Spending any extended amount of time in the mountains can leave you at the mercy of mother nature. She can be relentless and unforgiving. In the blink of an eye it can go from 60 degrees and sunny to snowing.
My first time exeriencing this was a 2nd rifle elk season in Colorado. it was sunny, then rain, then snowing, and finished with a strong thunderstorm that sent me barreling down the mountain seeking shelter. I learned quickly how a lightweight shleter can come in handy for those unforeseen circumstances. This was my first ever hunt in the mountains and that usually comes with hard lessons learned. For instance carrying a 55lb pack around the mountains for 8 days is not a good idea.
During that hunt, It didnt take long for me to starting leaving unnecessary gear back at camp. One of those items was my two person "backpacking" tent. At 4.7 lbs I thought it was light enough. However, it began to feel closer to 15 after a few trips up the mountain. When I returned home that year i began to search affordable lightweight shelters. After some research I came accross the idea of a Bivvy tarp. My first thoughts? NO WAY! I was stuck on the fact that the ends were open and something would come and eat my face while I was sleeping. I kept picturing myself in a mountain lions eyes. The only thing that came to mind was that they would think i was a backstrap taco.
I continued on my hunt for the perfect shelter but found myself going back to the bivvy tarps. One of those shelters was The Mountain Ambush Bivvy. I read about the Shelter and all of the options for setup. Its an extremely versatile 10x10 waterproof tarp. Other features are multiple setup configurations, and reflective wrapped edges, making it very simple to find camp in the dark. The best part? It weighs in at only 1lb 14 oz. I pulled the trigger and bought it.
Fast forward a few years and I continue to use this shelter every chance I get. I absolutely love it. I can fit myself, my pack one other person and gear if necessary. It can also be used as a wind block while glassing or just a roof to get out of the weather during mid day storms.
2020 Archery Elk season in Colorado was another roller coaster of a season with the weather. Our first night we hiked in several miles. We finally made it to where we wanted to glass for the evening and a storm rolled in. We found shelter in the only standing timber that didn't have beetle kill. By the time we set up camp there was an inch or two of snow on the ground. The Mountain Ambush Bivvy held strong and kept me dry all night with little to no condensation build up.
For more information on this Tarp go to https://mountainambush.com/product/mountain-ambush-bivy-tarp/ . With a price point of only $69.99 it is the perfect budget friendly shelter with the quality that matches if not outperforms industry leading shelters.
Also this item was featured in December's Mountain Hunter Box. When we claim to actually test the gear before sending it out to our customers, we mean it!
