I've been considering one of the SOL Bivy's to replace or enhance the Wal-mart space blanket in the survival gear in my hiking fanny pack. Unfortunately the catalogues don't answer some of my questions. So I thought I'd ask them here. Are they as warm as they claim? What is the closure system? How hard are they to reroll/refold into factory size and put back in that tiny stuff bag they come with? On a similar note has anyone used the emergency tube tent made of space blanket material? If so, how well did it perform? What size is the package as it comes from the factory? Thanks for any information and advice you can offer on this. Snake
Several you tube vids on all three of their offerings. Having used the mylar tube tents myself I believe the SOL solutions are better.
I have 3 of the Escape models in OD green. The escape is breathable so you can sleep in it without getting wet. They are quite durable and close with a drawsting. I haven't tried one outside (they are stored in emergency truck kits) but most things like this are pretty toasty. The green ones are kinda tough to find but I think I found a store called survivalmetrics.com or something like that. I bet you could actually use it as a regular backpacking bag for a season before it would need replacement. As an emergency kit - it should last forever.
Thanks melbo The escape bivy seems massive in it's package when compared with the original SOL Bivy. They could be narrower and mummyshaped to conserve more heat IMHO
Indeed, it's much larger than the original but I've read that if you ever have to use the original, you'll wake up 100% soaked through in sweat. It's not massive and is certainly smaller than my most lightweight Western Mountaineering down bag.
I'm 98.55% certain mine is a zipper down the side with a drawstring around the a face opening but will double check when I get home.
I had one of the original SOL bivy bags. mine closed halfway down with Velcro tabs and was closed up the rest of the way. I used mine as a bag cover for a 30 degree bag in less than ideal conditions....I think it dropped to well below zero that night. The combo of the bivy as a cover and the bag inside, and I was toasty warm. beware however in that it does hold in moisture and doe not breath. And they are a pain in the butt to re-roll and stuff into their original bag....
My 2013 OD Sol Escape is zipper closure (just checked). It's not hard to repack at all and I think I actually got it a lot tighter than how it shipped. Might try to vacuum pack one and see how flat and small it can get. When spring comes, I'm going to test one of these Get Home Bags with a night or two out.
