Oware Drawcord Bivysack Review

Oware Drawcord Bivysack Review

Basic Description:
A light weight bivy sack with a draw cord closure, great for use under a tarp or any other floorless shelter, where you will not get direct rain on the bivy.

Just the Facts:
6 ounces and uses a 20 denier Quartex breathable water resistant top. The bottom of the bivy is 1.1 ounce silicon impregnated nylon which is water proof.

Story:
Last year for my scouting and hunting trips I was running a very ultra-light setup with a Kifaru supertarp and Z-packs down quilt. I was looking for a water resistant breathable bivy that would keep the condensation, bugs and anything else off of my sleeping bag. I stumbled across Oware and started talking to David about my needs. He recommended their draw cord closure bivy sack, as lightweight and simple was important to me. This bivy uses a draw top closure with the last 2 feet of so of the bivy being mesh, so you can breathe while sleeping. It also has a little loop so you can suspend the mesh up to your tarp to keep it off you face. Most of the time when I used this bivy I didn’t even close the end of it and it worked great!

The materials that Oware is using for this bivy are great and they are sewn together very well. One thing I look out for when getting gear from smaller companies is the craftsmanship and how well their products are put together. Oware does very well and this bivy seems to have a solid construction. I was able to fit a thermarest Neo air all-season and my down quilt inside the bivy, I wouldn’t say there is a lot of room in the foot box of this bivy but there is enough for my needs. For reference a Montbell UL super spiral down 15 degree bag fits in with this same setup. For using a 4 season bag I would recommend having your pad on the outside of the bivy, to allow your bag to loft all the way.

This bivy is great and just what I was looking for and affordable, water resistant yet breathable bivy that will work really well for my 3 season sleep system. After using it quite a bit I really have come to like the draw top closure and not having to worry about an ultra–light zipper snagging on the fabric. It is very simple and does exactly what I need it to do.

What they could do better:
I know the name of the game is ultra-light with this product but I think having the foot box be a little bigger would be great, it would allow a 4 season pad and zero degree bag to fit inside the bivy and give you a little wiggle room down by your feet. But this is not needed and the bivy works really well as is.