Thrifty Hiker

Geertop Plume Bivy Review

Welcome back folks. Today we’re talking bivvies, and taking a look at a very affordable option for your next adventure – the Geertop Plume. Having been impressed with what I saw from Geertop’s Libra tent, and wanting to do a Bivy review for a while, the Plume fit the bill perfectly in terms of affordability. Let’s see how the specifications stack up!

Design & Materials

The Geertop Plume is a hooped bivy designed with stealth camping in mind. Everything about it, from the small size to the camo colour scheme, should help you blend into the environment and leave a minimal footprint. A cross-pole at the end of the bivy ensures a decent amount of headroom and stability, with a single pole at the foot end ensuring some clearance there as well. The entrance to the bivy is through the side and features an inner mesh door underneath the fly. There’s also a ventilation window on both the front and the back to help airflow.

Size & Weight

The Plume bivy comes in a 44 x 12 cm stuff sack, and has 230 x 60 cm of floor space inside. Obviously that’s not a lot to play with, but sacrificing space is part of the territory when it comes to sleeping in a bivy. It does, however, weigh in at a very agreeable 1.25 kg – so what you lose in space, you gain in some serious pack weight savings.

Geertop Plume Bivy Review

Pitch

Another advantage of using a bivy is that they tend to be quicker and easier to set up than a tent. Having a smaller shelter means less messing around with your groundsheet, flysheet, stakes, and poles. The Geertop Plume should be pitchable very quickly – with practice, probably in around a minute. That’s a definite plus if you need to pitch up somewhere quickly when the weather turns.

To pitch it, you start by inserting the cross poles at the bivy head. Next, repeat with the foot. Then you can stake down either end of the bivy, and pull and stake the other for tension. Told you, easy right?

Space & Storage

Bivvies are small. Did we cover that already? If you need to be able to sit up or stretch out in your shelter, chances are the Plume isn’t for you. And that’s not to mention the fact that you won’t have a vestibule to use either. There is a fairly meaty-looking internal pocket inside though, which should be enough for your essentials.

Despite the cramped space, bivvies are something that a lot of lightweight campers find incredibly useful. If you can deal with the limited personal space – and keeping your nonessential gear outside – then the Plume could be your ideal lightweight bargain.

Wallet & Weight Impact

In terms of impact on your wallet, the Geertop Plume certainly comes in at the cheaper end of all the shelters we’ve looked at on the blog. And for 1.25 kg, it’s not overly heavy – but I feel it could do better here. For just a little more money, you could get something much bigger in the same weight range.

Verdict

The Geertop Plume definitely seems to be aimed at a certain kind of camper – the rough and ready kind. The pack weight could definitely be improved, but it’s hard to find a shelter that’s better suited to stealth and low impact camping than the Plume. And bearing in mind the affordable price tag, it provides great value while doing it.

Well folks, that’s it for now -I hope you enjoyed this review. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our blog for more tips, tricks and gear reviews from the trail. Until next time!

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