"Tivy" (Bivy/Tent) Project Completed!

On rainy last Sunday afternoon, I finished my "tivy" and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I had to sew the tabs on the outside to tie the cords to so I can stake it. Then, once I had it staked, I cut the shape of the mosquito netting for the front door. To see the earlier stages of this project, view this post and this one.

Side view of the tivy: I have plenty of headroom and I won't bump the pole in the night.

My finished tivy: I sewed the netting along the bottom and used small strips of velcro on the sides. The pole in the center holds the top of the netting in place.

I sewed the netting onto the bottom of the tivy at the base of the triangular opening, and then sewed on some velcro tabs in three places and it closed up nicely!

I did manage to tear the fabric where the top tab attaches when I was putting the trekking pole in place, so I triple reinforced that part of the tivy. Then it was time for the moment of truth: how much did it weigh? The tivy registered at four and one-eighth ounces! My goal was four ounces. I could probably trim the eighth ounce by trimming the fabric along the seams but I don't want to risk cutting the seams. The thinner fabric is hard to cut, even with brand new sewing scissors.

Then it was time to pack my fastpack vest and see how heavy it was. My goal was to have it weigh seven pounds without water. (My water weight will vary as I go, being able to fill up fairly often, so most likely carrying 20 ounces at a time at most.) With everything packed, my vest weighed six pounds, 15 1/4 ounces. I can probably trim a little here and there by not carrying the case for my headlamp and trimming seams, but I am satisfied.

I weighed my vest on a kitchen scale. At six pounds 15.25 ounces, I am pleased. The bear spray is the heaviest thing in the pack, but I won't go without it!