Test of the Geertop Plume II bivvy tent

 Disclaimer: This is _not_ advertisment or product placement. Any product shown here I have bought on my own, and in this test you only get to read my opinion about it. 

The Geertop Plume II bivvy tent is a hybrid between a classic hooped bivvy and a minimal 1-person tent. In difference to a hooped bivvy (like the Outdoor Research Helium Bivvy), it does contain an additional loop at the bottom of the bivvy, so that the outer walls will be in distance from the sleeper. What makes this concept really interesting is the fact that the tent has two weather protected vent areas, one at the bottom and one at the head room. This means it can be fully closed, while keeping airflow in good state. Furthermore, in summer time, and when you know it won't rain, a large part of the Plume II walls can be replaced with a moscito net, but we will take a look in more detail further on, when checking the pro and contras of this tent. To find out, I gave this tent a week of testing in the winter.

++ cheap option

The Plume II bivvy tent is sold at only around 90€ on Amazon and other trading platforms. Compared to other bivvy solutions or tents with this level of functionality, that's remarkably cheap. Does this mean the tent fails on construction, design, or materials? Let's find out why I gave two plus here, when we check the rest.

- weight

At 1.2kg for the whole pack, the Plume II is not one of the lightest candidates to carry, given the size of the tent. Many will consider to carry a tarp in addition to the Plume II, but in that case the weight will only add up. There are quite some other solutions, even offering sitting height inside the tent, at the same or less weight. Obviously those solution potentially are more expensive than the Plume, which has to be considered. Given one uses the Plume II as a standalone shelter, I would rate it's weight "ok". 

++ weather protection

The Plume II's wall material is 210T Ripstop Polyester, rated at PU5000mm water proofing for the walls, and PU8000mm for the ground material. While these values are from the vendors data sheet, and it sounds really good for a tent at this price, only a real weather test will say if the tent "just works". On Amazon and other review platforms, I have read that the tent is not waterproof, will not stand heavy rain and so on. However, I clearly cannot share this experience. During the week I've tested this tent in really bad weather conditions, from heavy rain, light rain all day long, and even snow, over the whole time, everything inside the Plume II kept staying bone dry. I was really surprised about the quality of the Ripstop material. I would suggest to use an additional ground sheet in order to protect the material.

- condensation buildup

Many reviewers have been saying that the condensation buildup in the Plume II is close to not acceptable. Having tested much more expensive solutions, I will say that every single wall construction will buildup condensation, it just depends on the material on how much of a problem this will become. And yes, the Plume II's wall material is not the best with regards to breathability. I have slept two nights in the tent during the week of testing, and had a good portion of condensation on the walls. When considering if this will actually be a real life problem, it has to be seen that the walls in the Plume II are not in contact with the sleeper. In difference to a classic bivvy, the tent walls are always away from the sleeper, and that's why condensation was not a real problem for me while testing. Furthermore, due to the forced ventilation openings on the front and on the back of the tent, condensation was never at a level where it becomes unacceptable. 

++ space offering

Lots of space in the head room

Given the Plume II's size data at 2,1 m 17,8 cm x 0,6 m, I was really impressed. For me this means this solution is useable without any additional tarp at all, because my full trekking gear, including a 60L backpack does fit into the Plume, including shoes, and I still have a comfortable space to sleep in. Of course, adding a tarp to the setup will allow for much more comfort, but the tent alone does it's job. On the front and on the back it features small rain protected areas which could also hold shoes and other gear that should not become wet due to rain. Also, really impressing was the head space in this tent. At 60cm height, this is really a comfortable place and the perfect mixture between stealthiness, low impact and functionality. The Plume II also offers two big mesh bags inside of the head space in order to store important items. And then many users will applaud the additional space created due to the third loop on the back of the bivvy. It keeps it's walls away from the user and adds up alot to the "tent-feeling".

The third loop on the back of the tent make up the "tent-feeling" inside

Overall, I was very happy with the inner layout of the tent and it's design.

++ easy entry

To enter the Plume II, the tent can be opened almost completely on the side, allowing for quick access. Coming from a front-loading bivvy, for me this was a huge plus or the Plume II. Furthermore, this access door can be removed completely, and replaced by a second layour of moscito netting. Welcome nights staring at the stars, and all condensation problems are gone. This design in my opinion raises the overall comfort using the tent very well.

Overall:

I have to say I was really impressed by the Geertop Plume II bivvy tent. I will certainly use it during the 2021 season for further long term testing, but so far, the experience was great. Given this tent is a low price option, similar designs can be found at a price range of 500€ and above, of course then with better material and build quality. But I really cannot complain what the Plume II offers for it's cost.

