Ive been using a Nash Titan Viper TT for about 5 years now. I must say it's been pretty good to me on the whole. The only gripes with it would be the rubbish zip on the carry bag and the fact that, because of the fabric it is made from, it expands and contracts with temperature which causes the taped seams to come apart slowly! This left me very wet on a recent trip! I knew then it was time to replace the old girl.
What to buy next then? Well, this left me in a quandary due to the fact that my son Tom is now showing a real interest in coming night fishing with me. Furthermore I fish all through the winter and travel the continent to fish regularly for long periods of time. I have a lot of kit and 2 rather large bedchairs, which, with cooking gear etc, leaves very little room to move in a standard 2-man bivvy.
This seemed to leave just a few options including the VX2 from Venture and the JRC Quad Conti. I actually opted for the JRC first because of the price. Unfortunately the overwrap was out of stock until early January 07 and I needed a bivvy earlier than this.
So, I went for the dearer option of the VX2. This came out to me at around £470'ish with p&p. This was for the bivvy and winter wrap too.
First thoughts were that this is a huge bankside home! And it is! At 12' 11" front to back, 6' high at the door and finally 9' 6" wide. Not going to fit into every swim for obvious reasons, but that's not the reason for purchasing this awesome bivvy. We needed space for session fishing and it gives this in hoards!
My first session using the VX2 was a little hindered and my only gripes were as follows:
1) No instructional video or leaflet showing best way to erect and take down. 2) Two of the plastic spring-loaded ties on the carriers for groundsheets were smashed to pieces in the bag. 3) One missing tie for the rear r/h window.
Apart from these small annoyances the overall appearance and quality I felt was exceptional and a lot of thought has certainly gone into its construction.
Inside, there are numerous coat hooks and light hanging points, masses of room for 2 bedchairs, cooking gear, bags and so on.
The rear mesh windows are a lovely feature and the overwrap has plastic ones too, so you can lay under the stars still! Even with its size I have used it in a strong North wind and felt it was pretty stable.
Velcro rod straps on both the bivvy and overwrap are very useful and look well stitched.
Two ground sheets are supplied if you buy the overwrap as well, and they join using Velcro.
There are 20 'T' screw pegs in each bag and it all feels pretty sturdy. Condensation was minimal even when the temperature dropped to -4c.
I will have to say that all this does come at a premium, in that it really does weigh a lot! Those of you who carry tackle to the bank should leave this one alone. The bags are pretty long and I reckon must weigh a good 16-18kg each bag.
My overall opinion otherwise, is that this is a great product and I would highly recommend it to anyone considering buying a large bivvy to use for long stay sessions or use abroad.
