Now that I have bought a Snugpack Stratosphere Bivi I need to decide, do I use it as a stand alone item or not? I have now played around with it, slept in it and have thought about how to manage my equipment, rucksack and boots mainly.
I did think of taking the outer cover of my Zepyros 1 tent and using it it as a Tarp but for my first outing at proper camping I think I've given up on this idea for the moment, it feels too big for what I think I need and my overall carry weight increases.
I've decided to take my Alpkit 3.5 Tarp with me instead, it will cover my head end and my torso and will offer sufficient space, either side of the Bivi to keep my rucksack covered, dry and safe. I think my boots will end up, one each side of my head, with my pillow in between. The other benefit of taking the Alpkit Tarp will be lower weight.
All I've got to do now is to go on a proper walk and test it out properly. I tried Tarping last May in the South of France but did not enjoy it, the weakness for me was the Alpkit Hunka that I took with me. I just couldn't adapt to being stuck in a long sausage for the night, getting in and out was a real faff. The reason I chose the Snugpack was because it has a raised head area and it has a long zip down one side so getting in and out will be much easier. A good test I think will be when I have to get organised when its raining, when I have to sleep all night in rain and when I wake and its raining. If I find yet again that, to Bivi and to Tarp, is not to my liking I have decided I will then either go back to my old tent for a while, or buy a Naturehike tent!