UKH

Over the last year or two, I've been putting together my kit for winter walking (to cope with Scottish winter hikes and maybe easier ridge scrambles - e.g. CMD Arete, at the most).  Most kit lists advocate carrying an emergency shelter but haven't bought one yet. 

There seems to be quite a range available - from around £15 to £90 or so - and they vary in packed volume.  Looking at the displays in stores, it's difficult to tell what I'm buying.

What should I consider when trying to make a buying decision?

Cheers.

Size, both packed and in use: one manufacturer's 'four man bothy' may be only for 'four extremely intimate friends'! How many people are you likely to want to shelter? If a standard regular number then think of that size, or more realistically the next size up. Some are quite bulky, others (more expensive) more compact, and inevitably the more compact tend to be a bit more expensive.

Weight? I always try to keep my kit as light and compact as possible, but it's a personal preference.

Colour / windows - again personal preference. Windows I think are a bit of a gimmick - I can always stick my head out if I want to judge conditions, and I can hear the rain and the wind. Orange or yellow make it seem more snug and cosy and brighter which can be good psychologically in really horrible conditions. Perhaps more importantly, the brightest bothy bag will be more easily be seen by foot / helicopter rescuers should you need it in extremis.

They are absolutely fantastic when you're out in bad weather but I have to say when I'm on my own I just wouldn't want to be weighed down by one and I've never ended up splashing out. The two person ones are a nice size for one but quite small for two people and the four person ones are pretty big for a single occupant. I usually take a thick bin bag* or my bivvy bag if the weathers bad. The traditional recomended kit lists can be a little ott imo and in times when it's not unusual to be passed by a runner with a 10ltr pack sometimes less is more.

It might be worth waiting to see how many times you miss one before purchasing. As Kate says the cheaper ones really are heavy and bulky, I remember we stocked vango and terra nova and the vango ones were double the pack size and really not worth anyone buying unless they regularly take groups out for work (the thinner ones are quite fragile). It would take up half my winter walking pack to put it into context. I would personally put bothy bags in the nice to have pile but then that's just me.

*doubles up nicely if you're caught out as well

check out the Sunmit Supalite bags, very small pack size.

I carry the S.O.S. emergency bivvy when alone and a lifesystem 2 person emergency bothy when with my friend. The bivvy is so small it fits in my pocket. The bothy is also fairly small and very lightweight. We also use it ti sit iin for a warm coffee when out in the elements.

So far I've never had to use them in emergencies. Fingers crossed I never will.

Though I've never actually carried or used one, I suspect they really come into their own if you end up immobile for an extended period in dire weather. If you have an accident which renders you unable to move, rescue may be some time away. What starts off as a minor incapacitating injury could quickly develop into a life-threatening problem if you have no way of sheltering.

I ended up stuck on the side of a mountain in the Alps in February in mildly unpleasant weather, and if I hadn't been carrying a massive down belay jacket in my pack as a just-in-case layer I'd have become hypothermic very quickly. Even next to civilisation and under a chairlift, the rescue took two hours from accident to extraction.

I'll be following this thread with interest as I'm looking to pick one up for Scotish mountaineering this winter. I don't think the massive down jacket approach will cut it in Scottish damp!

Only used a bothy bag once in anger, when benighted in December and the fog came down. We'd have been in a very bad way without it, (high winds with near constant rain and sleet), and would probably have needed a MRT call out.

Main learning points were that they're not overly comfy as you're squatting/sitting for an extended period. I started off sitting on my pack, but as the wind was flattening the wet fabric around me I had to wear my pack to put some space between me and the fabric to cut the wind chill.

Group size - they tend to be snug but the bigger ones try and blow away when your stuffing them back in your bag.

Bright colours in case they do need to be used in anger.

Cheaper tends to be bigger to pack and heavier but smaller/lighter might not be so robust. 

Tbh I tend to use mine to have lunch - surprising how much warmth they keep in and they stop your clothing getting wet and cold, I tend to sit on my bag for insulation and have my legs poking out. I would be carrying it anyway in winter as if I could prevent myself or anybody else I come across getting hypothermic its better than me saving a little bit of rucksack weight - I can't tell the difference between carrying one and not. 

I use the SOL bivvi for 1 person. Not an emergency shelter but might just be enough to keep you alive. My wife also uses this model and I always ask partners if they are carrying anything. Never used it but it but it's a nice colour :P

Old school - £2.50 for an orange plastic bivvy bag.

