We couldn’t have picked a better week to test the Nash Combat Speed One Bivvy…..it poured it down the whole three days that we were fishing!
As I set up my Titan, I handed the Combat Speed One over to my friend, Nic, and let him get on with it. I’m not the world’s quickest erector of bivvies, as my mates will tell you (whilst rolling about laughing!), but even I was surprised to turn round after just a few minutes to see the Combat Speed One already up! Despite this being the first time he’d even seen the bivvy and without referring to the instructions, it was set up to a pretty good standard in no time. With a bit of practice, I reckon he could have had it looking like a catalogue shot!
Not bad for a first attempt – just shows how easy this bivvy is to erect
Coming from the Nash stable and sharing the pedigree of the Globetrotter, Nic was expecting good things….and he wasn’t disappointed. Firstly, there are one-man bivvies and there are one-man bivvies. Some do take a bit of artistic licence with the term ‘man’. ‘Boy’ would be more appropriate! The Combat Speed One, on the other hand, offered plenty of room and it wasn’t long before it was filled with a bedchair, table and all the usual clutter that some of us carp anglers take on a session! It still offered plenty of room to move about, which is good going for a ‘small’ bivvy.
Rain? No worries.
As stated previously, the heavens opened and we were subject to a prolonged shower of a few days, with just a few breaks in the rain. This is when you really need a bivvy to do its job and I’m happy to say it did. There is one thing you need to remember, however, and this is that the front door window is velcro’d in place. This is great, as it allows you to remove it in Summer and even fit an optional mosquito net, should you wish. What you need to ensure, though, is that the zipped panel is down if you are facing an oncoming rain shower – Velcro itself isn’t waterproof! Luckily, we were aware of this and had no problems whatsoever. The two large side windows ensure that you have ample areas to see out of when you’re ‘locked in’, anyway.
Priced at £199.00, the Combat Speed One will fit into the budget of the serious carp angler looking for a quality bit of kit that will see him through many a carping session. With optional extras, such as an extreme Winter skin and a heavy duty groundsheet, it offers a complete solution. Weighing in at just 8kg, it won’t break your back, either!
Elton Murphy
January 2006
