jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
Not sure if this is the right place for this. I was wondering if anyone has slept in a swag? Trying to decide which is better to try and set up a sleeping system in the XJ or use something like the Australian Swag.
Australian Swag
- Thread starter jeepmedic46
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Tudor Tanase
Active member
Traditional, flat swag (more or less just a piece of canvas folded like an envelope), a.k.a. bedroll: warm and comfy with the right mattress and sleeping bag or doona. Not so nice if there are insects, snakes or it is raining lots. We have a nice double swag we roll out in the horse float once we kick the horses out (and wash the floor and/or lay a tarp down). Nice to use in back of ute, friends' verandah or similar. Otherwise I/we sleep in the back of the cruiser on a sleeping platform. Personally I would not bother with a "dome swag" as it is fiddly to set up, coffin like space and huge to pack. I'd pick a tent over a dome swag anytime as it's about the same effort to set up and take down, much lighter and much bigger internal space. And much cheaper!
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silver.surfer
New member
I have a Kodiak Canvas Swag, in the winter with it being small it helps retain the heat. In the summer I open the cover and it's comfortable. I leave the mattress and sleeping bag in it, makes for quick setup because of that. there are 3 poles to setup but I can have the whole thing set up in less than 3-5 mins. I have only used it on a cot and its my preferred way if I'm sleeping by myself. Its quicker that the tent but of course its tighter. That doesn't bother me much. It is big like Tudor said, I haven't slept in a rooftop tent plan on trying that out shortly. In my opinion the advantages out weigh the disadvantages.
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Any chance you can show what it looks like packed away? What kinda mattress? Would it be practical without the cot?
shade
Well-known member
Nice job. A swag wouldn't really work for me, but if I was shopping, I'd give the Darche a hard look considering how light it is compared to some.
Australian Swags Are Coming to America. Do You Want One?
Living in a one-man tent that weighs over 23 pounds
www.outsideonline.com
silver.surfer
New member
I'll grab a picture when I get home, the mattress is just 2"-3 of foam nothing special.
I've got an el cheapo Kings "Big Daddy Delux" swag. I really like it. It's not as well built as something like a Darche, but it suits my needs just fine.
Here's a pic of it (the middle one) from a fishing trip last year:
We live in the far-north of Aus, so the ability to roll the sides up and have it all mesh like that is perfect for the warmer months. As you see, with the ridge-pole it free-stands without the need for any pegs which I also like. Later that night (just after midnight) we had a surprise downpour that soaked us - I got a little wet by the time I'd woken up, realised what was going on and rolled down the sides, but otherwise stayed perfectly dry for the rest of the night. Not sure I'd trust it in proper monsoon conditions without it pegged out (particularly having the sides tensioned), but so far so good.
The mattress in it is a 75mm foam one. They do a 100mm mattress as an option, as well as a self-inflating mat. My back and neck aren't too good, so I suffer pretty bad with ordinary mattresses. Happy to report I've never had an issue with this one though - it's quite comfy. I think the self-inflating mat would be even better, but the funds didn't stretch that far at the time.
The light-green Dune swag in the foreground is a more traditional 3-pole dome design. You can see it's got much less mesh and needs to be pegged out (or, in this case, tied to the trailer). It's a much simplier swag though, and works just as well.
Personally, I don't like traditional, flat swags. They're certainly the quickest to set up and the simpliest way to roll out your bed, but I'd get eaten alive by mozzies. I'm also not a fan of critters slithering/crawling in to sleep with me, so I prefer the "safety" of a thin piece of fine mesh
.
The downside to mine, being a double swag, is that it rolls up huge. You can sorta make it out in this photo:
That's it on top of the rack, in the centre. It's the length of the bed (which isn't saying much, since the ute is a short-bed model), and you can see the height compared to the jerries and 4kg gas bottle. Still, it manages to be smaller than my canvas touring tent + bedding, while also being significantly faster to set up/pack up.
This is the only other photo I've got of it packed up on the car from that trip:
Good luck!
Cheers,
Matt
Here's a pic of it (the middle one) from a fishing trip last year:
We live in the far-north of Aus, so the ability to roll the sides up and have it all mesh like that is perfect for the warmer months. As you see, with the ridge-pole it free-stands without the need for any pegs which I also like. Later that night (just after midnight) we had a surprise downpour that soaked us - I got a little wet by the time I'd woken up, realised what was going on and rolled down the sides, but otherwise stayed perfectly dry for the rest of the night. Not sure I'd trust it in proper monsoon conditions without it pegged out (particularly having the sides tensioned), but so far so good.
The mattress in it is a 75mm foam one. They do a 100mm mattress as an option, as well as a self-inflating mat. My back and neck aren't too good, so I suffer pretty bad with ordinary mattresses. Happy to report I've never had an issue with this one though - it's quite comfy. I think the self-inflating mat would be even better, but the funds didn't stretch that far at the time.
The light-green Dune swag in the foreground is a more traditional 3-pole dome design. You can see it's got much less mesh and needs to be pegged out (or, in this case, tied to the trailer). It's a much simplier swag though, and works just as well.
Personally, I don't like traditional, flat swags. They're certainly the quickest to set up and the simpliest way to roll out your bed, but I'd get eaten alive by mozzies. I'm also not a fan of critters slithering/crawling in to sleep with me, so I prefer the "safety" of a thin piece of fine mesh
.The downside to mine, being a double swag, is that it rolls up huge. You can sorta make it out in this photo:
That's it on top of the rack, in the centre. It's the length of the bed (which isn't saying much, since the ute is a short-bed model), and you can see the height compared to the jerries and 4kg gas bottle. Still, it manages to be smaller than my canvas touring tent + bedding, while also being significantly faster to set up/pack up.
This is the only other photo I've got of it packed up on the car from that trip:
Good luck!
Cheers,
Matt
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