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HT's Review of Ultimate Direction FK Bivy
First off, I cannot overstate just how lightweight this bivy is. It is amazing to pick up the little bag with everything inside it and realize that you have a fully contained shelter in your hand. It suddenly makes overnight running adventures seem more much realistic for these aging knees, shoulders, and back. The product gets an easy five stars for innovation and (expected) performance.
DISCLAIMER
Please understand that the below are all based on sleeping in the bivy in my home and not from field use. I am in the process of exchanging the regular for the long and have not yet received the long version. I am writing this now to get some early thoughts out there for folks since there aren't many reviews of this item on the interwebs.
LENGTH
I am 6'3" tall and took a gamble on the regular length. It was actually a workable length for me if I didn't mind my feet pressed against the end and a bit of the mesh touching my forehead. But the weight and cash costs of moving up to the long size are negligible, and I am in the process of exchanging my regular for a long. Frankly, I wonder why UD bothered to make the regular length. I think that almost anyone looking at this item will be happier shelling out the extra $10 for the long length. Who doesn't want the option to store more stuff in their shelter if possible?
OVERALL ROOM
There ain't no two ways about it - this bivy is cut tight. If you are split between which of your ground pads to use with this bivy, I recommend going with the thinner one. For reference, I am 6’3” tall and a fit 210 lbs. Years of swimming and weight lifting gave me broader shoulders than many runners. My below impressions are based on using a 3.25 inch inflatable rectangular pad pumped as firm as it would go and a Big Agnes Kings Canyon quilt.
I am comfortable in the shoulders when laying on both my side and back but it’s a bit difficult in either position to operate the zippers all the way to the end of their… zips? The ingenious wire/poles give sufficient vertical headroom so as to not feel cramped. The main issue with sizing starts at about the hips. If you are a side sleeper you may feel your hips pressed against the ceiling. And if you are side sleeper who likes to sleep with a pillow between your legs – as I am – then you should know that you probably can’t fit much more than a wadded t-shirt between your knees (but hey, that’s par for the ultra-light course, right?). You are definitely not going to be able to pair this bivy with a thick winter ground pad and a high loft sleeping bag. It is that tight. If you are a back sleeper who is comfortable with tight mummy bags I expect you will not have any issues whatsoever. The toe box has sufficient room for my size 12.5 feet to go straight up without feeling constrained.
GROUND PAD
Put simply, you gotta have one and you gotta have it inside the bivy. Now, you may be thinking to yourself – as I once did – that a way to free up space inside the bivy would be to use the ground pad beneath the bivy rather than inside it. Well, let me stop you right there. My experience is that an inflatable pad adds necessary structure to the bivy. I originally tried the bivy without a pad inside and found it impossible to keep the poles facing straight up. Basically, every time I moved the bivy rolled underneath me and collapsed onto itself. I found that a ground pad completely solves that issue. That said, I recommend you go with the thinnest ground pad you are comfortable with to maximize internal space. I don’t think you will be able to fit a pad wider than 20 inches and thicker than 3.5 inches into the pad straps without deforming the side walls. Additionally, while I did not have one handy to try myself, you might find that a ground pad that tapers from the shoulders to the feet will give you some more wiggle room where the bivy narrows past the waist.
ENTRY/EXIT
Not easy, but really not that difficult. You don't need to be a yogi to get in or out, but this also isn’t the sleep system for quick entrances and exits. I had the most luck with collapsing the foot side pole towards my feet and sliding into the opening that this creates. This left me sitting on the head side pole, so I then leaned forward and popped that out from underneath me off to the side. From there it’s just a matter of sliding in and zipping up.
BREATHABILITY
No complaints here. I’ve been in the market for a fully enclosed bivy for a while but am always deterred by reports of horrible condensation. I’ve tried bivies from mainstream equipment manufacturers and found that even one minute inside them at a store felt like being inside a black plastic trash bag. The air would start to feel stifling even before I got all the way in and zipped up. I slept on my living room floor inside this bivy with my Kings Canyon quilt and did not have a drop of condensation inside when I woke up. At no point did things start to feel humid.
