Originally Posted By Bike_packer
... I was wondering do a lot of year-round Backpackers buy an ultra-light bivy with a net over the face and then use that year-round, or do they buy a bivy for every season? The other question is can you get by with just a bug bivy during the warmer months to keep mosquitoes and creepy crawlies off of your face and in the colder months not use a bivy at all? I do not know enough about bivies to know if they also help keep you warm? ...


I am not super experienced with bivvies, so you can take my advice for what it is worth. There are different kind of bivvies. Some can be nothing more than a net with a ground sheet. Most are made out of a breathable fabric (on top) with netting over your face. Some are made out of water proof fabric. The waterproof ones can keep you warmer, but you run the risk of trapping all of your body moisture and wetting out your sleeping bag/quilt. If your insulation becomes wet it won't do much insulating.

When I was a kid my father and I always winter camped with a tarp and no bug protection. Like others on here I use a lightweight tent. By the time you add a bivy and tarp they weigh about the same. I think the forums at backpackinglight have more bivy users but you need to pay now to post there.