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1.5 Pound Bivy Shelter Designed for the Thru-Hiker
by Dick Vogel
As
soon as I heard about the 1.5 pound Nomad Lite bivy shelter designed and built by
backpacker Kurt Russell of Wanderlust Outdoor Gear, I ordered one. It just got here
yesterday. After setting it up in my yard, I packed my winter gear and went to test it at
White Ranch Park in the foothills northwest of Denver, Colorado.
I arrived at my camp at sundown and set up the Nomad in about 6 minutes. Not bad for my second time setting it up. The Nomad requires a peg at the foot and one at the head. Next I used two hiking poles set in an "A" frame configuration inside the shelter. Then I completed the setup by putting a light pole at the end of the awning, pegging a guyline to the pole and putting a spreader bar in at the foot of the bivy shells.
There was plenty of room inside for me and my gear. I sat down in my 10-ounce chair and meditated. My head just brushed the top of the Nomad. I was comfortable. Before I went to sleep, I used a 1-ounce stove that burns an Esbit fuel tab to boil water in a sierra cup for tea. I did this outside at the end of the awning. Out in the woods the coyotes were barking and howling and an owl was hooting. When I woke up at 5:30 the next morning, it was snowing lightly. I felt around inside the Nomad for condensation. There was NONE-not even one small drop anywhere.
The Nomad is truly an amazing shelter. It comes with a small stuff stack for the three aluminum poles and the guyline for the awning. There is another 4" X 18" stuff sack for the entire bivy. All you need is three tent pegs. The total weight is one pound ten ounces. The Nomad is 9' 6" in length and the floor is shaped like an elongated diamond that is 5' 6" in the middle and tapers toward the foot. It is well ventilated with about a 3 foot wide door that is covered with mosquito netting that can be pulled out of the way with a velcro sticker.
Catty-corner from the door and high up on the wall is about a 12" porthole covered with mosquito netting and protected from rain by a hood. On the front near the foot is another small covered opening. An awning sticks out about 4 feet from the door. This awning can be lowered in severe weather.
The Nomad is made of 1.1 oz. Silicon-impregnated nylon. The mosquito net door can be closed with velcro so that no zippers are used in manufacture of the bivy. The floor is black to aid in drying. Unlike any manufacturer that I am aware of, the Nomad comes already seam-sealed.
The manufacturer warns against using any flame anywhere near the Nomad -no candle lanterns, no stoves and no cigars. The Nomad should not be pitched near a fire. The material it is constructed of is extremely thin, and heat from flames can melt a hole in the shelter very quickly.
The bivy is designed and manufactured by Kurt Russell of Wanderlust Outdoor Gear. The price was $250 plus ($3-$5 shipping). The price is going up, but I don't know how much. Kurt is a backpacker who plans to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail next year. He and two through-hikers have been testing the shelter. Although he calls the Nomad calls it a bivy, you can sit up in it and it is bigger than a one-person tent I used to ovm.
I only have two small problems with the Nomad. The awning tends to flap it a strong breeze. This can be fixed by putting a second guyiine at 90 degrees to the one that comes with the tent. If you don't extend both of the hiking poles as far as possible, a pole can come lose when you hit it with your head and could possibly puncture the Nomads' wall. The solution is to be sure that the poles are extended enough to put tension on the shelter body.
In the last four years I've used one bivy sack, four tents and two tarps. The Nomad Lite is by far the best solution I have found for a light-weight backpacking shelter. My only other concern is will my shepherd-lab puppy be able to fit in the tent with me when she grows up. Stay tuned and I'll let you know.
Kurt Russell
Wanderlust Outdoor Gear
Email: info@wanderlust.com
WWW: http://wanderlustgear.com