Travel cloak
- Thread starter TLM
- Start date
I bet I'm not the only one who'd like to see a pic!
So did I. I'd actually forgotten about it (possibly deliberately) so couldn't describe it except it was quite tailored and it had a hood and, I think, arm holes. Once you got past the "It's the 1980s, I'm a teenager, and I'm wearing a cloak" horror of it, it was actually very welcome in the winter for the walk between dorm house and main school building. With the hood up it became a sort of perambulatory tent, and kept the wind and rain at bay for the ten minutes or so it took. Wouldn't want to spend long in a downpour though, I suspect. But you really couldn't do anything wearing it, because it would just get in the way and/or your arms would get cold/wet. So useful, but only up to a point.
I worked for a used and rare bookstore in University. I arrived one afternoon to the smell of Dunhill pipe tobacco. Deep in the classical lit aisle a man, doppelgänger for King Edward stood in a wool Inverness, black homburg and free form Danish briar reciting a translation of the Iliad in Greek and English Periodically I’d hear the click of teeth on stem and ‘oh dear, that passage is terribly amiss.’
Wanted one ever since.
Wanted one ever since.
I'm afraid I have no idea where it ended up.Page 3 of this thread.
Cloak Wearers - Step Forward
OK, I was rereading this older thread the other day;- http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41138&highlight=elves And one of the things that it seemed to underline and speculate upon was that to travel light a cloak or poncho of some fashion would be a step in the right...bushcraftuk.com
I haven't found Wayland's guide to wearing the plain rectangular one though.
Does anyone have any ideas on where it is ?
M
Basically I make a triangular fold along the top edge and draw the narrow end of the triangle around my neck and use a broach or pin to fasten that to the rest of the material at my shoulder.
That leaves the triangular flap hanging over your shoulders at the rear. The flap can then be drawn over the head forming a hood when needed.
It's a lot harder to illustrate than to do but hopefully this will help.
OK it's nothing like the soviet thingy, which according to people who have tried it is surprisingly usable considering it's origin.
I guess one just can't use that without a proper bronze brooch.
I guess one just can't use that without a proper bronze brooch.
Exploring the medieval hunt
themedievalhunt.com
There’s a lot of information on here about medieval “bushcraft”. Pretty much they avoided it… I’m joking.
The period image of a mummy sleeping bag is a good one.
Lots of practical experimentation with fabrics and clothing items in the forest.
I like a wool cloak/blanket but mainly as camp kit great for chatting around the fire and dozing off.
Various period styled wool (and linen , which is under appreciated) I’ve made and used. It’s proven technology.
I’ve never had to rely on wool alone in heavy rain however. Snow fine, wind fine, mist and light showers fine. I’ll have to ask a Viking ship crew. I cannot see how a longship is at all dry!
I’m not convinced some of the you tubers who state they slept well when “cowboy” camping on the prairie are entirely honest….. Actually there are a few that admit they don’t think a lot of sleep happened on a cattle drive.
I keep wondering about a cloak, they seem to tick a number of boxes for me as I tend to run pretty warm when wearing waterproofs.
Depends on the weather, and where you are.
In town, or among people, if you're comfortable in a tweed jacket, and mind that good one will shed moisture, then the jacket option is often the better one.
Sitting around at camp ? cloak wins
In town, or among people, if you're comfortable in a tweed jacket, and mind that good one will shed moisture, then the jacket option is often the better one.
Sitting around at camp ? cloak wins
Good wool is lovely stuff. It's not only good to wear but it's easy to sew too. It can be dressy or casual, it can be tailored or left unstructured apart from the cut.
Mind and buy enough not to have to skimp
Mind and buy enough not to have to skimp
I pick up wool from reenactment trader fairs or military shows. Wool is still used for parade uniforms and is available Olin colours other than red.
https://hertsfabrics.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home generally have god selection.
My winter kit I use rabbit fur trim to windproof openings. It’s fairly straight forward to line small items like hoods and mittens with too.
Plus the rest of the Coney isn’t wasted.
https://hertsfabrics.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home generally have god selection.
My winter kit I use rabbit fur trim to windproof openings. It’s fairly straight forward to line small items like hoods and mittens with too.
Plus the rest of the Coney isn’t wasted.
Leather suits was used by fishermen for hundred of years.Exploring the medieval hunt
There’s a lot of information on here about medieval “bushcraft”. Pretty much they avoided it… I’m joking.
.......
I’ve never had to rely on wool alone in heavy rain however. Snow fine, wind fine, mist and light showers fine. I’ll have to ask a Viking ship crew. I cannot see how a longship is at all dry!
......
It is indications that they was used in early medieval times (aka viking age) as well.
Here is a youtube video showing the garb and its making (norwegian only it seems).
Glasgow Museums had an Inuit waterproof suit made of walrus intestines. The stitching was so small and neat, and the suit must have been as light as a single layer cagoule.
Beautiful work, and apparently just one example of many. Here we know that cagoules were made of fishskin. Salmon for instance is supposed to be very good.
When MacAlpine came to the meeting where the decision was to be made as to who was to be King, the others were dressed in their finest robes, and he comes in wearing a fish skin jacket.....very appropriate really for a King of Scots, with our climate
Like the late Queen, who had a brolly to match every outfit
Beautiful work, and apparently just one example of many. Here we know that cagoules were made of fishskin. Salmon for instance is supposed to be very good.
When MacAlpine came to the meeting where the decision was to be made as to who was to be King, the others were dressed in their finest robes, and he comes in wearing a fish skin jacket.....very appropriate really for a King of Scots, with our climate
Like the late Queen, who had a brolly to match every outfit
