Great advice. I'm in between bivy options. I'm planning on bringing a one man Oware tarp to sleep under. The ivy would be for extra protection and a bail out if it starts pouring rain during the day, so I can just sit out a storm comfortably. I am planning on stuffing a sleeping bag in there at night. When I backpack, I use a tarp and the SOL $16 emergency blanket as a ground cloth/rain burrito. That is a little excessive for a race situation, it seems, so I'm shopping around.

haydukelives! I missed that you were asking about the $17 version.  I used one as part of my sleep system in '13 CTR. It held up fine, but doesn't breath well. I personally wouldn't use it again. I've been using the SOL breathable $40 version as a bag or external to a sleeping bag depending on weather along with and external bivy from Oware that has a screen to keep the bugs at bay.  But for $17 bucks if you're going light and fast and don't plan on sleeping much, it's a tempting option. 

How's that Oware bivy hold up in the rain? I've worked for Outwardbound in the past. They supply our tarps, gators, and some other stuff. I like the construction.

Just checking in with the forum. Planning on attempting the CTR for my first time this year. I'm currently getting bags together and training on my next hard for the race.

Anyone got any feedback on light bivy sacks? I'm looking at the different SOL bags. Wondering if the base $17 model will hold up for 5-6 nights. Anyone got any experience with these?