A Google search for "hiking trailer" will give you some piccies and links to some commercial trailers. Maybe some ideas for your project?
British Wet Weather Camping Tips!
- Thread starter Samon
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Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
A Google search for "hiking trailer" will give you some piccies and links to some commercial trailers. Maybe some ideas for your project?
Thermos flask of either hot water to make soup/tea/coffee et al or just full of tea or drink of choice. Weather goes bad, setup your shelter, have that instant hot drink and relax for a while before getting comfy for the night. Fill the flask last thing ready for the morning's first brew too.
If your using an open shelter like a tarp, change into your night clothes and get in the bag earlier than normal, best to do this while your nice and warm after a hot meal and drink. Not so needed in the comfort and shelter of a tent. In either case fill a bottle with hot water, use to heat your sleeping bag and if you need a pee just empty the bottle (arms reach from tarp or tent) fill bottle with warm pee, put back in sleeping bag and go back to sleep. Rinse the bottle before drinking out of again.
If your having oats for brekkie, real oats not the instant, leave them to soak overnight. If your using the camp for a day or two and on hikes from the camp, soak dried ingredients (veg, pulses etc) while your away to cut down on cooking time on your return.
nothing wrong with starting the day wet and drying out soldiers just live with it and male the best of it, if you are active enough then the extra wind helps dry you out. the hard part is getting used to it day after day after day. the harder part is keeping your feet serviceable and some sock rotation may be in order military style.
a poncho comes in handy when its like this as its possible to string it and provide you with an instant shelter even while wearing it. it will keep you drier long term than failing or sweaty goretex. it can make an extra admin area or extension to a tent with the aid of a couple of upside down walking poles.
for my firetip I suggest a large tube of puncture repair glue, costs around a quid and takes a spark while burning with gusto.
laminated fabrics which wet out on the outside as well as older failing fabrics like goretex might benefit from a bit of sealing with silicone sealant and white spirit mix. good for recycling goretex into a regular wetproof, restoring ground sheeps/tent flys/58 ponchos or patching bramble leaks in bivvy bags. sealing the outside of a pack can make it lighter and dryer as most cordura is laminated which fails.
if you have planned the weekend and know where you are going then stashing a few bottles of water some fuel and maybe food isnt a bad idea to save walking weight. before all the excessive chaperoning came in I used to stash water along the kids routes for them to save me carrying extra for them. I allways carry a filter top bottle but sometimes water just isnt there to treat. empty bottles can be squashed and brought home after.
someone mentioned crocs but often its easier just to spend the day in flip flops and have done with it.
a poncho comes in handy when its like this as its possible to string it and provide you with an instant shelter even while wearing it. it will keep you drier long term than failing or sweaty goretex. it can make an extra admin area or extension to a tent with the aid of a couple of upside down walking poles.
for my firetip I suggest a large tube of puncture repair glue, costs around a quid and takes a spark while burning with gusto.
laminated fabrics which wet out on the outside as well as older failing fabrics like goretex might benefit from a bit of sealing with silicone sealant and white spirit mix. good for recycling goretex into a regular wetproof, restoring ground sheeps/tent flys/58 ponchos or patching bramble leaks in bivvy bags. sealing the outside of a pack can make it lighter and dryer as most cordura is laminated which fails.
if you have planned the weekend and know where you are going then stashing a few bottles of water some fuel and maybe food isnt a bad idea to save walking weight. before all the excessive chaperoning came in I used to stash water along the kids routes for them to save me carrying extra for them. I allways carry a filter top bottle but sometimes water just isnt there to treat. empty bottles can be squashed and brought home after.
someone mentioned crocs but often its easier just to spend the day in flip flops and have done with it.
an extra wide necked half litre bottle with hazzard tape a better idea unless you like chief scout cocoa
still got two tango bottles from at least 15 years ago - hows that for recycling! you could also dilute said fresh bottle contents with a drop of sugar and make your own powerade. we once discussed drying boots out with rice bags as you could eat it later but cant say I've gone any further than the chat stage.
Something I aways do....... It comes in the hammock as well, so i dont even have to get out of it.....
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I've been spending more and more time out in the wet since starting this thread. I'm yet to camp out but I've been working in it and just spending hours outside when I would usually just avoid it.
I guess hearing the tips and advice on how to compensate for the often very wet weather has made me lighten up to it, in a way I actually quite like the rainy days, the damp grass and the feeling that the ugly world has just had a bath..
There are less people around, less noise and something satisfying about the rain now. I guess I have accepted it.
The heavy winds I still find unfavourable but aslong as they aren't dangerous like the ones we had a week or so ago they aren't too big of a downer.
Seeing the frogs in my garden also made me smile, I have a thing for amphibians and seeing them live and use my garden has been really nice. My next mission is to camp out in the rain, even if it is my own garden. Just to get a better feel for it, as I haven't been out in ages.
I have a question: does rubbing beeswax into kanvas make it waterproof? or just mildly resistant? and waht do you guys use to waterproof non-waterproof stuff?
I guess hearing the tips and advice on how to compensate for the often very wet weather has made me lighten up to it, in a way I actually quite like the rainy days, the damp grass and the feeling that the ugly world has just had a bath..
There are less people around, less noise and something satisfying about the rain now. I guess I have accepted it.
The heavy winds I still find unfavourable but aslong as they aren't dangerous like the ones we had a week or so ago they aren't too big of a downer.
Seeing the frogs in my garden also made me smile, I have a thing for amphibians and seeing them live and use my garden has been really nice. My next mission is to camp out in the rain, even if it is my own garden. Just to get a better feel for it, as I haven't been out in ages.
