Bored on a Saturday night

[XRV John]

Deciding that the new series of Ant & Dec isn't for me and with SWMBO's cries of "You're mad!!" ringing in my ears I decided to try something for outdoor camping other than one of my tents.

Having a basha but no trees in the back garden I made best use of the decking 😂

So here we basha (which I now think might be too small to give adequate cover), my new (from ebay) 1992 bivvy, my Mamut 3/4 season bag, a full and a 3 - quarter mat and mummy bag liner.

Just off to get the Esbit cooker down
😃

 

[Harvestman]

ANYTHING has to be better than Ant & Dec! Have a good one.

 

[haytor7]

That looks like a good idea and well better than watching ant and dik. which is what I am doing. hope its not too cold out there

 

[XRV John]

Currently 3.5 Celcius and SWMBO says if I go out I can't come back in. Something to do with snoring last night
😁

 

[falcon]

Go for it mate....live the dream even in your back garden. Otherwise come Monday at work and you'll wonder why you didn't

 

[MikeLA]

Yeah I am bored too, wife watching ant and dec hence put the PC on. Good idea

 

[XRV John]

I'm actually pretty snug in here! Well until I stick me arms out to type that is 😂

 

[MikeLA]

Nice set up the Basha if its an issue one size wise will be fine. Slept under smaller in pairs

 

[Macaroon]

Try pitching it diamond-stylee if you feel you want more cover, but have a good 'un whatever way you do it

 

[XRV John]

Try pitching it diamond-stylee if you feel you want more cover

I'll have to practice that having never done it before

Will bring it along to my first bushcraft meet and see if someone can show me

Having a convivial vino with SWMBO to earn brownie points before heading out to base camp

 

[Bishop]

Fair play to you, there is no shame. Better to test gear in the back yard than find yourself wanting for better out in the sticks.

 

[XRV John]

Well what worked?

The bag and mats inside the bivvy worked as the bivvy stopped the mats sliding around. Could sleep comfortably on my side. There was no precipitation so the basha didn't need to keep anything off BUT its East - West orientation and raised level on the deck did make it cold once the wind picked up.

I should have put more layers of clothing on other than some old thermals as I would get a cold spot around my midriff which moving inside the bag would alleviate for a while. It got down to 1.6 Celcius before I came in.

But the biggest problem was NOISE !!! My neighbour going into his garage for a ciggie at 1 am, noisy twats coming home from the pub about 12.30 or the constant vehicle noise from the motorway or morons gunning their cars up the hill. Gave up at 1.20am as just could not get off to sleep. Camp sites are so much quieter and I would guess woods even more so!

Still, valuable lessons learned re wind break and personal insulation. It's work in progress so try to improve things next time. Defo set it up in the lee of the deck next time for better wind protection.

John

 

[Macaroon]

Good on you for getting out there

 

[bilmo-p5]

Defo set it up in the lee of the deck next time for better wind protection.

... or set your tarp differently. Diamond fly or lean-to pitches would both have offered good lees. Where the wind is and where it might shift to are important considerations with tarps, particularly small ones.

Good exercise, all the same. Well done.

 

[XRV John]

... or set your tarp differently. Diamond fly or lean-to pitches would both have offered good lees. Where the wind is and where it might shift to are important considerations with tarps, particularly small ones.

Good exercise, all the same. Well done.

Yeah I'll have to practice that as never done it before