Natural-fibre sleep mat?
- Thread starter Tagaeri
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Would stuffing a sack with (washed!) Sherpa fleece work, or would it be too heavy and not particularly insulating?
Put it this way.....a sheep is smaller than us, but it's fleece weighs everything from 5 lbs to 12lbs.....how much do you think you'd need under you for warmth and comfort ? We went to the bother of spinning and weaving blankets for a good reason 
Felting works, but again, since it's so dense, it's heavy when made up in bulk.
I think if you were going to go to that bother it might be a better idea just to carry a reindeer skin. Make sure you get one that won't rot when put down on the ground though, and accept that it will lose hair; they all do, some worse than others.
There's no easy 'natural' answer to this. Either you must make your bed where you find yourself, or be prepared to carry weight.
These days I take a down mat but it doesn't quite fit in with the natural kit idea 
cheers,
Toddy
Felting works, but again, since it's so dense, it's heavy when made up in bulk.
I think if you were going to go to that bother it might be a better idea just to carry a reindeer skin. Make sure you get one that won't rot when put down on the ground though, and accept that it will lose hair; they all do, some worse than others.
There's no easy 'natural' answer to this. Either you must make your bed where you find yourself, or be prepared to carry weight.
These days I take a down mat
but it doesn't quite fit in with the natural kit idea cheers,
Toddy
Hmmm, good point! I've been thinking on this for weeks now and not come up with the perfect solution. It seems the best option is to take an extra blanket and improvise with what's available in the woods...
Whatever you decide to do, let us know how the complete system turns out in terms of temperature rating, size, weight, etc. I would love to see some pics.
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Put it this way.....a sheep is smaller than us, but it's fleece weighs everything from 5 lbs to 12lbs.....how much do you think you'd need under you for warmth and comfort ? We went to the bother of spinning and weaving blankets for a good reason
Felting works, but again, since it's so dense, it's heavy when made up in bulk.
I think if you were going to go to that bother it might be a better idea just to carry a reindeer skin. Make sure you get one that won't rot when put down on the ground though, and accept that it will lose hair; they all do, some worse than others.
There's no easy 'natural' answer to this. Either you must make your bed where you find yourself, or be prepared to carry weight.
These days I take a down mat
cheers,
Toddy
That's sound advice! We had two reindeer skins which we sold on as they shed normally but we thought it was causing me an allergy, which it turned out it wasn't (it's chemicals like floor cleaner) and the shedding was kind of annoying. However we got a siliconed hide at new year and it's great, no shedding at all! However I wouldn't fancy carting one around on my back- so I'd say your solution of another wool blanket and browse etc is the best for you
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Thanks Cameron. Yep, the weight issue seems to be one of the major drawbacks with a lot of the options.
my grandad and grandma, when they used to go scouting with boys before ww2, used straw with a sewn up blanket for a sleeping bag, doesn't seem that heavy. For a long term movable one a row of bundles tied together? This may be the straw that breaks the camels back though. As for fibres found along the way, i would thave a waterproof and padding layer on hand
But on the whole of it living heather with nothing but a bivvy and sleeping bag inbetween is only bettered by a new highly expensive sprung matress.
edit
Woven reeds with a filler ?
But on the whole of it living heather with nothing but a bivvy and sleeping bag inbetween is only bettered by a new highly expensive sprung matress.
edit
Woven reeds with a filler ?
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xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
To be truthful I found camping with blankets and sheep skins more bulky than wieghty. I needed less stuff to sleep in than I do with modern kit. Pine bows with broken self inflating is a sprung bed.
Yeah, thought of that, but the only natural rubber option I could find was a thin and expensive yoga mat!
I can remember a great many years ago getting a couple of MOD "hospital" beds from an auction, it was a wooden folding bed complete with palliase, yes a straw mattress. These were apparantly part of the Protect and Survive hidden bunker civil defense precautions in time of nuclear war.
Traditional Japanese tatami mats are made on a foundation of compressed rice straw. They actually sound like a processed form of the palliases. Both kinds are warm but they do need to be kept dry or they go mouldy pdq.
How heavy were yours Laurentius ? the only ones I've ever made were pretty hefty. Took most of one of those small rectangluar hay bales to fill them.
cheers,
Toddy
How heavy were yours Laurentius ? the only ones I've ever made were pretty hefty. Took most of one of those small rectangluar hay bales to fill them.
cheers,
Toddy
The wooden bed frame was far too heavy for camping, but I don't recall the palliase being that heavy, of course I was a lot younger then.
Just came across some Thai roll mats that have cotton linings and kapok stuffing, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360651592535?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649. They're a bit bulky, but I might be able to cut one down to 3/4 size to save on weight...
Thank you very much Xylaria, I now feel old... thats what we did when I was in the scouts lol
I have to ask the OP, why the need for natural materials?
