Cross posted - but could be of use to someone
- Apologies for taking so long to respond, I was away from home for over a week .
I use a Burke & Wills Coolabah swag, purchased from The Aussie Shop ~ nice people .
... I really have a hankering for one of these ...
I succumbed too . I was going to go down the bivi-bag route but I needed to have the ability to house and protect medical equipement.
... I know they are great for the outback but what about over here, would they cope with British woodland terrain ...
A swag will cope well with British woodland. Heavy cotton canvas will shrug off most of what natural Britain and its weather can throw at it .
... would they be waterproof enough ...
Swags tend to be heavy cotton canvas (some models have P.U bases). Because of this they're more water resistant than waterproof ~ I was one of the few ground dwellers who didn't need to relocate during the prolonged rain at the Decenber '08 BcUK Meet though .
A tarp over the top is invaluable in wet weather, as is protecting the base ~ unless you go down the P.U base route.
... I'd love to hear folks comments especially if they own one or have used one in this country.
I find them to be quite insulating. At the June '09 S.V Meet I was using a thin blanket ~ which I was only pulling over me at about 4 in the morning. At the outdoor show Meet in March I used two blankets and slept toasty whilst some others in decent sleeping bags suffered from the cold at night.
If you wake up cold, first try to work out whether you're resting against the side wall .
If you roll the swag up whilst it's wet anything kept inside (mat, sleeping bag etc) will get, at best, damp .
I dumped the supplied foam mattress in favour of a thermarest before the swags first proper usage.
It's damnedably dark in a fully closed up Swag and you might benefit from leaving it a crack open ~ I don't suffer from claustrophobia, but .... . Leaving an aperature also acts to improve ventilation .
Under normal circumstances, if you are otherwise travelling light then there is no reason why a normal,single, swag can't be shouldered for distances ~ although it'd be a good idea to buy/make a waterproof holdall for it.