Ozzy Swag

[Sniper]

Does anyone have any experience of an Australian swag. I really have a hankering for one of these, I know they are great for the outback but what about over here, would they cope with British woodland terrain and would they be waterproof enough. I'd love to hear folks comments especially if they own one or have used one in this country.

 

[ex Member swampy99]

Im off to OZ soon and have been looking at these. To get a nice comfy one then you would have to be a vehical bourne camper because they are to big to go in a bergan. If you got the one for bikers then you might aswell get a bivi bag and a thermarest. Talking to my mate out there they are not used that much unless you are going into the more dryer places. In the rain forests of QLD it would be the tarp hammock set up and in NSW/Vic it would be standard tents so for the UK I would stick with a tent or tarp or what ever your running now.

Plus they are a lot of money for what is just a hoopped bivi in canvas and some foam.

http://www.theaussieshop.co.uk/swags.htm
No conection with shop but seems to be the only place in UK that sells them.

 

[lamper]

Didnt know what they were, so foudn this place on Google. They deliver as well

http://www.mrswagman.com.au/

At 7kg thoug, I agree with Swampy and stick with tarp/tent

 

[swagman]

These guys have a good rep.

http://burkewills.outfitters.com.au/

Swagman

 

[bearbait]

Richard Graves, in his Bushcraft book, writes about making your own swag. The book is available as a download from http://chrismolloy.com/bushcraft, amongst others.

 

[Sniper]

I realise they are suited to car camping but nowadays that's all I do so weight and size isn't a consideration here. I like the simplicity of the thing, and it would be set up under a tarp and most likely some form of groundsheet as well. The groundsheet is more for my "admin area" rather than keeping the swag dry though. The thought of rolling up, hitching up a tarp and rolling this out and that's me set to go, plus roll it up unhitch the tarp and I'm ready to move on appeals to me. Also the fact that I'm slightly bigger around the girth so find most other sleep systems a bit constricting so see this as a distinct advantage.

 

[Carpe_Diem]

hi mate

i've got the Burke & Wills and whilst i'm not in the UK, i've used it in some awful weather and it's come out with out any issues.

i've got both the double (1500mm width) and larger single (1100mm wide instead of 800mm) and both get used quite regularly...

If you're car camping, they're definately a lot quicker to setup and pull down than a traditional tent and with an overhead tarp and groundsheet, you've got a pretty good setup.

Here's a few pics of my dbl setup.

cheers
Jeelan

 

[sandbender]

Does anyone have any experience of an Australian swag. I really have a hankering for one of these, I know they are great for the outback but what about over here, would they cope with British woodland terrain and would they be waterproof enough. I'd love to hear folks comments especially if they own one or have used one in this country.

I have used one in Namibia, very comfy on rough ground, very easy to set up and pack away, not much good if you plan to walk any distance with it though.

If you plan to camp from the back of a 4x4 then its maybe worth a look, otherwise no.

Its rolled up on the left side of the roof rack.

 

[Shewie]

I know they're not quite in the same league as some of the corkers shown before but I came across the Quechua Sleeping bed in France whilst buying a new tent in Decathlon.

Shove it in a goretex bivvy and it looks like it could be a fun bit of kit.

http://www.quechua.com/EN/sleepin-bed-10-l-brown-green-67798241/

 

[Sniper]

Decided to go for one of these, Dingo from Down Under Swags. It has a 60mm built in mattress and is made of 15 oz canvas.

 

[Twodogs]

Swags Rock ....heres mine in Wales a few years back

 

[ex Member swampy99]

hi mate

i've got the Burke & Wills and whilst i'm not in the UK, i've used it in some awful weather and it's come out with out any issues.

i've got both the double (1500mm width) and larger single (1100mm wide instead of 800mm) and both get used quite regularly...

If you're car camping, they're definately a lot quicker to setup and pull down than a traditional tent and with an overhead tarp and groundsheet, you've got a pretty good setup.

Here's a few pics of my dbl setup.

cheers
Jeelan

The wife likes that set up and said she would be happy to spend A night out awayfrom the hairdrier if i got one of them.

Looks like I wont be hiking in OZ then but going by "ute" more.

 

[Carpe_Diem]

The wife likes that set up and said she would be happy to spend A night out awayfrom the hairdrier if i got one of them.

funny that - my wife said the same thing when we were looking at these..lol...

 

[decorum]

Cross posted - but could be of use to someone - Apologies for taking so long to respond, I was away from home for over a week .

