'V' is for...
Versatile, ventilated, vigilant and very bloody good! Say hello to your next valid and vital purchase: the new VisorLite Bivvy from Chub
Come rain or shine, it’s your little home from home for the weekend and the essential piece of kit needed to house you and all your gear. Yes, it is of course your bivvy. The shelter in which you sit, sleep and watch the lake from can make or break a session when it comes to comfort. Although too much comfort often equals ‘too heavy’, and perhaps worse still, the word ‘lightweight’ can often mean a soggy night’s kip or a face full of insect bites. So what’s the answer? Well, you’re just about to find out…
Do me a favour! It’s just another pram-hood bivvy and which normally weigh a tonne.
Yes, the principle design style is pram-hood based, but there is a significant ‘tweak’ on this design to be found. The two poles, or ribs, to the bivvy are split at the base and set apart, which in turn increases the interior space massively without lengthening the bivvy and its footprint. Instead, there is more height and headroom at the rear of the shelter allowing you to use a bigger bed or situate the bedchair at the very back of the bivvy. The result is again an increase is usable space rather than the bivvy becoming bigger dimensionally thus keeping the overall weight down. Amazingly the bivvy alone weighs just 6.5 kilos!
That is light, but when I’ve seen lightweight bivvies before, they often sacrifice other key features like a good waterproof material?
The Vizor Lite features Chub’s Climatex fabric, a fully waterproof material with a Hydrostatic head of 10,000mm that removes any concerns over water ingress no matter how heavy the downpour. What’s more, this is a breathable canopy, reducing condensation and the chances of the material tightening in hot weather, something that can potentially weaken the stitching and cause water leaks. In fact, Chub incorporate some clever ventilation features that don’t impair the essential waterproof purpose of the bivvy.
I’m confused: ventilation and waterproof?
Yes, what we’re talking about here is the unique ‘backdraft’ ventilation system – one of the airflow features included in the Visor Lite which basically allows you to prop open the panels that cover the rear mozzi mesh windows to allow air circulation even though the bivvy remains waterproof.
Man, that’s clever, but does it stop you fully opening the mozzi windows?
No, far from it, in fact the rear bivvy window is one of the areas where the versatility of the bivvy is really displayed. Initially you can zip back the covering panel to reveal the large mozzi mesh window. If you really want to feel an increased flow of air through the bivvy the mesh window can also be zipped away to create a fully open window. The great thing with this feature is you can use the zips from both the outside as well as the inside, meaning should you encounter rain during the night for example, you can zip the waterproof cover panel back into position without having to leave your bed. Brilliant, eh?!
I like it! Are there mozzi mesh windows at the front of the bivvy?
Yes, mozzi panels are fitted at the front of the bivvy where again a clever and versatile use of zip-in panels is utilised. Just like a conventional bivvy, there is a zip-up/zip-down door, but this is set within a dual-zip front infill panel. This means that you can zip down the whole infill panel in a ‘letterbox’ style, not just the door to provide a wide view of your swim. The infill panel can actually be zipped, and rolled right down to the floor to create an open fronted bivvy leaving all the pegs in place, meaning the infill panel can be zipped back into position quickly and easily.
Cool! Anything else I should know about?
Just a few: a heavy-duty groundsheet, T-pegs and tension bars are included in the carry bag and if you are looking to increase the bivvy size and further insulate it for cold weather conditions, an overwrap is also available.