Bivy Reviews

I bought my this app stick a year ago and had many problems, some that were quickly resolved with the new platform. A year later though, there are still big issues. For example, lost message responses, app initiated tracking issues, Extreme phone battery usage (50% over 24 hours without even using Bivy ), etc.

I used this for the first time a couple weeks ago and had no problems! Was able to send texts and location in an area with no service. Now I can’t even get Bivy to work at all. Refuses to let me log in. Constantly says no connection even when I’m on wifi and good cell reception areas. On the website itself I can log in with no issues but Bivy is useless to me now.

I hadn’t used my this app stick in over a year, Bivy has been updating regularly. When I opened it I had high hopes since it looked like it had been worked on. When I went to send a text it instantly crashed every single time on my IPhone 11 Pro. It used to only crash with special characters but now it crashes all the time. Absolutely useless. My wife was able to use her iPhone 12 to send the text we needed. What if she wasn’t there? I think of this device as a lifeline and it is not reliable. I will be switching to Garmin.

Purchased a this app yesterday and have been trying to activate it ever since. Bivy gets the user name and sets up sos info but won’t activate. Trying to “activate” results in a screen that simply tells me I am logged in. I log out and try again, same thing. I tried to send a support message from Bivy and that doesn’t work either.
You think for the price of a monthly plan and their revenue from the plan activating would fool proof. If they can’t get that working right, what can you expect for the features you need?

After buying a this app stick I quickly found that when searching for places the results are that of paid advertising many hundreds of miles away from the location searched for. Also discovered locations cannot be searched for in lat lon ie you cannot enter a coordinate and have it take you there on the map. The only way the places searched for were found was via topography land marks and then The location was saved so it could be found again. Bivy could use some improvement. It should be able to search places on topo maps and should have an option to opt out of paid search results.
Hopefully they get the message HERE.

I had high hopes for the this app device, tested it on a few small hikes and had some weird results, but put it down to learning curve and device glitches. Bivy itself is just noisy and confusing: so many fonts/button/tabs/options and yet finding out if the this app is WORKING and tracking seems to be lowest priority.
Just got back from a backpacking trip and it was sending checkins with locations from the day before, the tracking stopped in the middle of the day and missed most of the hike, but when I hooked to this app and looked it seemd to show my location (hint: it was using iPhone's GPS position).
All this "adventure" stuff is noise and detracts from using this as reliable tracking/communicating tool. I wish they had a basic app that didn't have all of this social crap in it, that let me know:
* is this app working, if not how long since it was
* what is the link for spouse to follow (no adventure!)
* are communications/tracking being delivered

Back in March 2022 I was able to download the this app app from the apple store without being charged on several different devices I have. After I had an issue with one device I removed apps including this one. Then, as of the April 2022 app update for “battery optimization” I went to download Bivy again. However this time it required a in-app purchase be made for “Premium One Month” even though I had not even entered Bivy itself. Once the payment was completed then Bivy finished download and I could enter Bivy . Labeling Bivy as “Free” with in-app purchases is fraud since, in my experience, to simply get Bivy downloaded so you can open it requires a forced in-app purchase.

Bivy needs some work. Why is there a “Shop Now” banner in an app that already requires the purchase of the device? Too much screen real estate for branding at the expense of necessary functionality. I expect to use Bivy primarily for messaging and SOS capabilities (I use other apps for maps and tracking), so I would prefer to have Bivy emphasize the UI for those functions, and for providing information about the satellite connection.

The BivyStick itself is a fantastic product. Bivy works and allows me to send messages and get weather information with no issues. Bivy itself is very colorful with lots of buttons…

But, as others have mentioned, Bivy is bloated with stuff that is completely unnecessary in the backcountry, making for a convoluted interface that can be rough on phone battery life.

Also, the only way to clear out contacts from message threads that have been deleted is to delete Bivy and then reinstall it.

Clean up Bivy , remove all but the needed stuff, and include a way to clear out messages and contacts and this thing gets 5 starts.

Although Bivy does help figure out about what places are near by on the map but is still several updates away from being perfect.

I have a dog and I’m constantly out and about so Bivy is good for us because it has suggestions for all types of activities, not just hiking. I love the idea of crowdsourcing adventures, and I find it interesting seeing what other people have to say about different areas. Bivy has come along way since it’s launch and I’m sure there will be some more things fixed as it goes along but you couldn’t ask for a better tracking system with the satellite image maps.

Can’t tell you what a pain it is on iOS to get a password in. If it’s strong then you can’t paste it. Also can see the password to make sure you’ve got it right.
Please, please fix. Enable paste and enable visible text on password if desired.

Overall, an awesome app, however if I’m searching for only one specific type of climbing type, don’t include others in that. Most prominent example, do not include trad climbing routs when I only specify sport in my filters. This tiny thing has caused a fair amount of frustration. Though, as my 4* rating suggests, I’m happy with the overall app.

Bivy has a lot of useful info about the trails/adventures displayed in an easy to read format. I like the recording feature that shows your distance, speed, etc.
Overall it has been great to use for finding and tracking adventures and I look forward to more and more trail data being added to the system.

Bivy has so much variety for anyone who loves the outdoors. Camping, hiking, off-roading adventures, and more! I have used the bivystick orange and blue and the device is super handy when I’m out of cell range enjoying no cell service....but need to stay in contact with my family.

I am an avid trail runner and I am always looking for new places to explore. this app has been a great resource for finding new trails. It is especially helpful when traveling to new areas that I am not familiar with. The descriptions have lots of useful info. I am looking forward to using Bivy a lot more this summer.

So nice that it tells me when I am off track. When I am hiking and accidentally head down a game trail or something, Bivy will give a heads up. Plus it keeps track of my pace and mileage. So I know how slow I really am.

If you’re looking to get out and find new adventures, Bivy is a necessity. Tons of filters to pinpoint exactly the thing you’re looking for. You can even share adventures that aren’t already on Bivy . It’s amazing!

Bivy is amazing! I really enjoy the time details for paddling and hiking routes, so that I know how long to plan for. There’s tons of adventures on here but not as many as some other apps - so hopefully the count increases. It looks like the only way to add an adventure is to do it and track it yourself. This helps keep the very informative details for each one but also limits the adventure count. I’d also like to see a way to exclude campgrounds from your map if you’d like to.

This is literally my favorite app! I didn’t think there was anything to do around me till I got Bivy. This has everything! I love how it gives me the intensity and approximation of the time for the hikes. Everything screams perfection!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️