I use a Burke & Wills Coolabah swag, purchased from The Aussie Shop ~ nice people .

... I really have a hankering for one of these ...

I succumbed too . I was going to go down the bivi-bag route but I needed to have the ability to house and protect medical equipement.

... I know they are great for the outback but what about over here, would they cope with British woodland terrain ...

A swag will cope well with British woodland. Heavy cotton canvas will shrug off most of what natural Britain and its weather can throw at it .

... would they be waterproof enough ...

Swags tend to be heavy cotton canvas (some models have P.U bases). Because of this they're more water resistant than waterproof ~ I was one of the few ground dwellers who didn't need to relocate during the prolonged rain at the Decenber '08 BcUK Meet though .

A tarp over the top is invaluable in wet weather, as is protecting the base ~ unless you go down the P.U base route.

... I'd love to hear folks comments especially if they own one or have used one in this country.

I find them to be quite insulating. At the June '09 S.V Meet I was using a thin blanket ~ which I was only pulling over me at about 4 in the morning. At the outdoor show Meet in March I used two blankets and slept toasty whilst some others in decent sleeping bags suffered from the cold at night.

If you wake up cold, first try to work out whether you're resting against the side wall .

If you roll the swag up whilst it's wet anything kept inside (mat, sleeping bag etc) will get, at best, damp .

I dumped the supplied foam mattress in favour of a thermarest before the swags first proper usage.

It's damnedably dark in a fully closed up Swag and you might benefit from leaving it a crack open ~ I don't suffer from claustrophobia, but .... . Leaving an aperature also acts to improve ventilation .

Under normal circumstances, if you are otherwise travelling light then there is no reason why a normal,single, swag can't be shouldered for distances ~ although it'd be a good idea to buy/make a waterproof holdall for it.

 

[bigbeewee]

Im off to OZ soon and have been looking at these. To get a nice comfy one then you would have to be a vehical bourne camper because they are to big to go in a bergan. If you got the one for bikers then you might aswell get a bivi bag and a thermarest. Talking to my mate out there they are not used that much unless you are going into the more dryer places. In the rain forests of QLD it would be the tarp hammock set up and in NSW/Vic it would be standard tents so for the UK I would stick with a tent or tarp or what ever your running now.

Plus they are a lot of money for what is just a hoopped bivi in canvas and some foam.

http://www.theaussieshop.co.uk/swags.htm
No conection with shop but seems to be the only place in UK that sells them.

I'm currently road tripping from sydney to Brisbane. I'm normally a bivvy man and like to travel light, however I've always been intrigued with th idea of a swag..

So I bought one..Like the poster said above its a lot of money for what is just a bloody heavy hooped bivvy with a foam mat

The heavy canvas is a bugger to wrestle with and the model I have comes with dreadfully simple poles.

I'm a big lad and I struggled to pick the thing up, and its bulky

Its as if some one has taken the idea of bivvying and backward engineered it to be, heavier, bulkier, less man portable, less water proof and generally of rougher design

Having said that it is tough, and definitely gives you a better space to work in.

why wouldn't you just buy a tent and an airbed.......

mines one of these

http://www.kellyscamping.com.au/p/1201109/onland-jardine-swag-king-single.html

 

[Sniper]

Thanks for all the replies folks, I still have'nt had a chance to try this out yet but when I do I'll maybe do a wee review on it.

 

[stephendedwards]

I have a traditional swag, double top flap and no hoops. I have used it over here on a number of occasions. First observation is that they are heavy, OK for motorised travel or if you're using a pack animal, not so flash if you have to lug it about yourself. Second observation is take a look out your window, the climate in this country is damp at best and soaking bloody wet most of the time. The new fangled swags are more like mini-tents or all in one bashas, and note their design focus on ventilation. Because it gets hot in the Aussie bush. We don't have that problem. Unless you're going to pitch a fly sheet then you will have no where out of the rain. If you do pitch a fly sheet then what is the point of the swag? You may as well use a bivvi bag. I love mine and would never part with it but frankly for the UK I really wouldn't bother. Romantic - yes - practical - no!

It pains me to say it but I wouldn't waste your money.

You would be much better off with a Go-lite shangri la shelter. I have one and it is the most practical shelter I have ever used. Put up and pull down time is a fraction of a conventional tent - you don't need trees to sling it on and it is rediculously light to carry.

Hope this helps

Stephen