The Borah Gear Bug Bivy is a reasonably priced bivy for use under a variety of tarps when there is mild to medium bug pressure. It can add a few degrees of warmth to your sleep setup and is also great for cowboy camping. It weighs between 5.5 – 6.5 oz and can add a lot of versatility to your shelter system. There are other similar bivies out there, but none of them hit such a remarkable price point.
Specs at a Glance
- Opening: chest zipper or side zipper
- Seasons: 3
- Fabric: 0.7 oz no-see-um netting, and 1.3 oz silpoly floor
- Dimensions: 73″ in girth at the shoulders, 64″ at the feet for Standard/Standard
- Trail weight: 5.5 oz Standard/Standard
Construction
The Borah Gear Bug Bivy is an ultralight bivy constructed with .7 oz no-see-um netting and a 1.3 oz silpoly floor. It comes in a number of different configurations. You can choose a side zipper or chest zipper and between four sizes: Standard/Standard, Long/Standard, Standard/Wide, and Long/Wide. All options are also available with their Cuben (Dyneema ) Bug Bivy which is constructed with a 0.5 oz DCF floor and 0.5 oz no-see-um netting, weighs an ounce or so less, and is double the cost.
Their zippers are #3 coil and there are two sliders for ease of use. There are also loops on the foot end of the bivy for hanging it out to dry. The Standard/Standard Bug Bivy weighs 5.5 oz, and the Long/Wide (the one I have) is 6.5 oz.
Interior Room/Sizing
According to Borah Gear, the Standard fits users up to 6′ 1″, and the Long fits users up to 6′ 4″. The shoulder girth of the Standard is 73″, and the Wide is 78”. At the foot end, the Standard is 64″ while the Wide is 66”. They recommend that users who weigh 180 – 220 lbs use a wide. They also recommend that if you use a 25″ wide pad (like me), to go with a wide regardless of your weight. Users over 220 lbs or 6′ 4″, should contact Borah Gear for custom sizing.
I purchased the Long/Wide so that I can use a long/wide Therm-A-Rest Neo Air, a 20-degree quilt, and occasionally a 50-degree synthetic quilt inside it. I’m 5’ 11” and 160 lbs and the interior room is just fine for me, maybe even a little overkill. If you are over 220 lbs or 6’ 4”, or just want more room, don’t fret, custom sizing is free in most cases.
This bivy is most comfortable for me when I suspend the head end and get it off my face. I don’t really mind the constriction of a bivy sack but I can’t stand the mesh on my face!
I do sometimes wish the zipper went a bit further down the side. I’d like to be able to get in and out more easily. I wonder if a full-length zipper right down the middle would ultimately be a better zipper orientation for me. Borah Gear does custom work, so they will likely entertain ideas like this.
Modularity
I have used the Borah Gear Bug Bivy many nights under my Mountain Laurel Designs Duomid. I’ve also paired it with a Mountain Laurel Designs Grace Tarp, a Mountain Laurel Designs Trailstar, a MYOG flat tarp, and a ZPacks Pocket Tarp w/ Doors, and it works well with all of them.
I’ve also cowboy camped in this bivy many a cloudless night in the Utah desert. If you want to increase the versatility of a tarp you have, the Borah Gear Bug Bivy may be one way to do it. It gives you a floor to prevent pad punctures, netting to keep bugs out, and increases the overall warmth of your sleep system by a few degrees, all for only 5.5 – 6.5 oz of added gear weight.
Insect Protection
The Borah Gear Bug Bivy will protect you from ticks, scorpions, spiders, and other crawling things. It does quite well with gnats too. If you can get the mesh off your face, you’ll be safe from mosquitos. If you can’t, or if it’s too hot to sleep inside your sleeping bag, they will eat you alive right through the mesh. This happened to me one June night next to the Green River in Southern Utah. Bottom line: really heavy bug pressure may sometimes necessitate the use of a double-wall tent. But for mild to medium bug pressure—or if you’re hiding from ground crawlers—I really like the Borah Gear Bug Bivy.
Condensation and Warmth
It’s always surprising to me how much additional warmth no-see-um netting adds to a sleep system. When I wake up in the middle of the night and unzip my bivy I can almost always feel the temperature drop a few degrees.
Depending on the conditions, bivies can either help with condensation or make it worse. Sometimes, if I’m breathing all night inside the bivy, I get a pool of condensation across the chest of my quilt. This is worse if I can’t get the mesh off my face.
If I can suspend it from something (I now have mitten hooks inside my ZPacks Pocket Tarp w/ Doors for this purpose) then this is less of an issue. The added space seems to allow my breath to disperse more widely and make it all the way through the mesh. In this case, condensation will land on the tarp and the mesh, and not my sleeping bag, which is ideal.
