Woobies

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Van-Wild

Full Member
Feb 17, 2018
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UK
I’ve never seen it over here in the US nor even heard of it until this thread. That said, similar projects with the US woolen military blanket are very popular.
You have never heard of it? That's OK, here's some US links.....








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santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
You have never heard of it? That's OK, here's some US links.....








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I’ve still never heard of anybody actually wearing one or making one. Nor have I ever heard of any of those websites other than Amazon. Well, that’s not quite true: I have heard of Black Rifle Coffee Company. They’re relatively new on the scene and seem to market gimmick stuff.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,665
McBride, BC
I am convinced that to get out of the wind is paramount and 6 mil poly sheet can do it all. That and a good UK woolen blanket or two would be pretty cozy.

It's 2200 here, a raging fekking blizzard in a big S wind and just -5C.
My back yard would be quite a nice little testing ground for nasty.
Take a hot drink, go sit out in the middle and evaluate your kit.
 

Oliver G

Full Member
Sep 15, 2012
392
286
Ravenstone, Leicestershire
I reckon they would be more useful as a blanket rather than a hoodie, just so you could tuck your legs under. Much the same as we would unzip the Sugpak jungle bag into a quilt. Oddly enough I've spent a week in Garleoch head like this and it was great, it was weird to have a week without rain in Scotland though.

You should always pack your poncho liner, you woobie cold without it.
 
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BrewkitAndBasha

Tenderfoot
Feb 4, 2021
61
66
Far East
Hillpeoplegear in the USA sell a popular version called a Mountain Serape.


And a Scandinavian version is called the Jerven Bag looks like it's worth a try and for wetter European weather.

Both are pricey. Haven't used either of them, but all reports seem to be positive.

I have carried a US poncho liner for years as they pack away into all spare crannies in the pack, dry fast and keep me on the right side of comfortable. Coldest I ever used one in UK though was in early October in the Cairngorms, frosty nights and cold wind, but inside a bivvy bag and wearing a fleece jacket. Would have preferred to have used a Softy-6 or a Rab down 500g instead!
 
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Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
I have a Kifaru 'Woobie'. It's a sort of space-blanket-meets-puffy-jacket kind of thing - essentially a synthetically filled equivalent of a blanket. I've never 'worn' it - and don't think I could or would - but it is useful as a light cover in warmer, summer weather when I'm sleeping out. It is usefully compact and compressible and so usually earns its space in my pack.

It seems to me that having something that started as a poncho liner, therefore closer to the blanket idea, and trying to use it as a garment compromises both functions; surely it would be better having a dedicated puffy jacket and a sleeping bag...?
 

TLM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 16, 2019
3,116
1,643
Vantaa, Finland
It seems to me that having something that started as a poncho liner, therefore closer to the blanket idea, and trying to use it as a garment compromises both functions; surely it would be better having a dedicated puffy jacket and a sleeping bag...?
If one gets by with only the liner, very OK, if something else is needed for enough insulation for the night woobie starts to lose value fast.
 

TLM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 16, 2019
3,116
1,643
Vantaa, Finland
On Leka's pages there is a highly unconfirmed snip of info that poncho+liner was supposed to be good for +10C at nights. Now that would be ok for Vietnam I guess (how low does it go at nights there?) but not really for northern Europe, with full clothing on I guess one would not freeze.
 
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Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
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Gloucestershire
If one gets by with only the liner, very OK, if something else is needed for enough insulation for the night woobie starts to lose value fast.

True, but if you are sleeping on a mat of some description and are dressed, I find it pleasingly satisfying to be able to kip comfortably on warmer nights in the U.K. in summer.

In colder weather, I stuff it at the bottom of my pack for those moments when I have a stop and want the ease of flinging something over what I'm wearing to cut the wind and take the edge of the cold; it could also be useful for providing some extra warmth for anyone who is heading towards hypothermia. For that reason, it gets stuffed in with my other bits and pieces.
 

TLM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 16, 2019
3,116
1,643
Vantaa, Finland
True, but if you are sleeping on a mat of some description and are dressed, I find it pleasingly satisfying to be able to kip comfortably on warmer nights in the U.K. in summer.
I fully agree that as long as it is sufficient it probably is a good idea. I just want to know if anybody has actual experience on the limits (with usual comments on varying people! ;)).
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
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Florida
To be fair it was never designed for really cold weather. Nor to be wind proof in and of itself. It was designed to be snapped into the inside of the poncho and then the poncho folded crosswise to form a makeshift sleeping bag (the pin o would have supplied the wind proofing the way a modern bivy bag would) Very few GIs ever used it that way though. They simply used it as a lightweight quilt in warmer climates. Partly because that was all they needed and partly because the ponchos were used as a tarp instead.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,767
Berlin
There are a few Brits who specialise in such stuff:

 
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deepcmonkey

Forager
Nov 6, 2007
110
5
44
Oxford
"Wobbie" is slang for that without it you "would be" cold. lol

The blankets are decent bits of kit but are a little bulky when rolled up in modern terms as an extra to put in a bergen.
I still use mine every now and then. I bought it from a PX on an American base in Germany and use it mainly as a floor liner in a tent, which makes it nice and homely.
You can tie the sides together to make a sleeping bag sort of thing or like previously mentioned tie them into a basha or poncho.

I may well get a woobie hoodie, saw them a while back and thought they were pretty neat.
 
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SSGN_Doc

Tenderfoot
Jan 26, 2021
62
105
54
WA, USA
I’d have a hard time sacrificing one of my woobies to make a jacket.

the term “woobie” came into US Military use, after the movie, ”Mr. Mom” became popular and included a sequence involving one of the children loosing his “Woobie“ (security blanket).

After that movie, soldiers began referring to their version of a security blanket as a ”Woobie”.

Mine was issued before deploying to Haiti. It has since accompanied me on trips overseas, camping, and aboard submarines.
 

Kav

Nomad
Mar 28, 2021
452
358
70
California
Youtuber reallybigmonkey1 -my friend Dave in Georgia has a good episode on them. The general concept is a good emergency item if you're out with less than a full sleep system. One of my few
life accomplishments took place a few years ago. We had a extended storm system in drought suffering California. I had befriended a young homeless girl with severe mental issues from abuse.
I'd give her food money from my recycled beverage container deposits behind the market. You could talk to her after establishing some trust for maybe 5 minutes before she shut down. I was worried, and found her sheltering under the nearby freeway underpass. I gave her a Russian Plash Palatka with mylar taped inside and a new 100% wool G.I. blanket ( thin) and got some hot food into her along with coffee. She wrapped up in it and by then the 5 minutes were up. I fed her daily and eventually got social services to intervene. During this same period two homeless men died of exposure ( sped by poor nutrition, health and alcohol issues.) I was later told she refused to part with that rig and still slept in it in bed. Sometimes even inadequate kit can turn a deadly situation into mere misery and the lesson to do better.
 
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santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
The term “Woobie” was in common use for the whole Baby Boom generation long before the movie “Mr Mom” came out. We started using the term in the military to refer to the poncho liner at least as far back as the Vietnam War
I’d have a hard time sacrificing one of my woobies to make a jacket.

the term “woobie” came into US Military use, after the movie, ”Mr. Mom” became popular and included a sequence involving one of the children loosing his “Woobie“ (security blanket).

After that movie, soldiers began referring to their version of a security blanket as a ”Woobie”.

Mine was issued before deploying to Haiti. It has since accompanied me on trips overseas, camping, and aboard submarine
 

JB101

Full Member
Feb 18, 2020
136
72
Watford
One could modify a Snugpak Jungle blanket to get the same result & possibly better .
 
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