DISCLAIMER
Please understand that the below are all based on sleeping in the bivy in my home and not from field use. I am in the process of exchanging the regular for the long and have not yet received the long version. I am writing this now to get some early thoughts out there for folks since there aren't many reviews of this item on the interwebs.
LENGTH
I am 6'3" tall and took a gamble on the regular length. It was actually a workable length for me if I didn't mind my feet pressed against the end and a bit of the mesh touching my forehead. But the weight and cash costs of moving up to the long size are negligible, and I am in the process of exchanging my regular for a long. Frankly, I wonder why UD bothered to make the regular length. I think that almost anyone looking at this item will be happier shelling out the extra $10 for the long length. Who doesn't want the option to store more stuff in their shelter if possible?
OVERALL ROOM
There ain't no two ways about it - this bivy is cut tight. If you are split between which of your ground pads to use with this bivy, I recommend going with the thinner one. For reference, I am 6’3” tall and a fit 210 lbs. Years of swimming and weight lifting gave me broader shoulders than many runners. My below impressions are based on using a 3.25 inch inflatable rectangular pad pumped as firm as it would go and a Big Agnes Kings Canyon quilt.
I am comfortable in the shoulders when laying on both my side and back but it’s a bit difficult in either position to operate the zippers all the way to the end of their… zips? The ingenious wire/poles give sufficient vertical headroom so as to not feel cramped. The main issue with sizing starts at about the hips. If you are a side sleeper you may feel your hips pressed against the ceiling. And if you are side sleeper who likes to sleep with a pillow between your legs – as I am – then you should know that you probably can’t fit much more than a wadded t-shirt between your knees (but hey, that’s par for the ultra-light course, right?). You are definitely not going to be able to pair this bivy with a thick winter ground pad and a high loft sleeping bag. It is that tight. If you are a back sleeper who is comfortable with tight mummy bags I expect you will not have any issues whatsoever. The toe box has sufficient room for my size 12.5 feet to go straight up without feeling constrained.
GROUND PAD
Put simply, you gotta have one and you gotta have it inside the bivy. Now, you may be thinking to yourself – as I once did – that a way to free up space inside the bivy would be to use the ground pad beneath the bivy rather than inside it. Well, let me stop you right there. My experience is that an inflatable pad adds necessary structure to the bivy. I originally tried the bivy without a pad inside and found it impossible to keep the poles facing straight up. Basically, every time I moved the bivy rolled underneath me and collapsed onto itself. I found that a ground pad completely solves that issue. That said, I recommend you go with the thinnest ground pad you are comfortable with to maximize internal space. I don’t think you will be able to fit a pad wider than 20 inches and thicker than 3.5 inches into the pad straps without deforming the side walls. Additionally, while I did not have one handy to try myself, you might find that a ground pad that tapers from the shoulders to the feet will give you some more wiggle room where the bivy narrows past the waist.
ENTRY/EXIT
Not easy, but really not that difficult. You don't need to be a yogi to get in or out, but this also isn’t the sleep system for quick entrances and exits. I had the most luck with collapsing the foot side pole towards my feet and sliding into the opening that this creates. This left me sitting on the head side pole, so I then leaned forward and popped that out from underneath me off to the side. From there it’s just a matter of sliding in and zipping up.
BREATHABILITY
No complaints here. I’ve been in the market for a fully enclosed bivy for a while but am always deterred by reports of horrible condensation. I’ve tried bivies from mainstream equipment manufacturers and found that even one minute inside them at a store felt like being inside a black plastic trash bag. The air would start to feel stifling even before I got all the way in and zipped up. I slept on my living room floor inside this bivy with my Kings Canyon quilt and did not have a drop of condensation inside when I woke up. At no point did things start to feel humid.
Would Recommend:
Yes
6 of 7
found the following review helpful.