Anyone use a SWAG or BEDROLL ??

[andy richards]

Gents,

For my outdoor trips or when I went canoeing I always took an old army tent-half or ventile poncho to make a primitive shelter.
This summer we plan to do some camping and we only take our 1974 Land Rover (which will have a canvas hood by then...), a tarp, some camp gear and two bedrolls. Does anyone here has experience with a particalur brand or type bedroll? Both my wife and I prefer natural fibers, like cotton or canvas, so gore-tex bivvy bag won't do for us. Weight is no problem, for us quality and durability counts. Please tell your experiences with bedrolls.

Thanks,
Andy


Our Grumman 17ft canoe. Bought new in 1986, seen some battering but extremely tough...


The 88" wheelbase 1974 Land Rover (almost restored her now).

[WH1]

I always go to the silly, wilda....oh you mean something else!

I use a bedroll of a type for early fall hunting, we called it a ranger roll, it is a poncho liner or blanket wrapped in a poncho. Lightweight, waterproof and compact.
I have also used a canvas "cowboy"bedroll, but it is heavy and very bulky. It works very well down to 20 degrees(f). The one I have is made by Davis tent. I use a couple of old issue wool blankets.
http://davistent.com/html/cowboybedtarp.html

[Chasseur]

http://www2.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/blanket/

When I did 18th trekking I used to use a Hudson's Bay blanket for a bed roll. Build a a lean-to and a small fire, and just roll up in the blanket. Worked very well unless it was very cold.

[Renault]

Chasseur, mon ami! Same here! My 18th century roll.



It has a Whitney Ganegaro pattern blanket in it, as well as a wool matchcoat. A twined bag with a spare fire kit, fishing kit and other important items. Also a cottonwood trencher I carved myself. Also a length of hemp rope.

The cover is hemp canvas I handsewn into a 6' x 6' groundcloth that will double as a makeshift shelter if necessary. I twined and finger wove the 12' tumpline myself. It has a 3" wide brow or chest band that is 2' long.

Renault

[andy richards]

Thanks for your input, guys. The Davistent bedroll looks good to me. Weight is not an issue. I still got my army blankets and sleeping bags so this all together should be a good combo. I searched the internet and came across the DuluthPack bedroll. Does anyone use one of these?
http://duluthpack.com/bedroll-campers-roll.html
Cheers,
Andy

[botty]

Or here:

http://onlinemilitaria.com/shopexd.asp?id=4766&bc=no

It is a shame us Europeans don't produce something similar over here. I am looking for a lightweight bedroll for use during walking holidays. I wonder how much the 10oz davistent one weighs.

[darthinvictus]

I use an antique mexican blanket and love it , cant abide a sleeping bag personally. It seems to be wool with natural muted dyes, as opposed to the tourista polyester deals.

[tropero]

sheridan tent,tips western,big bend saddlery sell some outstanding bed
i sleep a lot in bedroll when cowboying or camping,love it always warm but pretty heavy

[de Stokesay]

I use a Canadian army issue Gore-Tex bivy bag that was issued to me in the 1990s. I know the gore-tex isn't really a vintage thing but the Canuk biv bags don't have the hoops or anything to make them tent-like and look much like a simplified version of the Duluth one above.

I have no picture but mine is a plain olive green bag, sealed on the bottom and both sides so you have to crawl in the top. The bottom is longer than the top so and closes with a drawstring so the only open bit can be closed to a tiny hole to breath through. Also being gore-tex it is completely waterproof but being solid olive drab doesn't look modern at all.

This system is much lighter than the canvas ones shown above which, while period, would require some form of tent in a heavy rain which mine does not.

For someone wanting an article that is useful in the rain but doesn't look modern at all I find this is the way to go.

Sorry I have no picture but it has served me very well camping out under the stars and clouds alike on 3 different continents.

de Stokesay

[Will Muncrieffe]

I try to avoid sleeping on the ground as of late, unless I have had a few Libations!