Pro and contra about the Outdoor Research Helium Bivvy

Disclaimer: This is _not_ advertisment or product placement. Any product shown here I have bought on my own, and in this test you only get to read my opinion about it. 

After many nights in the ultralight Helium Bivvy by Outdoor Research in weather conditions ranging from permament rain, thunderstorms, extreme dryness and heat, and snow, I feel able to give my two cents about the goodness of this bivvy and the things on the bad side.

++ Weight

This thing is all what ultralight is about. The Helium Bivvy comes at about 467g which easily beats many competitors in the ultralight scene. It also packs very small and finds place in any backpack.

++ Weather protection

The material it is made of almost guarantees one thing: it keeps you dry. I have tested this in thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain all day, and long term exposition due to slowly melting slow. What's inside of the bivvy is protected from outside weather conditions.

++ Quality

I found the material to be very sturdy even when extremely lightweight. Also all zippers are of quality, always easily useable and easy to find even in low light conditions. The moscito netting is very tight, and of high quality. The flooring material is even tougher, so you not necessarily need an external floor mat when you sleeping on a grass ground.

+ Condensation buildup

First and foremost: you get condensation in every bivvy, that is due to the single wall setup. The question is how much condensation buildup you get in which condition and with which wall material the vendor used. It's no difference with the Helium Bivvy, you get condensation, but it is not that much as one would expect. In general, the breathing material of the Helium Bivvy is not as good as GoreTex, but if the temperature difference between out- and inside is at some scale, breathing works just fine. There were times in the Summer and Spring where this setup works out nicely and I had just no condensation at all. Of course, having snow on the bivvy kills any breathability regardless of the material, but that is a problem any bivvy would have. For a bivvy, I can say overall, the Helium Bivvy performs very good with (partly-) solving this common problem.

+ Enough space

The Helium Bivvy has enough space for myself and a 8kg backpack to sleep comfortably in.

- Construction deficits

Allright, the Helium Bivvy has a huge moscito netting in the head part. This could be just great. Welcome nights staring at the stars when you know the weather will be just fine. But don't forget to wear something like a hat or anything that keeps the netting away from your head. I absolutely do not understand as to why the netting was designed to hang in your head. For the price of the bivvy, I would have expected that this would have been taken care for in the design. This is a major painpoint for me, especially when I think about the experience in this bivvy could be so great.

-- no way to completely close the bivvy, acompanied with construction deficits

This is my biggest contra for the Helium Bivvy. First of, the material is breathable, but it is not that breathable that gasflow is high enough for a person to safely sleep in. In fact, the vendor warns on a sign at the inside, saying danger of suffocation when the bivvy is fully closed. Now I could accept that, even though there are bivvy constructions nowadays that are so breathable that they can be fully closed, albeit at a much higher price compared to the Helium Bivvy. And my first reaction would be that this doesn't depcit a problem, because you have the big moscito netting of course. So why not keep a little part of the entry open, but use the moscito netting to keep you free from critters? The answer is simply, the way that the shell is constructed, one can never leave a part of the bivvy's entry open without also letting rain in. There are overlapping lips in the "door" of the bivvy, which should overlap the flooring so that no rain comes in. But on the Helium Bivvy, these lips are too small, and if you find the magic setting that would no rain come in, just hope that you don't move inside the bivvy so that this setting is being disturbed, and your inner floor runs full of water like a bath tub. This problem is mentioned by only a few reviewer, but I am for sure not alone, similar comments can even be found in Amazon reviews. The whole problematic could have been solved with a different shell design, one that features forced gas flow being supported with a moscito net, like a small venting hole in the upper part of the shell, or by having venting holes on the side of the bivvy. Yes, one can stay dry in the bivvy, yes one can survive, but for the cost of a few grams it could have been made much more comfortable,

- only enter the bivvy from the front

The Helium Bivvy is a front loader.  While the setup is super easy as any bivvy, bringing in the isolation matress and getting into the sleeping bag is a bit of a hassle. I would have wished for a side zipper opening the bivvy on the side to have an option to comfortably and also be quicker to enter the bivvy. On the other hand, I have to understand that the Helium Bivvy's ultimate goal is to be a super lightweight solution, when additional zippers and potentially additional mesh would come at a weight cost. So, if one buys the Helium Bivvy, you know it's a front loader and you're prepared for it. 

Overall:

The Helium Bivvy is a really good bivvy. For someone who sacrifices comfort for weight it is a very good solution. No additional Tarp is needed in theory, because the Helium Bivvy really is of superb Material. I personally would wish for a version of the Helium Bivvy with no moscito netting falling on my head while sleeping plus a side entry.