Polish Lavvu Improvements

[Actaeon]

First off if someone has already done a thread on this sorry but I couldn't find it in the recent articles.

I recently managed to get my hands on an un-issued Polish army Lavvu. Today was the first day I was able to take some time and head out to set it up (I have a flagstone garden). I found the buttons tricky but manageable, but can't help think it would be nigh impossible with cold and wet hands. I'm thinking of taking the buttons off and making some paracord laces or a heavy duty zip perhaps. Just wondering what peoples experiences with modding these tens are and if there are any other upgrades worth considering?

Apart from the buttons I thought it was great, It's not light weight but to my mind that and the shape make it less likely to blow away in strong winds, It also started pouring down and it seems pretty water proof. Pretty happy with it for £25.

Cheers

Actaeon

 

[ammo]

I leave mine all buttoned up. Just 3/4 to open/close.
Place something flat and solid under the centre pole.
Get a ground sheet, keep it tucked up at the floor on the inside, to prevent ground water running in.
Seen one extended at the bottom, with a skirt, became a mini bell tent.
Think they're great, little heavy but bombproof.

 

[spandit]

I replaced the central pole with an A-frame - means I can use the full length inside which is only just long enough

 

[crosslandkelly]

Have a look here.
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131475&highlight=polish+lavvu+mods

 

[Tiki]

I've just added some Velcro to the opening to my Lavvu. Will be test running it next weekend! Turns out that hand stitching through the Velcro and canvas is a pain!

 

[Jaeger]

Aye Up Actaeon,

Here's some more to consider - http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=134658&highlight=Lavvu+mods

 

[jimbo75]

Best improvement... The bin.

 

[Laurentius]

Best improvement... The bin.

That is a bit mean. I reckon the best improvement would be to take the concept and design but to replace the material with lightweight PU nylon or whatever, the original material is just too damned heavy to be practical for me.

 

[ammo]

I take mine as a spare, when car camping. Let the kids have it, used it to store wood too.

 

[jimbo75]

That is a bit mean. I reckon the best improvement would be to take the concept and design but to replace the material with lightweight PU nylon or whatever, the original material is just too damned heavy to be practical for me.

Fair play.. Mine is actually in the boot of my car, and will probably save my bacon one day if I break down. Or if there's a surprise nuclear attack.

 

[Laurence Milton]

Fair play.. Mine is actually in the boot of my car, and will probably save my bacon one day if I break down. Or if there's a surprise nuclear attack.

Big fan of these tents when canoeing and camping solo; being canvas was part of it, nothing to touch it for the price.
I've always thought them bombproof, but radiation proof? Wow.............:wow1:

Mods?
Zip, adjustable pole/washing line pole and/ or A frame from a Blacks GC, rubber anchor loops through eyelets.
At 6' 4" tall, there' enough diameter even with a central pole

(Mods on my second one...I was that pleased I bought another!!.........nothing.............see AndyBB's post above/below.......)

 

[Andy BB]

Leave at least half of the button holes undone, and attach a bungee cord to the base of one "door". Simply pull it across the opening and attach to a peg when you want to close the door. Simples

 

[Laurence Milton]

Developing the A frame thing a bit, as many hang the lavvu from a branch or whatever........I have found stuffing a squash ball or similar up the apex and tying up to the Blacks GC A frame works so well; but what if one of these isn't lying around...
Spares for Vango F10 tents are available, including angle peaks, then its a matter of measuring the length of poles, not that that needs to be critical...
Want a little more height? Use an extending washing line pole for about £3 instead of supplied poles and an oversized groundsheet......

But bear in mind, NO money really needs spending on these for them to work perfectly well and securely...............

 

[eel28]

Only got to use mine twice. First time I used it 'as is' and enjoyed my stay in it. Second time I draped it over a tripod made up of washing line props which greatly increased the internal space. During that second time It rained and while trying to dry it in the shed some mice got in an ate a nice hole in one half!

Which reminds me, I must get round to buying a replacement!

 

[Janne]

'Polish Lavvu'.
Is that a result from a joint Polish and Sami military development ?

 

[gonzo_the_great]

I brought one of these after googling for poncho's. They seemed like a fun way of having yet another tent and a poncho. And at the price, I couldn't find a good reason not to!

I used it for a couple of over nighters, then went to town on the mods.
The issues I wanted to address were: Awkward buttons, centre pole being in the way and the daft inside/outside orientation.
Also, I still wanted it to work as a poncho.

The first thing was to sew in some heavy duty brass zips. The hardest part was to get them aligned so that ether half could be used as a poncho, or the two zipped together for the lavvu. I left all the buttons in place, as a backup, in case a zip failed.
I used double sided zips (ones you can operate from the inside or outside), which worked very well for both the lavvu and poncho. I fitted them so that the zips closed downwards, in normal tent fashion, which also allowed the poncho config to be free at the waist if required.
I chose a zip length that was about a foot short of the full length. Leaving the hood area of the poncho open. The top foot being buttoned up when used as a lavvu. In retrospect, I could have just used full length double ended zippers and used the top zipper to open up the hood end.
An unexpected advantage of having the hood end free to open, as a lavvu I can open the top for a bit of extra ventilation, especially if using the trangia in there.
I also added zips to the arm holes.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about, regarding the way these should be set up. The shoulder sections and the way that the arm hole drains are stitched, don't seem to be consistent. It suggests that the intended way of using these is: As a poncho, with the shoulder flaps on the outside. And as a lavvu, with the shoulder flaps on the inside. But both ways are compromised.
So I modded the storm flaps and drains on the arm holes, so that the outside is the same side, whatever the config.

I also did an A frame mod, using some left over fibreglass tent poles (you find lots of these in the bins after festivals). I made up a top hinged coupling, which was some tubing, hammered flat at the ends and a bolt/wingnut to secure them together and a bit of paracord tied the the ground ends, to hold the legs at the correct angle, without having to spike them into the ground.
With the A frame, you get rid of the central pole and can pitch it in more of an oval, if required.

Also I have mine a good going over with fabsil.

Yep, they are heavy. But certainly fun if you don't have to carry them too far. (Or have someone else who needs a poncho.)

I have yet to try mine as a poncho. Apart from testing it during the modding process, where my daughter said that I looked like a xmas tree. Thanks!

 

[Laurence Milton]

Yup -see post 11!

 

[Robson Valley]

Hand stitching through canvas, Velcro and thin leather is a piece of cake with a Speedy Stitcher.
I don't do it often enough to make the result look pretty but I'm convinced that the two pieces
are not never about to come apart.
I'm mostly making leather patches on my canvas chore/barn coats.

 

[bilmo-p5]

Hand stitching through canvas, Velcro and thin leather is a piece of cake with a Speedy Stitcher.

And easier still with a sewing machine.

 

[Robson Valley]

There are sewing machines and then there are sewing machines.
I needed a canvas apron for wood carving and our local seamstress would not do it.
Went to the man who restores furniture and got it made, even the pockets on the underside so they don't fill with chips!