I have a question: does rubbing beeswax into kanvas make it waterproof? or just mildly resistant? and waht do you guys use to waterproof non-waterproof stuff?
There are a number of waterproofing, er, solutions that you can get easily on the high street. I use Fabsil for canvas, you can buy it in five litre cans to brush on.
Scotchguard spray is pretty good for other fabrics, I've used it on motorcycle gear with good results.
There are many others.
i think that most wax dressings are mainly beeswax but with a little bit (ten percent ish) of something like parrafin wax to make them more.....erm......runny i guess. i think that with beeswax alone you'd struggle to get it worked into the cloth, but i may well be wrong
IME, real canvas is waterproof without any proofing. I use a heavyweight canvas saddlebag on my bike in all weathers and it never leaks.
I haven't read the whole post yet so sorry if this has been said already.
In the army having a wet set of clothes and a dry set of clothes makes sense, and is highly practical for the activities and practices the army adhere to, such as not having a fire, it would give away your position.
However when camping or Bushcrafting what's wrong with having a fire on an evening, taking your wet gear off and drying it out?
IMHO there not much better in the woods than taking your socks off airing your feet and warming / drying them over an open wood fire while watching the steam come from your socks, even more so if your able to give your socks a rinse before hand, while slurping down a hot brew.
In the army having a wet set of clothes and a dry set of clothes makes sense, and is highly practical for the activities and practices the army adhere to, such as not having a fire, it would give away your position.
However when camping or Bushcrafting what's wrong with having a fire on an evening, taking your wet gear off and drying it out?
IMHO there not much better in the woods than taking your socks off airing your feet and warming / drying them over an open wood fire while watching the steam come from your socks, even more so if your able to give your socks a rinse before hand, while slurping down a hot brew.
Camping, walking or bush-crafting, go to the pound shop and by a three pack of magic sponge cloth type thingies. Great for drying anything both inside of tents, dripping condensation, collect water and squeeze it into containers, dries my canoe out, stick them over night in your boots if their wet, use them to wash and dry yourself with rather than water repellent micro towels, clean pots with.....the list goes on. For the sake of about 8 grams they are most valuable.
From a rainy cheshire, when not stuck in the desert.
Jim
From a rainy cheshire, when not stuck in the desert.
Jim
If you are talking about a tarp, it is usually better to not waterproof it. While canvas is not waterproof, and will absorb water, unless you touch the inside of the wet tarp, you are unlikely to get any leaks through it. If you saturate the fibers enough with some non absorbent material, like wax, you can make it actually waterproof, but that will add a lot of weight to the already heavy tarp, and depending on the material used, may cause it to mold more easily. How waterproof you make the material depends on how saturated you get it with the waterproofing agent.
Make camp earlier and have a dry set of clothes to change into, have enough space in your chosen shelter to keep any wet stuff away from your bed and dry clothes. Have a stove and fuel that does not need dry wood so you can get something hot inside you in a hurry.
Learn to enjoy the small things and let the anticipation of a hot drink or meal cheer you up when wet. I absolutly love the sound of rain hitting my tent/tarp as it makes me feel so warm and cosey (I even feel it in waterproofs with the hood up) and sleep brilliantly when out.
Learn to enjoy the small things and let the anticipation of a hot drink or meal cheer you up when wet. I absolutly love the sound of rain hitting my tent/tarp as it makes me feel so warm and cosey (I even feel it in waterproofs with the hood up) and sleep brilliantly when out.
More and more I appreciate an umbrella - I find a hood is nice for short periods or when i'm travelling through a storm but for most times an umbrella keeps more of you and your stuff dry, doesn't kill your peripheral vision or hearing and not having rain pound on your head just feels nicer.
In addition a decent umbrella can shield the early stages of a fire, can be attached over your pack at your camp to keep it dry, needs no drying out, can keep you cooler if the sun ever comes out and is generally very handy.
In addition a decent umbrella can shield the early stages of a fire, can be attached over your pack at your camp to keep it dry, needs no drying out, can keep you cooler if the sun ever comes out and is generally very handy.
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I was thinking of blow drying it in, heat it enough to let it set in?..
Me and my brother used tio wax our cotton hats and stuff when we were kids (usually red cheese wax) and I recall it working. My guess is the shop bought stuff is most likely a better option then? and the canvas I was thinking about was a kanvas rucksack and a few bits of old clothes/fabric sheaths.
that is a very good point, umbrellas are often forgotten by the 'bushcraft community' or atleast they are in their kit lists and photos!
An umbrella would also be a nice addition to a bivi bag if you don't have or can't afford a tarp. just peg it down above your head to keep the rain and what not off for a good nights sleep!
I was taught, "It's easier to keep dry than to get dry." But you are still going to get wet.
I remember a trip in the Peak District with my two boys when we got soaked and I took them into a Laundromat, took all their clothes off and put them into a tumble dryer (clothes, not boys!). Some nice motherly women rubbed the boys dry with towels they had just washed. They wanted to do the same for me, but I'm not going into that!
A recent trip reminded me that spare room in the tent is necessary for wet clothing and for moving around. I've gone back to a 2kg two man tent from a 1.2 kg oneman bivvy for this reason and again carry and lod fashioned orange survival bag for putting wet clothes in over night.
I remember a trip in the Peak District with my two boys when we got soaked and I took them into a Laundromat, took all their clothes off and put them into a tumble dryer (clothes, not boys!). Some nice motherly women rubbed the boys dry with towels they had just washed. They wanted to do the same for me, but I'm not going into that!
A recent trip reminded me that spare room in the tent is necessary for wet clothing and for moving around. I've gone back to a 2kg two man tent from a 1.2 kg oneman bivvy for this reason and again carry and lod fashioned orange survival bag for putting wet clothes in over night.
