Think I have nearly got all my kit sorted. Few different knives including a Sog Power Plier multi tool, Stove and cooking tins, Fallkniven DC4 on order for sharpening. Para cord, firesteels, rucksack.Hatchet, folding saw. And a few other bits. But To save on space I was thinking about taking a blanket rather than a sleeping bag. Anyone else do this? And also what are the best tarps to use???? Any info greatly appreciated, Tim
Blanket and Tarp?
- Thread starter TGEvans
- Start date
-
Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
Hi ,
Only used blankets a couple of times whilst reenacting and to be honest a sleeping bag can pack smaller and will be much warmer . I froze using just a blanket .
Cheers ,
Trev .
Only used blankets a couple of times whilst reenacting and to be honest a sleeping bag can pack smaller and will be much warmer . I froze using just a blanket .
Cheers ,
Trev .
Hi Tim,
It depends on the time of year and temerature. I've hammocked a few times with just a fleece blanket last summer but slept fully clothed as it was only an overnighter.
As Trev says, you can get a descent sleeping bag that will back smaller and be warmer.
It depends on the time of year and temerature. I've hammocked a few times with just a fleece blanket last summer but slept fully clothed as it was only an overnighter.
As Trev says, you can get a descent sleeping bag that will back smaller and be warmer.
You dont necessarily have to use tarps. The army use the standard issue poncho as a tarp, and just tied up the hood. This is good as it combines two bits of kit into one, and you can use the poncho to collect rainwater, by undoing the hood and placing a bowl, flask or something underneath. saves quite a bit of space.
Poncho: Raincoat, Tarp and water collection device all in one!
Hope this helped,
Ph34r
Poncho: Raincoat, Tarp and water collection device all in one!
Hope this helped,
Ph34r
thats what i do, i have a massive dutch wool blanket from endys and its good in a hammock to line it or as an extra layer of insulation in a tent in mild weather im going to use just the blanket and sleep fully clothed in my hammock (have an underblanket to)
i just roll it up like a long thin sausage and strap it to the outside of my pack
oh and as for tarp i got a british army sheet shelter - i have had it a while now and it was cheap when i got it (about a tenner) but they are now around 30 quid!!!
there was a tarp compnay that periodocally does seconds at a cheaper price but i cant remember if it was DD or tatonka sorry, although i think it was tatonka. you have to email them to ask for seconds though
there was a tarp compnay that periodocally does seconds at a cheaper price but i cant remember if it was DD or tatonka sorry, although i think it was tatonka. you have to email them to ask for seconds though
Warmth for weight and packsize, a sleeping bag wins hands down. Price on the other hand...?
Last edited:
Can definitely recommend a tatonka tarp. They are well made and have loops and tying points everywhere!!
Also would choose a bag over a blanket. Weight alone would be the biggest factor let alone pack size.
Also would choose a bag over a blanket. Weight alone would be the biggest factor let alone pack size.
http://nwwoodsman.com/Videos/WoolBlanket.html
i use this method if using a blanket but only really working on the floor
i use this method if using a blanket but only really working on the floor
Thanks guys. Will stick with my sleeping bag by the looks of it then. Those tatonka tarps look good. I have seen some cheaper camo ones on greenman bushcraft.any good?
I got a kathmandu trekking basha from Bison Bushcraft and it is really good IMHO.
Have you thought of a quilt? I'm not talking of those stitched through things an old auntie might have given you for extra warmth if you stayed over but mostly just lay on the bed once it was made up. I'm talking of a type of sleeping bag that only has down where you need it, namely on the sides and top. Think about it a bit, down insulates by lofting up to trap air. If you are lying on the down it can't loft so won't be effective as an insulant. So why carry that down?
A backpacking quilt only has down on the tops and sides and the foot area (which is like the foot of a sleeping bag). The rest us meant to be where your pad goes and only has straps. Mine has a popper around the neck area and a drawcord to cinch it in to hold heat in. You can wrap it up as tight or loose as you want depending on how cold. If you are too hot just let the sides up. it also packs smaller and most of them are very light. I have one from Golite that is extra long and as a result has extra girth but this doesn't matter as I just tuck the sides under me and it is snug and warm.
I have only just got it and have used it a few times. Once on a very cold night and it was the dogs baubles. I was totally comfortable and think it is my best purchase ever. I used it recently in a tarp on a windy, wet night and had a very nice night's sleep. The only down side is the price. The current model of mine costs £285 but I got mine as it was the old style for £100. I got a tip from another forum and went straight on to the shop and bought it. I think there are US brands that are cheaper even if you do buy it from over there.
IMHO there is not better thing for wild camping and backpacking than a good backpacking qiuilt.
Have you thought of a quilt? I'm not talking of those stitched through things an old auntie might have given you for extra warmth if you stayed over but mostly just lay on the bed once it was made up. I'm talking of a type of sleeping bag that only has down where you need it, namely on the sides and top. Think about it a bit, down insulates by lofting up to trap air. If you are lying on the down it can't loft so won't be effective as an insulant. So why carry that down?
A backpacking quilt only has down on the tops and sides and the foot area (which is like the foot of a sleeping bag). The rest us meant to be where your pad goes and only has straps. Mine has a popper around the neck area and a drawcord to cinch it in to hold heat in. You can wrap it up as tight or loose as you want depending on how cold. If you are too hot just let the sides up. it also packs smaller and most of them are very light. I have one from Golite that is extra long and as a result has extra girth but this doesn't matter as I just tuck the sides under me and it is snug and warm.
