Camping in my authentic tent

[missjo]

I love being as authentic as possible but at events I usually spend the night un a unauthentic manner.
Once or twice I slept in the corner of a fieldhospital ward on top of a few greatcoats, but in most cases there was something not correct about how I slept.

I started working on that by making my own sleepingbag.
It was very easy, I just got two old woollen blankets, folded them and sewn them together.
Its authentic and it works perfectly.
A extra bonus is of course that I can carry it with me as part of my impression as a refugee and dont have to hide it when the public arrives.

But sleeping on the ground isnt a good idea, ive done it during my survival training in Belgium many years ago (i lost a bet and was send into the woods for a week) and I dont want to be a wreck the whole event.
So then I bought a little military fieldbed, I was told it might be postwar but the model is prewar.
I havent yet checked it out but it feels good.

But I still wanted to improve something.
As a Dutch civilian refugee it wouldnt be very likely (or proper) for me to crawl into a military tent filled with soldiers :wink:
So then I bought a nice old tent, its a sweety and im madly in love with it.
Fantastic!
Now I can use it as part of my display, and next summer I can even go on a authentic holiday

Here is a little photo;

Recently I spend my first night in the tent, in the sleepingbag on the fieldbed.
Very scary as I had no time to test the tent, I had no idea if it was waterproof and of course it rained...
Everything worked perfectly.

 

[carter]

Terrific Tent!

Looks perfect for our intrepid Lady in Belgium!

What is the era and what company manufactured your tent?

 

[missjo]

Alas, I have no info whatsoever about the tent.
No nametags, no dates.
I even wonder if it perhaps was handmade, its got wooden tentpoles and its very much like the tents ive found on old photos.

 

[The Wolf]

:eusa_clap
I haven't camped like that in years. I now use an air matress, modern sleeping bag and tension rod tent. You make me want to go retro again.

Sincerely,
The Wolf

 

[Story]

I started working on that by making my own sleepingbag.
It was very easy, I just got two old woollen blankets, folded them and sewn them together.
Its authentic and it works perfectly.
A extra bonus is of course that I can carry it with me as part of my impression as a refugee and dont have to hide it when the public arrives.

If you don't have the room to lug your cot and tent around, you can make up a 'field mattress/bed tick' (http://www.skilletlicker.com/servlet/Detail?no=1) from two sheets - then stuff it with straw or hay. Beats sleeping on the ground.

 

[John in Covina]

Usually if you have to sleep on the ground, a ground tarp of some type that is waterproof to keep the dew off and out of your bedding is good to have. An army poncho works pretty good if you can get one.

The tent is classic in design so other than possibly the material, it should be as authentic as you might need.

 

[BakingInPearls]

What a wonderful tent! I would sleep in it and that is coming from the most noncamping person in the world! I too love more authentic sleeping bags they tend to keep you warmer then the newer ones atleast from my experience in testing out tents in my friends back yard. That raincoat idea from John seems wonderful especially in my case when the sprinklers went off!

 

[Kishtu]

Miss Joeri, the funny thing is that your authentic tent looks almost the same as my authentic tent... the difference is that mine is a 17th century soldier's tent!

Are they not the most fantastic things to sleep in though? I'd never go back to a waterproof plastic tent now - I love my canvas!

I've snagged the ideas about sleeping on the ground though - thanks, guys!

 

[Alan Eardley]

Ladies,

Tents didn't change much until after WW2. And since then they have only become worse. That is a real tent! My mother and father were keen outdoor types 'between the wars' and told me a lot about the camping gear that was used at the time.

Miss Joeri, can I suggest that you use a ground sheet. Such an item (usually in 'Macintosh cloth' or oil-skin) was often used in the thirties and makes a tent much more comfortable when the dew rises. This is decribed nicely in an anthology of the vintage writings of lady travellers (or should that be vintage lady travellers) that I am reading at the moment.

Carry on camping!

Alan

 

[missjo]

Cheers!

I am also considering making a canvas 'envelope' for my sleepingbag, so a bit ot canvas that I place the sleepingbag in, like a bedroll.
A big bit of canvas as groundsheet would be good as well.
I have seen pictures of the beds people used back then but they are too big for me to carry around on my bike.

So a bedroll or canvas groundsheet would be a great idea, will enable me to sleep on the ground and will take even less space then the bed I got now.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Miss J.

Glad to offer a helpful suggestion. By the way, note the accommodation in your photograph. It is technically a bivouac. An interesting area of vintage camping in its own right.

Alan

Cheers!

I am also considering making a canvas 'envelope' for my sleepingbag, so a bit ot canvas that I place the sleepingbag in, like a bedroll.
A big bit of canvas as groundsheet would be good as well.
I have seen pictures of the beds people used back then but they are too big for me to carry around on my bike.

So a bedroll or canvas groundsheet would be a great idea, will enable me to sleep on the ground and will take even less space then the bed I got now.

 

[Alan Eardley]

Miss J,

I forgot to mention a common practice in the 'old days' - the use of a 'palliase' for sleeping on. This is just a canvas bag the size of a mattress with no filling, open at one end and closed with tapes or buttons. The happy camper carried it empty and rolled up, and stuffed it with hay or straw (preferrably new-mown hay) before bedding down for the night.

Bliss!

Alan

Cheers!

I am also considering making a canvas 'envelope' for my sleepingbag, so a bit ot canvas that I place the sleepingbag in, like a bedroll.
A big bit of canvas as groundsheet would be good as well.
I have seen pictures of the beds people used back then but they are too big for me to carry around on my bike.

So a bedroll or canvas groundsheet would be a great idea, will enable me to sleep on the ground and will take even less space then the bed I got now.

 

[Miss Sis]

The only problem with old tents is how heavy they are if you have to carry them on a bike!

Just getting them in and out the car is a mission in itself, but I like that they are usually bigger then modern tents and you can stand up in them. Being tall, that really makes a difference in my case. (P.S Miss Joeri, the tallness is my Dutch genes coming out)

 

[missjo]

Whoohoo, Dutch people, tallest in the world
Im 6ft myself.

Anyway, the tent ive got isnt very heavy or very big, its got wooden poles but the weight or size isnt a big problem, I can carry it around, especially with a bike.

It fits together perfectly;

I will make a canvas bag that can double as cover for my sleepingbag and as a straw matrass if there is any straw around.

 

[Alan Eardley]

The 'vintage' term for a lightweight portable tent is a 'pup tent'. They are heavier than a modern 'high-tech' tent and bigger when packed, but not much more so.

A bivouac ('bivvy' or 'basha') is even more light in weight, size for size.

Alan