Zenbivvy

Got this in from the states. Been eyeballing these for near a couple years.
Zenbivvy Quilt system. got the 10f set- which equates to neg7 Celsius comfort and neg12 limit apparently.
This has 800 loft fill. Quilt itself is regular and the flat quilt option- so opens out to a rectangle blanket. Weighs 900g- yep up there for a quilt.
Quilt material is 20D Nylon Taffeta 380T.

The sheet setup is brilliant. Quilt clips to the side skirts, hood has same down fill, so the sheet/hood serves 2 purposes 1. prevents the quilt moving when you roll over 2. provides head warmth.
The sheet setup slips over your mat- and has 2 thin straps/clips under the mat.
Will the clip system be a pain? Probably no more of a paint that sleep bag lining getting caught in bag zipper in the middle of the night. Speaking of that- the quilt should allow easy night wees off the side of the mat, if required.
Build quality is super- I cant fault it. My mrs is a sewer of many decades- she hasn't found anything untoward with manufacture.

I got this cos looking for a quilt, but didn't want to get cold air rushing in when rolling over- and I tend to change position often-(also allows stomach sleeping easily).Also looking for comfort.
I very nearly bought this and also the lighter quilt option,,,, shoulda.
All up- the sheet/hood and the quilt and the crambag with compression straps comes in at 1300g.
That's 500g less than my 24 year old Macpac Solstice and 450g more than my Macpac Express 400 in crambag.

The Solstice has never ever given me anything but a comfy toasty sleep in temps down to neg 5 under a fly, sometimes with snow on the ground.
I'm betting this will be same but not give me the strangulation of a mummy bag.
My main reasons for going this way are the sheet/hood-the softness of the sheet on the mat- no constriction- and overall comfort- yep I don't mind carrying a little extra weight for the comfort gains.
Wish I had of got a lighter quilt as well at the same time.

I also got the large air bladder pillow, with down topper and red pillow case- OMG, sooooooo comfy. Pillowcase clips inside the sheet/hood to keep put.
Dry bag/crambag has a one way valve to purge air during compression, great feature.

I paid more for faster shipping- ordered Friday- at my house in Wellington today/Tuesday.


Will report back once its been used in the field.

Ants

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Hey thanks @ANTSMAN for the review. Be really cool to hear how it goes. Dan Becker did an interview with the owner/designer of Zen Bivy recently on Youtube. He's ex-MSR and designed a lot of cool products like the Hubba Hubba back in the day. He also describes the development of this product.

One of the benefits of a lightweight set up is you can add little luxuries. I've got an Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt (well a few) and at 550-650g. Sleep is important for recovery, so I've added a couple of extras that really help. A silk liner for the pad (got a few in the markets of Vietnam for like $5), weights 160g. Kiwi ultralight do sleeping pad covers that are much lighter. The other thing I'm adding is a real cushion, pillow - funnily enough from the living from couch. Bulky, probably 500g, but worth it. Found the inflatable pillows okay, but not what I'm used to. Granted nothing like the Zen Bivy, but sufficient for a really comfortable sleep.

https://zenbivy.com

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Originally Posted by Snoppernator

Hey thanks @ANTSMAN for the review. Be really cool to hear how it goes. Dan Becker did an interview with the owner/designer of Zen Bivy recently on Youtube. He's ex-MSR and designed a lot of cool products like the Hubba Hubba back in the day. He also describes the development of this product.

One of the benefits of a lightweight set up is you can add little luxuries. I've got an Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt (well a few) and at 550-650g. Sleep is important for recovery, so I've added a couple of extras that really help. A silk liner for the pad (got a few in the markets of Vietnam for like $5), weights 160g. Kiwi ultralight do sleeping pad covers that are much lighter. The other thing I'm adding is a real cushion, pillow - funnily enough from the living from couch. Bulky, probably 500g, but worth it. Found the inflatable pillows okay, but not what I'm used to. Granted nothing like the Zen Bivy, but sufficient for a really comfortable sleep.

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No worries mate, yep I've seen that interview by Dan, he does great reviews. This down topper pillow, omg, so comfy.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

https://zenbivy.com

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yeah saw that -5f stuff Bruce, I coulda got the ultralight setup which is available now, but can't see the point in the cost increase over the small weight saving, so got the lite bed setup. I had thought long and hard about going Kiwiultralight, but my priority list was the hood setup, and not letting cold in when turning over. I had even toyed with the Kiwiultralight quilt used with the zenbiv sheet/hood- but in the end said fark it, and just took the plunge.