I have only just got it and have used it a few times. Once on a very cold night and it was the dogs baubles. I was totally comfortable and think it is my best purchase ever. I used it recently in a tarp on a windy, wet night and had a very nice night's sleep. The only down side is the price. The current model of mine costs £285 but I got mine as it was the old style for £100. I got a tip from another forum and went straight on to the shop and bought it. I think there are US brands that are cheaper even if you do buy it from over there.
IMHO there is not better thing for wild camping and backpacking than a good backpacking qiuilt.
Yes it's called a Sleeping bag....
I understand the theory of Quilts ie it saves weight as you're not carrying the excess fabric and insulation that a sleeping bag provides.
I often wake up having moved around a bit in the night to find what was the bottom of my sleeping bag is now the side etc. Trying to remain static on a karrimat or thermarest with a down duvet above me for me would be impossible So my contention is a sleeping bag is a better bet. for most folk Hence they are mainstream.
Macpac made a sleeping bag called the NEVE with no insulation on the base just a bit of fabric where you put a sleeping mat. Now they don't make it...
Blankets outdoors are ok but best for the summer months.
I've used a quilt camping for the last 7 or so years. My current quilt weighs 400g.
The Macpac neve and the lighter Pinnacle ceased being made because they couldn't control the drafts that got in where the mat sleeve and insulation started. Other bags and quilts don't have this issue.
The Macpac neve and the lighter Pinnacle ceased being made because they couldn't control the drafts that got in where the mat sleeve and insulation started. Other bags and quilts don't have this issue.
Given the overall health and comfort benefits of restful sleep, I'd opt for a suitable sleeping bag or quilt, after all its supposed to be an enjoyable experience, not an episode of 'Endurance'!
I rate good (warm and comfortable) sleep very highly, as I need it for my spine and hip to cooperate in the new day's activities, and simply to wake up feeling relatively human!
I rate good (warm and comfortable) sleep very highly, as I need it for my spine and hip to cooperate in the new day's activities, and simply to wake up feeling relatively human!
im planning on doing the west highland way over 3 days in june this year with just a hudsons bay 4 point blanket and a poncho as shelter.(The blanket will be my rucksack with any minimal kit being wrapped up in it) i will let you know how i get on with it, but life is all about different experiences and you never know how something will go until you give it a try...
Col
Col
I've seen the blanket as a pack technique displayed by Cody Lundin and am impressed with the efficiency and multiple use capability of it, as it wasn't something that had occurred to me previously.
Well to the guy who thinks a sleeping bag is better than a quilt he is probably right for some but not for others. I am personally a bit of a wriggler when it comes to sleeping however I manage rather well in a quilt. In fact a month or so ago I got a heat rash around my ankles from wearing socks in my quilt. In my colder rated sleeping bag that weighed over twice the weight of my quilt I used to have to wear hiking socks in it in summer. I have so far only found that the quilt is as warm as I will need and have not found the issue of rolling over to create a gap a problem. I also use it with the straps under me not the mat at the top end and under the mat at the bottom end nearer the feet. I also have the popper that is around the neck above the mat (well it wouldn't fit under it). I find I could even leave the straps behind as I doubt they do anything worthwhile. At the end of the day I was worried about the rolling over problem but after taking the chance I found out that it was not a problem. All I can say to Johnboy is that unless you've tried it you can't be sure. Of course that will cost money which couyld be wasted if it doesn't work for you. Unless you can borrow one.I sleep in my silk, square ended liner bag which only goes up to my waist as it keeps slipping down (not long enough to go much higher anyway as I'm 196cm long).Then the quilt goes over the top. Whilst I toss and turn a lot (particularly early in the morning and late at night at each end of the night's sleep if you like) I have not found any gap problem.I doubt you are more of a wriggler than me. I once found myself turned around 180 degrees in my tent through wriggling. Now at 196cm / 6'5" long, inside a sleeping bag so being constrained in my motions, in a tent that was a small two man tunnel tent and fast asleep I ask you how much would I have to wriggle to do that. I do reckon in that night if I had been in a quilt it is likely that I would have woken up part way through the turn and had a better night through not finding myself head down hill.
yeah i agree mate, i first saw this set up on one of Paul Gawletts bushcraft and survival dvds and i thought - yep im going to have to give that one a try, so about 2 years later and about 4 million excuses later, i guess its time to try it out, should be fun, cant wait for all the strange looks i get on the west highland way, could be embarrassing if people try to give me money because i cant afford a backpack lol....
COL...
LOL! Embarrasing would be doing it in June in a mankini and no midgie repellent. Good on you mate - I'll look forward to the pics from that one.
I've slept out for up to a week at a time during the summer months in the hammock with just an all wool army blanket and been plenty warm enough - the blanket doesn't seem to compress and lose insulation that much.
Wrapped up on the ground with a good fire as the guy in the video suggests, I guess you'd be pretty cosy almost anytime of year.
As for tarps, it really doesn't matter, get what you can afford and if it doesn't have all the attachment points you need, buy (or make) more ... http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=427216 ...
Choosing the right size for your needs is more important IMHO, 3m x 2m is a good size and if you can get a 3m x 3m then that's probably the sweet spot - bigger is great but usually means heavier.
