Hunka Reviews

I bought his bag for sailing - sleeping in a yacht full of condensation with the possibility of wet sails coming tumbling through a hatch at any time I though some waterproofing would be wise. I was very pleased to find this bag at this price - I thought that I would have to spend £100 plus for a gortex one. It worked like a dream - the damp stayed out and no condensation on the inside. I had a smug moment when one of the other crew was complaining that their very expensive bivvy bag was trapping condensation and thier sleeping bag was damp. 
Great product - I’m very pleased with it. I like the fact that it stuffs down fairly small as well. The service was very friendly and efficient - I’d highly recommend both the product and the company.

Hey there,

The other week I bought a Hunka along with a 30ltr Stealthy Gourdon bag.  This weekend I had a great opportunity to try out the Hunka bivi bag. I spent the weekend down in the Midlands at Knightly Park on a weekend bushcraft course run by Jonny Crockett of Survival School. The first night was cold and damp. Thick fog with temps down to around freezing. the following day was a bit warmer but night time temps dropped to minus 2c or minus 3c. The area was never dry, continually wet. So this was a great place to see how good the Hunka was.

There are loads of factors that will affect the performance of any bivi bag. Your sleeping bag, what type of mat you are using( if any ), how hot your body is, how much you sweat, humidity of the air, any breeze etc. I used a rather poor Gelert sleeping bag, which in previous outings hasn’t kept me warm at temps around plus 3c, a 3/4 length Gelert selfinflating mat and a silk liner.

The first night was under a tarp, with my feet end on the ground. Next morning my sleeping bag was 100% dry top to tail, Hunka was slightly damp feeling but I reckon that was more the cold that actual wetness. Second night was spent in a kennel or A frame shelter, same gear. Woke up in the morning 100% dry again even the foot end which was on the ground again and touching the shelter.

Rolled everything up and got home, some 12 hours later, unpacked. The Hunka was damp at the foot end when I packed it away - I keep my bivi, sleeping bag and liner together so that it’s a doddle to set up. The damp had made it’s way through to the sleeping bag but not by much. To me this isn’t a problem, I packed it away damp, didn’t dry it at all or air it which if I really was thinking this morning I would have and should have.

The Hunka is fairly light, mine weighs in at around 395 grams. The full stats are available from Alpkit here other reviews can be found here. The integrated stuff ‘pocket’ is a good idea, but is very fiddley to use. The material seems to be strong enough to handle the average forest floor, but as with most sharp pointy things will puncture it. Some people have mentioned the size of the bivi being a bit tight. If you want to have a bivi bag that you can store kit in as well as your sleeping bag, this is not for you. This bivi is strictly for your sleeping bag (and you of course) If you want your kit dry use a drybag of your choice.

Got my Hunka last week, overall quality seems great. I had a good nosey at it, turned it inside out and examined the stitching and taping. Everything seems good. Although a tiny, and I mean tiny bit of the proofing tape was not sealed down fully, one of the areas where the two lines of tape meet the shorter length was on the top when ideally it should have been underneath.

In reply to Keith Hayman who posted on 28 August, 2008, one way to stuff your bag into the mesh, is to fold the bag up rather than roll. You need to fold it so that the first fold is twice as big as the other folds ( sounds complicated but it’s not in practice ) this allows you to press the air out as you go and once fully folded up you can slide it into the mess pocket, thus the reason for the double length fold at the start.

Fantastic bit of kit! Highly recommended. Less than 24hrs for delivery, excellent customer support. Will be back here for more kit! Cheers

To keep water out of the hole if it is REALLY raining, turn the bag upside down before climbing in, so the hole faces downwards. Not as comfortable a night, but very dry.

Super fast delivery and i use this in a tent to alleviate condensation probs ,Ive used many other Bivi bags and for price weight and a good design this beats them all , If you need a light bivi bag at a great price Get the alpkit Hunka

Thanks for the prompt delivery. Looking forward to trying it out. It really is Light and compact enough to carry all the time as a survival bag. Only crit, I would prefer the mesh pouch to be at the Head end. Can’t roll it from the head, as there is always trapped air by the time you get to the tail - I Don’t like to just ‘stuff’ it all in from the Tail. I’m not sure crushing up a waterproof/breathable fabric is that good for it, but it does roll up to nice small size for the rucksack. I’ll get a wee bag for it myself, no problem.

My trick for keeping the water out the hood is to use a couple of suitable branches bent over and wedged into the ground to hold my coat over it - a sort of mini tent for my head. You can decide yourself how far above your face to set it.

I thought I’d try out my Hunka as soon as I got it, sleeping in my tame English garden, only to be awoken at 2am by a huge thunder storm pounding down!
The Hunka did very well and completely protected me from the elements. The only problem I found (which I guess you get with all bivies of this design) is keeping rain out of the hole at the top. Any suggestions?

Used my Hunka under a tarp one wet night in the woods, stayed dry warm and comfortable, simply a brill bit mof kit.