Blankets vs sleeping bags

[myotis]

Jhenry

Sound like "OK for the night" means that its not particulalry great

Forestwalker,
I like the set up, but as you say a little bulky

Durulz

That is what I do now, but still dislike the synthetic feel of the ste up

Graham

 

[myotis]

As I have been reading around this, it seems that its very difficult to draw many conclusions as a "blanket" can be many things.

The type and quality of wool seems fundamental, plus the blend of wools chosen. The tighness of the weave and the style of weave is also important. Which is also going to affect performance depending on circumstances. Some of the "warmer" and more expensive wools seem to come a very loosely woven throws rather than blankets, but these might trap more air and work really well in a tent, wile work really badly in an outdoor windier environment.

I also found rerefences about how different types of washing chemicals sould affect the insuative properties of wool,

I would love to be able to compare an Angora or Alpaca blanket with a sleeping bag and see whether spending the money on the best wool plus maybe some modern tweaks were able to bring the old fashioned blanket into a position to more directly compete with a modern sleeping bag.

Graham

 

[rik_uk3]

Funny timing

I saw a video last night on the Northwest Woodsman site on how to wrap yourself up in a blanket so it stays put.

Scoops

That is pretty much how I was taught to wrap bodies some years ago

Blankets come across as another 'I'm a bushcrafter so I must' bla bla bla. If blankets are so good why did people stop using them?

 

[Wayland]

That is pretty much how I was taught to wrap bodies some years ago

Blankets come across as another 'I'm a bushcrafter so I must' bla bla bla. If blankets are so good why did people stop using them?

Because they were heavy and bulky, no other reason really.

Blankets have their advantages, so do goose down bags. Wisdom is knowing which suits your situation best.

I don't think blankets could be called a bushcraft fashion thing, I don't know many people that do still use them, but the ones that do use them generally know enough to make their own minds up.

 

[sandbender]

"...If blankets are so good why did people stop using them?..."

Most people didn't stop using them, the majority of people in this world are still using blankets, that isn't to say that they wouldn't prefer a comfy four season bag instead.



I have a heavy woolen blanket from Erdély (Transylvania) which has kept me very cosy through a few nights, however it is very bulky and I wouldn't want to carry on a long journey, maybe a 'Great Kilt' or 'Feileadh Mor' to wrap up in would provide a more portable alternative.

 

[SimonM]

I tend to wear my blanket as a poncho around the fire, but prefer my sleeping bag for actually sleeping in when out & about.

Simon

 

[dogwood]

If blankets are so good why did people stop using them?

In part, people stopped using them because a wealthy outdoor industry tried to convince them that they had a better solution and marketed that. People bought the marketing (and in some cases the marketing is right -- down bags are great, for certain purposes...)

(Likewise, Merino has been around for years and suddenly hit the radar because of a New Zealand marketing effort followed up by outdoor suppliers budgets.)

In any event, there is a return to the blanket concept that can be seen in the revival of the poncho/insulated poncho liner approach for mild to chilly nights in the military and amongst the DIY and ultra light backpacking crowd.

If you design your system carefully, there is zero trade-off in using a blanket, and in fact there is a lot of advantages.

Part to the beauty of the blanket is it serves multiple duty -- as a coat to augment other outer wear, to sleep with, tightly woven enough, it can even keep the rain off and be used as a small shelter. And wool and alpaca keep you warm when soaking wet.

A light wool or alpaca blanket is also a core piece of survival gear in my mind -- when all the rest of your kit fails, this won't.

This is why a lightweight matchcoat-sized blanket has been part of my standard load (and it's not that heavy, just under under 2 pounds) for a long time.

It allows me to lighten up on my other stuff. Sleeping: my down quilt weighs 1.6 pounds and when combined with my blanket, I can sleep comfortable down to about 0 F for about 3.6 pounds in total weight (as good as a four-season bag at the same weight). Jacket: Combined with my 11 oz synthetic puffball sweater and my light wool longhunter shirt and decent base layer, I can get down to... well, I've never found the lower limit on temperature... Easily down to 0 F as well.

In other words, it's a wash on weight in a carefully designed system -- it is of course, always a little bulky. But that's not too big a deal to me. Roll it up and off we go...

We accept the idea that layering in clothing makes sense because it confers flexibility. I feel a light wool blanket allows you to "layer" in gear by having something that serves double and triple duty depending on the circumstances.

The use of a well-selected blanket in a well thought out system is lightweight and confers *enormous* flexibility.