I switched to the Borah Bug Bivy bivy from a bivy with a solid outer material like the MLD Superlight Bivy, because it trapped even more water vapor, sandwiching it between the layers. The Borah Gear Bug Bivy works better for me in this regard.
Comparable Bug Bivies and Shelters
Make / Model | Weight | Opening |
---|---|---|
Katabatic Gear Pinon Bivy | 7.3 oz / 207g | Top |
Borah Ultralight Bivy | 5.0 oz / 142 g | Chest |
Mountain Laurel Designs Superlight Bivy | 5.5 oz / 156 g | Side |
Paria Outdoor Breeze Bivy | 13 oz / 369g | Top |
Hyperlite Mountain Gear Ultamid 2 Insert | 14.8 oz / 419g | Side |
Mountain Laurel Designs Bug Bivy | 6.5 oz / 184g | Top |
Six Moon Designs Serenity Net Tent | 11 oz / 312g | Side |
Outdoor Research Bug Bivy | 16 oz / 454g | Front |
SlingFin SplitWing Mesh Body | 11.2 oz / 318g | Front |
Yama Mountain Gear 1P Bug Shelter | 9.3 oz / 272g | Front |
Six Moon Designs Deschutes Tarp (with skirt option) | 16 oz / 454g | Front |
Recommendation
The Borah Gear Bug Bivy is a light, reasonably priced, well-constructed bivy offering several sizes and zipper configurations. It can be custom made even larger often for no extra charge. It effectively keeps crawling insects and gnats out of your sleeping area and protects you from mosquitos as well, as long as you don’t have a shoulder or knee pressing up against the mesh. The price of this bivy is one of the things that makes it really compelling; $85 for a well-made piece of gear that can be paired with countless different tarps is a great deal.
Disclosure: The author purchased this product.
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I have another brand of bivy with a zipper at the head and I cannot wiggle into and out of it with my back and sciatic problems. I may try to spring for one of these, but I’d definitely ask for a longer zipper.
I wonder if giving this a permethrin treatment will make any difference with mosquitos?
Yeah, the side zip is way better than chest zip. Highly recommend.
And yeah, permethrin isn’t a bad idea. But in July in the Uintas I might just take my Duomid with Solomid XL inner… At least they’ll be buzzing further from my face.
I agree, a side zip is the only way to go. Way easier to use.
I have different bug Bivy with a top zipper. I find it is much easier than I would expect with a side entrance but with one major condition: the Bivy net has to be unfurled (in other words down). After you get in (by crawling into the tarp) you get in and only after you are fully in the Bivy and laying flat do you pull up the Bivy cords to “lift it” up. A side entrance requires that Bivy to be up before hand and I can imaging how I would enter if the I use the Bivy under a Tarp (which already low level).
Spot on review Ben! I’ve had the ultralight side zip for 3 years and really like it. As an active side sleeper the bivy keeps me locked in place on a women’s neoair xtherm with quilt. It definitely helps with wind, splash and warmth. In the mountain west I am able to keep the netting open after mosquito season, this works great in the fall and eliminates the condensation. If I was to order again I would go with the regular wide for additional wiggle room. The price is great and the workmanship is solid. If you are considering a lightweight bivy I would definitely recommend checking out the Borah products.
I have the regular Borah bivy, and think maybe bug bivy is the better way to go. With bug netting it will breath better than the regular one I’m still learning to use. Staying warm means staying dry, staying dry requires ventilation. Craftsmanship on mine is excellent nevertheless, and I’m using it on the wet/damp AT, so perhaps the regular bivy would be also more suited to the dryer western climate. Staff at Borah also top notch!
I also purchased this bug bivy and really like it. I got it custom-sized to be wider as I’m a larger active sleeper with a 25″ pad. Staff at Borah very pleasant and helpful during the purchase process. I have the side zip and find it relatively simple to get out and “go for a walk” as needed in the middle of the night. I would recommend utilizing a ground tarp (I use a polycryo one) to make it simpler roll out of it.
I had a bug bivy from Borah and found it to be too small for me in almost every configuration. Borah recommended a long/wide based on my size and I got it but found it difficult to even zip into when using a summer weight quilt and 2.5″ inflatable. This was true with 20″ or 25″ pads.
If you’re on the larger side and/or use an inflatable pad, I would very much recommend asking about custom sizing. Great company and quality, just a tight fit. I gave mine to a smaller friend and even they wondered how it could be a long/wide.
I have the regular Borah bivy, and think maybe bug bivy is the better way to go. With bug netting it will breath better than the regular one I’m still learning to use. Staying warm means staying dry, staying dry requires ventilation. Craftsmanship on mine is excellent nevertheless, and I’m using it on the wet/damp AT, so perhaps the regular bivy would be also more suited to the dryer western climate. Staff at Borah also top notch!