The first night on the bank is the session that turns a day angler into a carp angler, and the shelter is the decision that shapes it. A brolly and a bivvy both keep the rain off; they differ in how long you plan to stay and how much you want to carry.
A brolly with sides for a night or two
A 50 inch brolly with storm sides is a shelter you can pitch in five minutes and carry in a rod holdall pocket. It keeps the rain and most of the wind off a bedchair set behind it, and it is what most people do their first few nights under. NGT's 50 inch camo storm brolly comes with wire pegs and guy ropes in a case, and the 50 inch day shelter adds two storm poles and is big enough to fish from a chair under. Add a pair of storm poles on any exposed bank.
A bivvy for longer sessions and worse weather
A bivvy is a tent with a front you can fish from. It is warmer, it keeps condensation off you if it has a second skin, and it turns a wet weekend from something to endure into something to enjoy. The two-man double skin bivvy comes with its groundsheet and packs to 7.5kg, and the Fortress is the roomier session bivvy with a hood over the door. Whichever you choose, replace the wire pegs with proper ones: the bivvy peg set with mallet is ten 8 inch pegs in a roll-up case, and on a wooden platform you need platform pegs instead.
What to sleep on
A bedchair with six legs sits level on a slope and stays put. The specimen bedchair has a built-in pillow and a quick recliner and takes a user up to 160kg; the classic bedchair is the lighter version. A three season sleeping bag covers spring to autumn, and a bedchair pillow with straps does not end up on the groundsheet at three in the morning.
Light
A bivvy light with a power bank runs the night and charges your phone; the small bivvy light is enough for one. A headlamp is what you actually tie rigs and land fish by.
3 collections
Every shelter here is NGT and comes from a real shop in Lowestoft. UK delivery is £6, free over £300, and a bivvy plus a bedchair is usually over the £100 that takes 10% off the basket automatically.
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