 

[dogwood]

Most people didn't stop using them, the majority of people in this world are still using blankets, that isn't to say that they wouldn't prefer a comfy four season bag instead.

The first part of this comment is spot on and something it's great to reflect upon.

However, I'm inclined to doubt those people still using blankets would actually trade for a four-season bag. Here's why: in an extremely hard use environment (those faced by the poor, by peasants, by shepherds in the Andes, etc.) a typical sleeping bag wouldn't last a month.

Blankets are hardwearing and don't break in the field. You can literally bet your life on them and people do, as sandbender points out.

 

[myotis]

That is pretty much how I was taught to wrap bodies some years ago

Blankets come across as another 'I'm a bushcrafter so I must' bla bla bla. If blankets are so good why did people stop using them?

Well, as I asked the question, I will respond, even though I don't see myself as a bushcrafter, or even an aspiring bushcrafter, just someone who goes camping in a style that now a days seems to sit more comfortably in a bushcrafting forum than in a camping forum.

I don't like synthetic material, I have used it extensively when I backpacked (and would again), but find it sweaty, uncomfortable and often have major problems with static.

I don't like being enclosed in sleeping bags, and find it difficult to sleep in them. For years I have been using a sleeping bag unzipped as a quilt, but still find the nylon covering sweaty, clammy and unpleasant. Cotton covered bags, when I've been able to find them are better, but they are also that much bulkier, heavier and get damp more easily than nylon covered bags.

Although, I have a high quality lightweight sleeping quilt, now that I really only camp from the car, or within a short walk of the car, I don't need a high tech sleeping bag and can look at other options.

The first plan was to use a cotton covered domestic quilt, with but you are back to the dampness issue and, even with car camping they can be pretty bulky. Dampness is much less of a problem with wool, and this got me round to thinking of blankets.

I can also see advantages in a blanket as something you can more readily wrap around you when sitting up on cold nights, and something that seems to need less looking after than a sleeping bag.

Asking here seemed a good way of exploring the idea further. My guess is that many people here prefer natural materials and camp close to a car (at least some of the time), or maybe canoe camp, and with some interesting wools available, it may be that blankets are a more realistic option than they were 40-50 years ago, and that maybe nore people than I thought might be using them. It didn't occur to me that it was anything to do with being a "bushcrafter", but equally I'm not sure why that is a problem.

Apart from a few nutters like you and me, people have stopped using primus stoves, but they are an important part of "going camping" for me (not that I use them all the time), and I would have thought they were for you too.

So, I'm not sure why people can't pursue their "bushcrafting" hobby in a way that matches the values they place on what that hobby means to them. If someone wants to use a blanket because that is part of what bushcrafting means to them, why not.

Graham

 

[sandbender]

However, I'm inclined to doubt those people still using blankets would actually trade for a four-season bag.

No I think they'd make the trade, However I think it's fairly likely that they'd regret the decision later though

Tell us more about your blanket set up, does alpaca come in different weights? what is the width and length of the blankets you carry and how do you carry them?

 

[myotis]

It allows me to lighten up on my other stuff. Sleeping: my down quilt weighs 1.6 pounds and when combined with my blanket, I can sleep comfortable down to about 0 F for about 3.6 pounds in total weight (as good as a four-season bag at the same weight).

Interesting. I was thinking along the lines of using the blanket for warmer weather, and as a wrap when sitting in the tent, but with my Jacks R better quilt over the top of it for colder weather. Sounds as if that is exactly what you already do.

What size is your blanket, I was thinking of maybe matching it to the quilt size (86" x 48") but not thought it through properly yet.

Graham

 

[dogwood]

No I think they'd make the trade, However I think it's fairly likely that they'd regret the decision later though

Yes, I think you're exactly right!

Tell us more about your blanket set up, does alpaca come in different weights? what is the width and length of the blankets you carry and how do you carry them?

The alpaca weight thing is kind of complicated. In blankets, there are a least three weights I've seen: a fairly heavy weight that is actually wool and alpaca woven together; a medium/heavy weight that is pure alpaca; and a lightweight that I think is primarily intended for ponchos and large shawls but can come in close to blanket sizes.

The one I'm using now is the pure alpaca and it's 60 inches by 80 inches. That's *slightly* narrower than some typical matchcoat sizes and someday I'm hoping to find one that's 64 by 85, but 60x80 works well enough.

