivvy, peg down job done.
Putting it up was very easy and took no time at all.
With the ribs together I can now place the mid-rib tensioning poles in place. These in my opinion need to be made differently. The wingnut part which allows you to extend the poles is in the wrong place as it only just clears the materiel loop that it goes through and if you would like the skin of the bivvy tight then it will press up against material loop and over time that will cause wear. This is only a problem on the front to middle rib. At first I thought I had got the poles the wrong way round but they are the same whichever way round you put them.
Last up is the back pole which leads to the ground. One end clips to the rib while the other goes to an eyelet at the base of the bivvy. This will not tension unless it is on the ground and if you follow the instructions on the video when you peg the front out first this comes away from the floor and flaps about until it is pegged down. I think all the rib tensioning poles need to be slightly changed.
All that is left to do is to peg the remaining pegs in and that is the bivvy up. It is a stable construction once pegged out and the issues with the poles don't seem to affect the stability at all.
Once the bivvy is up you can place the ground sheet in which has eyelets on so you can peg this down too but saying that I think you are meant to use the same pegs as the bivvy which means taking them out and repegging if erecting as instructed on the video, which is another little gripe. The groundsheet itself is of good quality and lays well inside.
The bivvy I purchased had a winter skin with it. This came in a separate draw string bag with its own set of heavy duty pegs. This skin is fine I have had no issues with this. Out the bag, throw it over the bivvy, peg down job done.
Putting it up was very easy and took no time at all.
The video on how to is here >>> http://youtu.be/orv_ZBSisl4
First Takedown.
As before there was no manual to take this down nor is there a video so I just set about reversing my actions from before.
I have removed all of the pegs and removed the groundsheet. Zipped the door shut and remove the rib tensioning poles now I am left with the bivvy in a C shape on the floor. I have undone the tension strap from the base of the poles and begin to remove the rib poles from each other. This may sound easy but there is a real knack to this as the elastic cord inside the poles keeps pulling them back together. It`s a pain and as I`ve said there's a knack to it. After faffing with these for abit and folding them back together next is to get everything back into the drawstring bag.
This I feel is the let down of the whole bivvy as it is such a squeeze to get it back into its own bag. As with all tents when they are put in the bag for the first time in the factory these are ideal conditions and not wet, muddy, wild outside conditions.
In the end all I put back in the original bag was the bivvy, poles and the pegs as this is what I would need to hand on the bank. The rest of the panels and door panels are kept in my barrow bag along with the winter skin and groundsheet or left at home.
I think that a bag with a zip full length is the way to go for the future for this bivvy as putting it back into that drawstring bag after a 48hour session when wet and tired is going to be a right pain. In fact I have already been looking at Buying a zipped bivvy holdall.
I have removed all of the pegs and removed the groundsheet. Zipped the door shut and remove the rib tensioning poles now I am left with the bivvy in a C shape on the floor. I have undone the tension strap from the base of the poles and begin to remove the rib poles from each other. This may sound easy but there is a real knack to this as the elastic cord inside the poles keeps pulling them back together. It`s a pain and as I`ve said there's a knack to it. After faffing with these for abit and folding them back together next is to get everything back into the drawstring bag.
This I feel is the let down of the whole bivvy as it is such a squeeze to get it back into its own bag. As with all tents when they are put in the bag for the first time in the factory these are ideal conditions and not wet, muddy, wild outside conditions.
In the end all I put back in the original bag was the bivvy, poles and the pegs as this is what I would need to hand on the bank. The rest of the panels and door panels are kept in my barrow bag along with the winter skin and groundsheet or left at home.
I think that a bag with a zip full length is the way to go for the future for this bivvy as putting it back into that drawstring bag after a 48hour session when wet and tired is going to be a right pain. In fact I have already been looking at Buying a zipped bivvy holdall.
First Sessions.
I have used the bivvy at my local for a few 24 hour stints and all I can say is that it all went fine no problems what so ever. The weather was bad it was cold and raining and it was fine no leaks no problems. The quality is very good for the small price tag. The zips on the doors work well, there is just enough space for a bedchair and all my tackle (Carp-zone food bag, clothes holdall, rig box/table and bait buckets). If you take everything and the kitchen sink I would go for the two man but for the average carper this bivvy has plenty of room.
Conclusion.
I`m not going to bang on about spec`s this and spec`s that because this can all be found on the website. What I will say is that this bivvy does have its bad points but I feel that the good points outweigh the bad ten fold. The versatility of the front panel is brilliant plus once put up and down a few times this can be put up and down lightning fast. Everything is cut well the seams are taped well nothing has come apart and all the zips work well too.
Even with the tight drawstring bag and the faffy poles I put this bivvy up and down on the first attempt in 15 mins. That was including skipping thought the video on how to put it up. It would be nice to see a full length zip bag for ease of putting away and modification of the mid-rib pole in the future. The longevity is yet to be seen as I havnt had it long but hopefully it will last a few years to come.
Personally I would recommend this bivvy to any carper on a tight budget.
UPDATE.
Bivvy has been good nothing has ripped or come undone the poles are getting a bit faffy may need some kind of lube.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this review please mention it when placing an order.
Average Joe carp novice.
Even with the tight drawstring bag and the faffy poles I put this bivvy up and down on the first attempt in 15 mins. That was including skipping thought the video on how to put it up. It would be nice to see a full length zip bag for ease of putting away and modification of the mid-rib pole in the future. The longevity is yet to be seen as I havnt had it long but hopefully it will last a few years to come.
Personally I would recommend this bivvy to any carper on a tight budget.
UPDATE.
Bivvy has been good nothing has ripped or come undone the poles are getting a bit faffy may need some kind of lube.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this review please mention it when placing an order.
Average Joe carp novice.
Come back soon for review on Carp-Zone barrow!
I am waiting for one to be delivered. I am booked for 5 nights at welham from 11 may so it should be a good test. Hope its as good as it sounds.
ReplyDelete@John Jones, was the bivvy any good, just bought one myself?
ReplyDeleteWhere can I get tension bars from please
ReplyDelete