Lili Boutan (French champion in the under 21s in 2001) shares her experience of a bivouac flight with the NEO Stay Up harness in a secret spot in the Tarentaise:

“For the 1st summer weekend of the year, I decided to sleep under the stars with my sail. My usual friends are away so I’m going alone. And yes! Well… yes… ..er all alone? Alone with the sheep and the patous not far away, the insects and the birds, their noises and all the other noises, the glow-worms and the not-so-glow-worms, the night, the shadows, and also the wolf! Maybe even the one that left the lamb carcass by the side of the road last year. Gloups…

Let me rationalise: while there are legends of wolves eating men, we’ve never heard of wolves eating tents. So I’ll take the tent this time and everything will be fine. All I have to do now is fit my stuff into my NEO Lite Bag 70 liter. To sum up: my glider Skywalk Arak Air, my ultra-light cocoon NEO Stay Up, my -5° duvet, my tent, my book, my pillow, water, my dinner and breakfast, a T-shirt, my down jacket and my helmet.

It’s time to try out the concept of using a duvet instead of the Koroyd protection, and then to optimise the space left in the width of the bag in front of the sail and the NEO Stay Up. And also a little bit around and above and below.

And in fact in 10 minutes the story is settled. It all fits, so you don’t even need to apply the famous “stuff it as you can” concept. I’m wide! I could still add my GIN Yeti UL back-up, but that’s the slacker speaking and telling me that an 11kg bag is enough to carry as it is.

So here I go, and I’m enjoying it. It’s beautiful, peaceful and there’s no need to worry about equipment. My rucksack is extremely comfortable to carry, despite its load, and I’m just enjoying the hike to the summit. The evening and night went well, and I slept like a marmot until the sun came out.

The next day I pack everything away, the tent fits perfectly in the back pocket of the NEO Stay Up with my poles and the rest of my stuff, and I unfold the Skywalk Arak for a nice quiet flight on the East face, the duvet under my buttocks. It’s no different from our usual comfort! It’s perfect!

A wonderful break in the mountains, with all comforts! Thanks NEO. Can’t wait to go back!”