Blizzard Survival Bag Active Range? Orange, waterproof, can be tightened round face, unpacked expands for claimed 5.5 tog, 250g, £25. Used by military and outdoor centres. No personal experience as I planned to use mine for planned summer bivvy on  Cuillin Ridge, but didn't as conditions too warm and bag is apparently hard to fully recompact without a vacuum. 

Have used 4x8 heavy gauge poly bag for emergency bivvy in winter but wasn't overimpressed due to condensation. 

Light, durable, cheap, pick any 2 out of 3.  

The Lomo 2-man shelter is decent for the money at 22ish quid. I bought one as a better size for one or two folk than my terra nova 4 man one.

I can't recommend either highly enough for nasty weather. I dozed off in the TN one waiting for a group on top of a cold and windy hill in the lakes earlier this year it was so snug.

Mapdec stuff is good - light and good quality, if a bit on the thin side. If you can get hold of it...

https://mapdec.com/products/shelter 

Two and a collie survived a Cairngorm winter in one last year. 

Thanks for the replies everyone.  You’ve all convinced me it’s worth getting one.  There’s plenty of info for me to read up on to make the best choice.  Cheers.

Summit supalight shelters are v. good and massively compact.  I've a 2 man for when out running by myself / with the dogs and a 4 man for when out with 1-2 other friends.  2 person shelter is small/light enough that I can justify it as part of my hillrunning kit for proper mountain days. 

Not as tiny as you'd imagine from the pack size.  I lent it to a mate for his mountain bike leader assessment earlier in the year - assessors first comment was that it was definitely getting taken out and tested at lunch as it looked too small to be a 4 man, but the got 4 into it no problem.  I combine with a blizzard survival jacket as my emergency kit - much more comfortable and easy than a bivi.

In general, they are a really under used bit of kit - if you need to stop for food etc on a really crap day they make a massive difference to the suffering level.

Cheers,

Stu

Another vote for the Summit supralite.....not only is it lighter and more compact, its also made in the UK.

Amazing!

Must have been getting claustrophobic by the end of the winter

It might be a bit of a waste to carry a bothy bag around only for use in emergency. They're a great morale booster when it's raining and it's time for lunch. Also proved handy when the wife and I had made a bad decision route-finding and given ourselves a scare: a few minutes in the (reassuring orange) bothy bag with some soup and everything was fine again.

There must be a knack to getting in one in the wind. 

Plastic survival bag.  Cheap, small & light, lasts for years.

They are tough. Mine was still fine after we dragged somebody with a dodgy ankle off a munro onto easier ground where we could help them walk. Steep slope & wet grass in the rain made it doable.

I’ve got a Rab 4-6 shelter and it’s saved my arse on a couple of occasions. If I’m walking on my own I chuck a bivvy bag in, but for groups the Rab comes out. 

5 of us sat out an unexpected and rather ferocious sleet storm just of Foel Grach, and despite all of us regretting the previous night’s curry after 2hrs stuck in there, we emerged unscathed after what could have been a very nasty situation. 

Hope the previous night's curry didn't affect the atmostphere in the shelter.

Yeah. Those dog farts must have been rank! 

At one point I was considering death from exposure as the preferable option. 

On this note - assuming you were going to get a lightweight no-window bothy, which would you go for for nearly always 2 person use - a 2 or 4 person?

The Supalite 4 person is 250g, the 2 person 235g.

Is there any point to the '2 person'?

If you need a two person bothy bag then get a four. You can then use it yourself and with friends. The extra space may allow a casualty to lie out in it. And friends out of the wind.They are uncomfortable after a while or used as a bivi, but really great at lunchtime snacks and out of the wind weather. An overnight stay may feel by daylight like you have out used it and yourself. It could save your life but its better to get out of there if mobile.  Its also a good stretcher carry, sail for a canoe or for changing on the beach.

i bought one of these a few years ago and told them at the time their weights were incorrectly listed - i suspect they paid no attention as it hasn't been changed. my 4 person supalite is 343g and not the 250 they were advertising.

i suspect the quoted 235 for the 2 person is correct

I carry a Terra Nova Bothy 2. I've never used it (apart from in my livingroom) but I suspect I would be glad to have it if I needed it. It'd probably be useful if I ever stopped for lunch/a brew as well but I generally keep moving.