Yea, we have seen the light! The fast and light, that is, and woe unto those who travel with too much crap on their back, for they shall wail and gnash their nasty teeth and beat their sunken chests. Go forth and get a bivy, we say.
The Marmot Alpinist bivy is about as minimalist as possible. Constructed from Marmot's 40D Nylon Membrain waterproof breathable fabric, and with fully taped seams, the Alpinist weighs in at less than a pound. It rolls up the size of a quart bottle, although it will also flatten in your pack so it can be crammed in anywhere. Feature-wise it has a three-way zipper and… well, that's all. It's big at 36"x86" so you won't have any problem stuffing a sleeping pad inside; that will also keep it from rolling too much so you can find the zipper easily. This is definitely not for the claustrophobic, however.
The 3-way zipper allows for one or two openings, starting above your pointy little head and going down the left side far enough to get in or out with just a little wrangling. There's a good storm flap that with a little forethought allows for multiple venting configurations. Probably not a good idea to zip it all the way up, although we didn't test it that way. Again, the key word is minimalist: there is no mesh and no pole. It would be nice to see a little of each, but then that would add to the weight. The Alpinist is a tough little sucker too, with a slightly heavier fabric on the bottom to resist wear and tear. For ski touring, big walls and just-in-case use the Alpinist will score big with those who follow the gospel of St. Fastenlite. And in perfect GearFlogger orange, no less.
6 responses to “Marmot Alpinist Bivy”
Montbell makes a nice UL bivy as well. Breeze Dry-Tec UL at only 6.3 oz. A biking buddy used it on a recent bikepacking trip. It looked nice.
http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=33&p_id=2321027
Keep up the Lords work Gear Flogger.
Look at me the broken record. I was going to post something on the Montbell bivy but it looks like I already did back in 2009.
the price has been reduced to $79.93 at REI.
Wow, we would be warm inside it. And the price is drop. Good news.
I was going to post something on the Montbell bivy but it looks like I already did back ..thanks for the good information..keep it up..keep sending like this good post..its hlps us lot..
Marmot makes great products indeed. A biker friend was actually bragging to me about his Alpinist bivy the other day. He loves his. I’ve yet to make the plunge myself, but the dropping price sure helps.