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Originally Posted by Snoppernator

Hey thanks @ANTSMAN for the review. Be really cool to hear how it goes. Dan Becker did an interview with the owner/designer of Zen Bivy recently on Youtube. He's ex-MSR and designed a lot of cool products like the Hubba Hubba back in the day. He also describes the development of this product.

One of the benefits of a lightweight set up is you can add little luxuries. I've got an Enlightened Equipment Revelation quilt (well a few) and at 550-650g. Sleep is important for recovery, so I've added a couple of extras that really help. A silk liner for the pad (got a few in the markets of Vietnam for like $5), weights 160g. Kiwi ultralight do sleeping pad covers that are much lighter. The other thing I'm adding is a real cushion, pillow - funnily enough from the living from couch. Bulky, probably 500g, but worth it. Found the inflatable pillows okay, but not what I'm used to. Granted nothing like the Zen Bivy, but sufficient for a really comfortable sleep.

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Have a look at the Nemo Fillo Elite, amazing wee thing packs down tiny as and is super comfortable like a real pillow compared to the normal lightweight air pillows

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Tried to upload these with original post- failed, Mrs took over the new purchase and had first try.

That's almost creepy lol

Wow, that looks sooo cozy. What would the total weight of your whole system be? Matress, quilt system etc. I have been thinking about getting a decent sleeping bag but the Zenbivy system has caught my eye so now tossing up what I should do. Cheers

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Originally Posted by MonkeyNutz

Wow, that looks sooo cozy. What would the total weight of your whole system be? Matress, quilt system etc. I have been thinking about getting a decent sleeping bag but the Zenbivy system has caught my eye so now tossing up what I should do. Cheers

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1300g for the quilt with sheet/hood and the dry/crambag +sea to summit mat 500g ish +pillow 100g so 1900g or something, but remember this is a winter setup, the 0 degree setup would be 350grams lighter(quilt 300g and sheet/hood 50g).

Depending on what you want it for, may be better off with the Kiwiultralight quilt 620g(no Zenbivvy sheet/hood) and your air mat 500g?=1300g ish with dry/crambag.

The thing everyone forgets- is the weight of the dry/cram bag- cos that's never included in the weight of the quilt online, then pillow, then silk liner or whatever else ya use.
For me, id prefer to carry the extra weight, knowing i wont be cold- hate cold sleeps, tradeoffs are more manageable in warmer seasons, but not winter for me.

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Originally Posted by Micky Duck

That's almost creepy lol

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Yes I agree, she can be a bit creepy sometimes:)

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Originally Posted by MonkeyNutz

Wow, that looks sooo cozy. What would the total weight of your whole system be? Matress, quilt system etc. I have been thinking about getting a decent sleeping bag but the Zenbivy system has caught my eye so now tossing up what I should do. Cheers

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also, I've always had Macpac sleep bags- great gear but, hate the strangulation, hate the confinement after long days in the hills and ya muscles cramp at night in a sleep bag- and hate the fabric getting caught in the zips,,,, every farken time :)

Update- used the Zenbiv system on my Sea to Summit ultralite mat- slept on the tussock tops in Tararua under a tent fly- absolute brilliant. So effin comfortable, being able to roll over at will, with "no" constriction. Was easy as pie unhooking the attachment loops to get in or out. The whole system quilt+hooded sheet+their down topper pillow was so so so comfy. Was maybe 8 to 10 degrees overnight- I could easily kick ma legs to let some hot air(and farts) out and cool air in. Love it.
If anyone has any questions lemme know.

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And yes that is left over xmas ham STEAKS heated in wraps.

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Originally Posted by ANTSMAN

Update- used the Zenbiv system on my Sea to Summit ultralite mat- slept on the tussock tops in Tararua under a tent fly- absolute brilliant. So effin comfortable, being able to roll over at will, with "no" constriction. Was easy as pie unhooking the attachment loops to get in or out. The whole system quilt+hooded sheet+their down topper pillow was so so so comfy. Was maybe 8 to 10 degrees overnight- I could easily kick ma legs to let some hot air(and farts) out and cool air in. Love it.
If anyone has any questions lemme know.

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Hunting? How did it go?

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Hunting? How did it go?

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yep hunting- fantastic, but no as in zero deer- 2 dudes there before us- shot one, maybe used 10 rounds- seen nothing else seen once we got there(yep using thermal too) :(

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Originally Posted by ANTSMAN

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Tried to upload these with original post- failed, Mrs took over the new purchase and had first try.

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That top picture is weird, ya shoulda taken your glasses off . . . .

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Originally Posted by Tentman

That top picture is weird, ya shoulda taken your glasses off . . . .

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That's mrs Ants mate , its ok, I wont tell her :)