I've played with many of them (designs and brands) in several terrains/environments. I'm starting to think that I like a shelter just a bit bigger than a single hoop bivy, roughly the size/weight of an ID MK1-lite plus a small tarp, pitched separately from the tent. It seems like the best of both worlds.
I quit the whole bivy thing years back. Bivys, well, suck!
Like Doc, I've gone to a small footprint tent. (Actually, got my first small footprint tent back in 1986, a North Face Mayfly). I currently use a Black Diamond Firtslight. It's perfect for the solo hunter. The problem with Pyramids and stoves is weight and the footprint (sf) they require. They're comfortable, as anyone can attest, but that comfort comes at a price... everything in backpacking is a compromise, and I choose to make that compromise on the lighter, smaller side.
