Forum Index > Trail Talk > Bivy Sacks - do you get paranoid in them
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Steve
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Steve
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PostTue May 14, 2002 8:19 am 
A few years ago I made a gore-tex bivy sack and have used it a few times and don't mind sleeping in it comfort-wise, but I get paranoid thinking about going into bear country where I know bears roam through camp (because I've seen them). I was in the Grand Valley two years ago and was in my bivy and had my hand over my forehead to keep the bug netting off my face when all of a sudden I feel my finger being bitten. I opened my eyes to see a deer sampling me. It makes me nervous that a bear might view me the same way and I assume would be a less pleasant experience than with a deer. So my question for the bivy users is: Do you feel like a bear burrito when you are in one? Do you avoid using one in bear country?

Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt.
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Bear A. Noid
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PostTue May 14, 2002 11:25 am 
Your average bear can probably crack open the tent taco as easily as a bivy burrito. But that extra 12" of air sure feels protective!

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Dslayer
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PostTue May 14, 2002 12:14 pm 
Tent or bivy sack doesn't make much difference to me in dispelling paranoia---I was afraid that some frolicking deer might trample me one night in my bivy sack up at Crag Lake in the Bumping drainage, they were playing and running around and I wasn't sure they wouldn't run right over the top of me as I slept in camp.

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is my concealed weapon permit."-Ted Nugent
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polarbear
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polarbear
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PostTue May 14, 2002 6:43 pm 
I talked with a guy who had backpacked on Vancouver Island. He had a bivy sack and said the thing he didn't like was the mice running over him all night.

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McPilchuck
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McPilchuck
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PostTue May 14, 2002 11:49 pm 
I have and use a Sierra West gortex top design 1-man bivi tent, it's great! Bought it at REI about 15 years ago for about $100.00.

in the granite high-wild alpine land . . . www.alpinequest.com
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l;lkj;lk
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PostWed May 15, 2002 5:37 pm 
Your paranoia is justified. Statistically, speaking, tents are safer in bear country.

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janders
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janders
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PostWed May 15, 2002 10:05 pm 
Quote:
Your paranoia is justified. Statistically, speaking, tents are safer in bear country.
Could you explain please? I don't dispute what you're saying. Just curious to understand. Are people more likely to be attacked in a bivy v. a tent? Or just more likely to survive? Any reasons why?

"Oh dang!" - Captain Amazing
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MCaver
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PostWed May 15, 2002 11:26 pm 
"Statistically speaking".....so where are these statistics? I'm certainly interested in research done on this.

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Dslayer
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PostThu May 16, 2002 1:18 pm 
In the guidebooks I've read on Yellowstone and other bear country, they reccomend tents-they think that they are more imposing than a human lying on the ground or the smaller sacks. I don't know what stats verify that belief, but when it comes to grizzlies, I'll take their word for it, paticularly since they won't let you roam around armed.

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is my concealed weapon permit."-Ted Nugent
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salish
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PostFri May 17, 2002 10:21 am 
I'm thinking about a bivy as an emergency item. I hunt chukar on the high ridges of the L.T. Murray and Yakima River in the absolute worst winter conditions in December & January, and if you break a leg and have to spend the night an emergency space blanket just doesn't sound as good. How small can these bivy bags pack down to and how much do they weigh? Thanks, Cliff

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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Dslayer
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PostFri May 17, 2002 1:04 pm 
Cablela's sells one that rolls up into about the size of a pop can for about 99$---it's not bad for summer, I've used it quite a bit--combined with a space blanket it would probably do the job for what you describe-that's pretty tough country.

"The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights is my concealed weapon permit."-Ted Nugent
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polarbear
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PostSat May 18, 2002 10:30 am 
This site recommends a tent. http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/safety/bears.htm I sleep in my bear costume and have never been attacked.

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Slide Alder Slayer
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PostSun May 19, 2002 11:44 am 
I’m not a bear expert. My wife and I have had only one very close encounter with a large black bear during a hike on the Golden Lakes Loop. It was very anti-climatic, as soon as I said (Hey Bear!); the bear turned around and walked off. I just know what I have read. As I understand, tents are confusing to bears.

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salish
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salish
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PostMon May 20, 2002 8:05 am 
Three summers ago I was fishing Hosmer Lake in the Oregon Cascades and had a bad encounter with a campground bear. We were in a large tent and this bear visited us three times in one night and kept circling our tent and trying to figure a way to get in. I'd see his great shaggy black head a couple of feet away from me through the mesh window and he'd huff & puff and stamp his feet. We had no food in the tent and our food was locked in coolers 15 feet away on the picnic table. None of us was wearing cologne, so we couldn't think of why this happened. We were thinking maybe the tents seam sealing was done with something strong. Anyway, this bear was truculent, and we couldn't figure out why. We tried being quiet, yelling, etc, but he kept coming back to the tent. He eventually gave up and left and we fell asleep around 3am. In the morning we found his tracks all around our tent - back and forth, but very few around the food. Anyway, the point is if we had been sleeping on the ground in the open (as I usually do) or in a simple bag it might have been a little scarier. I think the tent actually confused the bear. And I have to say, it provided me with a little more composure. Dslayer - thanks for the tip on the Cabelas bag.

My short-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my short-term memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
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#19
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PostMon May 20, 2002 8:14 am 
Great bear story Salish! And
Quote:
truculent
Wow!! Love that word! biggrin.gif biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

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