Fox Frontier II XL Camo Bivvy

In a word, yes. At 270cm wide, 210cm deep and 165cm tall, the XL is proper roomy – the high, flat-back frame design means you get usable headroom right to the rear, rather than the usual routine of crouching like a hunchback every time you reach for the kettle. There’s space for a wide bedchair, your luggage, and even four internal mesh pockets and two side hanging hooks for the headtorch and jacket you’d otherwise lose in the dark at 3am. Whether it fits forty years of tackle depends entirely on how honest you’re being about how much of it you actually use.

Genuinely. The VenTec polyester fabric carries a 20,000mm hydrostatic head – for context, most decent bivvies sit around 10,000mm, so this is built for the sort of biblical sideways rain that only ever arrives once you’ve committed to a 48-hour session.

Very quick, once you’ve done it a couple of times. It’s a pram-hood style with a geared ETS boss that stops the frame collapsing mid-setup (a small mercy anyone who’s owned a lesser bivvy will appreciate), plus spring-loaded, keyed elbow joints so everything aligns itself rather than requiring persuasion. Pack-down is faster too, thanks to an updated release trigger.

It’s all about footprint and headroom. The XL is the biggest of the three, measuring 270cm wide x 210cm deep x 165cm tall, and is the one to go for if you run a wide or XL bedchair, carry a lot of kit, or simply like being able to move about without performing yoga. The standard Frontier II suits anglers who prioritise a smaller, stealthier footprint on tight swims, with the X sitting in between.

On its own, no because it’s designed as a spacious one-man shelter, and at 270cm wide you’d be very friendly indeed trying to squeeze two beds in. However, adding the Deluxe Wrap extends the bivvy by 60cm and creates space to fit two bedchairs when combined with the front panel, effectively converting it into a two-person shelter. So if you occasionally take a mate or one of the kids, buy the XL plus the wrap rather than sizing down. For solo use, the XL comfortably swallows a wide bedchair, barrow load of luggage and a cooking setup.

It’s a proper session bivvy, not a lightweight day shelter so 20.46kg on its own, or 21.46kg packed in the carry bag, so most anglers will want it on a barrow rather than over a shoulder. Packed down it measures 25cm x 25cm x 161cm – just over 1.6m long – which fits fine across the back seats or boot of most estates, SUVs and hatchbacks with the seats dropped, but it’s worth measuring up if you drive something smaller.