The only time I have thought about owning a bivy is when I am running out of daylight and there is nowhere to camp. (Where I hike we are supposed to stick to legitimate campsites). Under this circumstance I think it would be nice to simply lay down a bivy on the trail and go to sleep. No muss no fuss. I could do the same using just my sleeping bag but then I would worry about rain the whole night. I think a bivy could be a good emergency rig too. Probably a guy could just crawl in with his cloths on and stay warm and dry until morning. I would choose a bivy that was breathable even if it wasn’t totally waterproof. Condensation is bad news and defeats the purpose in a hurry.

Howie