i went out over the weekend and camped one night in the bivy in a shelter and the second night under the stars in the bivy. the second night i had no wind protection, just the bivy.

these items were all inside the REI minimalist bivy:

Ridgerest foam pad
REI 1.5 core mattress
Marmot Sawtooth 600 fill down sleeping bag

i was plenty warm in the bag unless my knee, foot, hip, or shoulder compressed the sleeping bag above me when i moved around while sleeping. i would get a very cold spot in the area that was compressing the bag and it was very uncomfortable. i did not get much sleep because i forced myself to lay on my back and not move so i could stay warm.

anyone have any suggestions on minimizing this issue?

Move one or both pads outside of the bivy?

I hate to say it but it sounds like your bivy is too small for you and your bags girth.

Moving your sleeping pads outside your bivy may help but you're going to loose good deal of heat doing that.

The only sure thing that would solve this problem is getting a bigger bivy.

It's a bummer, I know.

Agree with Chad. I toss and turn in my bivy -- with a large Neoair and a Ridgerest both inside and wearing puffy clothes with a puffy quilt, and get no compression/cold spots. It does sound like your bivy is simply too small for winter use.

"I toss and turn in my bivy -- with a large Neoair and a Ridgerest both inside and wearing puffy clothes with a puffy quilt, and get no compression/cold spots."

What bivy and quilt are you using? I'm about to have to make one or buy one. I just haven't decided yet. I use the same thickness of pads and had to move the Ridgerest outside of the bivy to make room for a Golite Ultra 20. After I did this the cold spot problem was significantly reduced.

So yeah, sounds like your bivy is to small. I have the same problem.

i'll experiment a bit with what i have now - i might be able to just move the Ridgerest out of the bivy which might be enough. i'm planning on another weekend trip at the end of the month...

"What bivy and quilt are you using?"

A 2010 MLD Superlight.

I have a Minimalist also. It's definitely too small to fit a pad inside. Mine is fairly snug with just my 15 degree bag.

I had the same problem with a TiGoat Ptarmigan bivy especially with lack of foot room. My MLD Superlight bivy has been great with a regular Neoair, Evazote pad, GoLite Ultra 20 or BPL Cocoon 240 quilt, & wearing a MontBell Inner Down jacket & Sierra Designs down "booties". The Superlight is a size long & for reference I am 6'1" & certainly not thin at 220 lbs. Even with all this inside the bivy, I have plenty of room for side sleeping.

I've had the same problem (MLD Superlight bivy + WM Summerlite bag). I've always found that by just shifting my body a little bit, I can keep the bivy from pressing against the bag. I also always keep my sleeping pad outside the bivy, so that gives me a little more room to maneuver.

I wonder what would be the effect to put the bivy inside the sleeping bag those times when you are using it primarily for added warmth?

If you're moving the ridgrest to the outside try putting a space blanket inside your sleeping bag between on the core side. It will block some of the grounds' cold from absorbing through the pad outside. I've tried something similar and while it wasn't perfect, it was noticeable. It's lightweight and a very affordable (less than $2) solution until you can afford a new bivy.