If the weather is fair, I roll it up and tie it in an inverted U shape over the top of my pack (it's a terrible waste of space to put it inside the pack). If the weather might not be fair, I'll roll it up *inside* of a my silnylon poncho and then lash them to the top of the pack.

I seldom have an established base camp since I tend to keep moving, but if I've stopped at place for a couple of days and I'm wandering about the area, I've got a long bit of 1 inch strap that I use as a tumpline to carry it with me away from camp in case the weather turns. I'll put a couple of other things in the roll then, just in case -- like the old days!

 

[myotis]

The one I'm using now is the pure alpaca and it's 60 inches by 80 inches. That's *slightly* narrower than some typical matchcoat sizes and someday I'm hoping to find one that's 64 by 85, but 60x80 works well enough.

Thanks, I realise you were answering sandbender, but I managed to ask almost the same question.

Graham

 

[sandbender]

Thanks dogwood

 

[woodstock]

At the next midlands meet im going to be using my reindeer hide as the bottom layer and a wool blanket on top, I,ve tried the hide with my bag and it is toasty warm but not so as to become uncomfortable and so soft to lay on

 

[dogwood]

Thanks, I realise you were answering sandbender, but I managed to ask almost the same question.

Graham,

I'm sorry I didn't answer your question directly -- I was running late for something and only had time for one response.

But in answer to your question about size -- if you intend to use the blanket as a coat from time to time, the odds are good that 48" is too narrow and won't cover the shoulders and arms adequately. That's why you'll want something 60" to 68" wide (I feel 64" to 68" is ideal).

Lastly, one thing I've noticed about alpaca -- it does tend to pick up a little more twigs and stuff than a tightly woven wool blanket will (in these blankets, the more tightly woven the it is, the better off you are...) So sometimes I still take my wool blankets if I'm in certain types of woods.

Hope that helps!

 

[myotis]

But in answer to your question about size -- if you intend to use the blanket as a coat from time to time, the odds are good that 48" is too narrow and won't cover the shoulders and arms adequately. That's why you'll want something 60" to 68" wide (I feel 64" to 68" is ideal).

Dogwood,

Thanks

I hadn't really been thinking about it as Match Coat, and was going on the size of my quilt, but I can see the benifits of the larger size.

But given that the cheapest Alpaca blanket I can find is about £200, which I assume now a days must be nearly $400, it may be some time before I get one.

The information I have just found suggests that Alpaca is five times warmer than sheeps wool. If that is right, it makes it look a realy useful material for all sorts of outdoor uses.

Graham

 

[dogwood]

But given that the cheapest Alpaca blanket I can find is about £200, which I assume now a days must be nearly $400, it may be some time before I get one.

Wow! It's not that much over here -- more like $50 to $70. I got lucky and bought mine while on business in Peru and got it for super cheap.

Check e-bay for it, though and you should be able to get a decent deal from South America -- this one would be about $45 with shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOFT-WARM-YEL...hash=item160319678082&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

A word of caution though -- if it doesn't say %100 Alpaca (the listing above doesn't) the odds are it's alpaca and wool. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE wool -- but alpaca-wool blends don't give you the lightness of pure alpaca.

The information I have just found suggests that Alpaca is five times warmer than sheeps wool. If that is right, it makes it look a realy useful material for all sorts of outdoor uses.

I don't know about five times -- but it certainly is noticeably warmer than the same weight wool.

But let's not sell wool too short either, it's a miracle fabric for outdoors usage. A good tight wool matchcoat is a thing of beauty.

Besides, if you've got an old wool blanket around, why not give that one a try next time you head out. Might be a bit heavier, but if you're not backpacking far, that's not such a big deal. With a wool blanket and your quilt and a decent pad, you'll be ready for nearly any weather.

And you'll be SOOOOOO comfortable

 

[Wayland]

I managed to get hold of an alpaca poncho for about £20 at Womad last year.

I don't know if the stalls that work the festival circuit turn up anywhere else but it could be worth keeping an eye open.

 

[myotis]

Dogwood and Wayland,

Thanks

I shall have a look on ebay and have a better look in general, as the only pure alpaca blankets I am finding are "designer" items, rather than the simple blanket I am looking for.

Having said that, my Dutch army woollen blanket is working here in the house just as well as the domestic down quilt it replaced, as well as being lighter and draping better (though this has probably more to do with the quilt cover, than the quilt itself.

The more I think about it the more I like the idea of a blanket/down sleeping quilt combination.

Graham