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I'm mirin' the OR Helium Bivy. I haven't used a bivy before, but I'm wondering why I haven't heard of them sooner. Super light weight, and it's inexpensive (even for the higher end diminishing return stuff). The Helium seems to eliminate the majority of 'bivy problems'; the pole keeps the fabric off your face, and the material vents well in most circumstances. If you want to bring gear, then bring a small tarp to wrap it in at night.
iirc this is $169 and weighs 1lb 2oz. The next model up is 4 season, and comes at only slightly higher weight/cost.
I think tents will always be better for performance/comfort/gear storage, but it looks like you'll pay several times as much for the same quality. This seems to be the cheaper way to get $500-$800 tent quality for < $200
