Sleeping on Concrete

[Keith_Beef]

If it's a pill box there should be the gun/observation ports, stick your tree straps through one and back in another. Repeat at the other side and Bob's your uncle

Yes, but I was thinking that the ports might be narrow and maybe spaced too far apart for that (unless you have very long straps), and it would also put the hammock right in the path of the wind coming in through one port and out through the other.

Could work, though, and I'd recommend taking a few small pieces of pine corner moulding to prevent the straps from chafing on the concrete.

 

[mountainm]

Yes, but I was thinking that the ports might be narrow and maybe spaced too far apart for that (unless you have very long straps), and it would also put the hammock right in the path of the wind coming in through one port and out through the other.

Could work, though, and I'd recommend taking a few small pieces of pine corner moulding to prevent the straps from chafing on the concrete.

Two logs(one at each end) - stuck through the ports and then rotated so they can't pull back, kept under tension with a rope so it doesn't all fall apart when you get out of your hammock.

 

[Corfe]

Good advice - if I had a hammock

 

[mountainm]

Tenthwonder sell the super XL for about £16 on ebay It's big and comfy and highly recommended (but packs small and light)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TW-Hammoc...604?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item564df05574

 

[Miyagi]

The pillbox is on a bare, windswept headland with no trees for miles. I usually sleep in it in winter as the last time a pitched a tent there in January the wind ripped the tent pegs out of the ground! Been thinking about a camp bed, I'll admit - I have an old army one which would do the trick, it's just the weight and bulk of it puts me off - though it's only a couple of miles from the house, it's a rough, rocky hike to the pillbox.

Damn, I should just admit it - I'm getting old!

If there's an old runway there, Sunderlands may have flown from there during WWII, unless it is just a radar station of course.


Liam

 

[munkiboi182]

i picked up a camp bed a few years ago for similr use. its really lightweight and collapes down quite small.

one like this

http://store.outdoorgear.co.uk/PIX/BIG/521010-01_L.jpg

 

[haydenw]

The pillbox is on a bare, windswept headland with no trees for miles. I usually sleep in it in winter as the last time a pitched a tent there in January the wind ripped the tent pegs out of the ground! Been thinking about a camp bed, I'll admit - I have an old army one which would do the trick, it's just the weight and bulk of it puts me off - though it's only a couple of miles from the house, it's a rough, rocky hike to the pillbox.

Damn, I should just admit it - I'm getting old!

Cant you stash your camp bed there somewhere, then you only have to carry it in the once!

 

[BBH-Skip]

I have camp bed like that. Must be 25 years old or more now. I use it all the time when camping now but with a thermarest on top. Never had a bad nights sleep yet.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Laurentius]

In my youth I have spent the odd night on tarmac, but only because I was dead drunk and beyond feeling anything (until the following morning that is)

 

[Keith_Beef]

http://store.outdoorgear.co.uk/PIX/BIG/521010-01_L.jpg

That's exactly what I meant when I wrote "a wire and canvas camp bed".

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

Have you tried one of the Polish sleeping mats? Heavy but seriously comfy and warm.

 

[benp1]

Get an inflating, as opposed to self inflating, mat. These are thicker and comfier, and typically lighter, than the self inflating mats of a few years ago

I personally use a large thermarest Neoair, but any Neoair, exped synmat or downmat would work.

I find the Neoair incredibly comfortable. Get the chair kit for it and you're really rocking. And will all fit in your pack easily

 

[santaman2000]

Get an inflating, as opposed to self inflating, mat. These are thicker and comfier, and typically lighter, than the self inflating mats of a few years ago

I personally use a large thermarest Neoair, but any Neoair, exped synmat or downmat would work.

I find the Neoair incredibly comfortable. Get the chair kit for it and you're really rocking. And will all fit in your pack easily

That's what I meant in my post. The ones you have to blow up and close a valve before the air escapes. They're typically about 4 inches thick or more when inflated and fold down to about the size of a bed sheet when deflated. They were standard military issue back in the 80s and 90s over here.

 

[midge_fodder]

Agricultural fertilizer bags stuffed with straw, so cheap its just about free (ahh my teenage years before I got soft). On a serious note though if You should try the camp bed idea from a previous poster, you aren't carrying a tent ect. so carrying that wouldn't be much at all.

 

[Corfe]

Thanks for the input guys :You_Rock_

- been mulling over all the info and suggestions, and I'm going to go down the camp-bed route, though I'm getting hold of a more lightweight one. I've never slept on a camp-bed out of doors before believe it or not, so one last question is niggling me. Should I put a karrimat down on the bed for insulation or will I be all right with just the sleeping bag?

bye the by I just got hold of a hurricane lantern which is coming with me too as it's impossible to keep a tea-light burning even inside the pillbox on a breezy night. I'll be giving it a go sometime in the next week so will let you all know how I get on.

 

[Corfe]

Btw, here's a pic of the place itself - it's not actually a pillbox, but used to support a radar dish back in the 50's. Miyagi, it's only about three miles from what was in WWII a large airbase which accommodated B-17s

No - I tell a lie - having troubles with Photobucket....so no pic as yet

 

[Nonsuch]

You do need a mat on the camp-bed or it will get really cold (like a hammock).

On another suggestion, on the non-camp-bed route, Exped downmats are an amazingly warm experience but I think they need to be teamed with a closed cell mat underneath as well, otherwise you will be in for a miserably cold night if the Exped mat pops, and it could well if placed directly in concrete

 

[udamiano]

The problem with most mats (I said most not all) is that the weight of the body above compresses the mat below, and effects the thermal efficiency. Inflatable type mats either with or without additional layers, like the expel.are better at handling this, as the air inside stops direct contact with the bottom layer.

The largest system of heat loss the body suffers is through Radiation, and solid mats while reduce this still do not stop this, in fact it is very difficult to actually stop it totally. having an insulating air pocket below is much better than having a solid barrier material. however as 'Nosuch' pointed out having a barrier on the concrete, then an inflatable mat on top, would give a greater degree of warmth and comfort.

 

[Corfe]

Used to be a karrimat was all I needed to sleep anywhere, but anno domini and all that. Heading out tonight, so will update on the camp-bed / karrimat combo tomorrow. Promises to be a beautifully cold, calm, clear night here. Also, I will take pics for the heck of it, and try mightily to overcome my technophobia and post 'em.

 

[Corfe]

Bit of a late update this, but I did sleep out in the pillbox the night of my last post, used the camp-bed / karrimat combo and took along a hurricane lantern. Took along a digital camera, but the cold killed the battery (was fully charged when i set out), so no pics I'm afraid but i might just hunt up some from previous nights. Listened to The World Tonight after scotch broth over a hobo stove, and slept sound until 0300, when a shrieking vixen (the vulpine sort, unfortunately), woke me up. Was comfortable as a dormouse, and no back pain afterwards.