"Cowboy" canvas bed roll? Good, better, best?

S

Sid Post

Joined
Oct 14, 1998
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Big Sky single layer
Colorado tent with triple top canvas
Davis Tents sleeping bag cover
Davis Tents triple top layer bed roll

I am looking for a "Cowboy-style" bed roll to camp in while surf fishing and similar stuff when I don't want a full tent or have space for my off-road travel trailer. Basically, fast setup, fewer issues with windy setup locations, and something that travels well in my pickup to use when a Hammock isn't an option.

Prices are all over the place and the options included are numerous so, picking one to buy online isn't easy!!! It looks like the first major decision point is whether to get basically a bag or cover, or a large ~17 foot canvas sheet that folds over itself to provide a top layer of 3 layers of canvas for warmth and weather rejection with some snaps down the center.

With a sleeping bag, I tend to think the folded tarp option would be a pain to get into and out of compared to the "bag/cover" option. Then there is the issue of rolling things up with the sleeping pad and bag or blanket inside.
Any reason to get a ~10oz canvas version instead of the ~15oz version? And, what am I missing in one that is ~$140 versus one that is $200+?

TIA,
Sid
 
Everything you listed is canvas. I thought cowboys used wool. (Wool doesn't lose its ability to trap heat when it gets wet.)
 
If the canvas is oiled, it'll handle most small showers, if the water is coming up, it's time to move. It's more about how you set up to let it shed rain than anything else.
I use a swag here in australia a bit, the main thing is that you need to dial in your temp range. They are great for starting the night out as it cools off, then throw the cover over before the dew falls, or if a light rain comes in over night.
I mostly use mine in more "winter" conditions (as if the subtropics ever get winter) and keep it with a couple wool blankets fitted in it around the matress as they are also way more comfy in high humdity. I also have a thicker home made quilt made from nylon and some thick apex climashield which is quite a good warm layer down to about freezing. They are a great low profile solution once you get the hang of it. My main use is for times I know I'll be setting up in near or total darkness. roll it out, check the valves in the mat, give it a few mintutes, and by the time I'm changed, it's good for bed. If I want I can tie open a corner, get the bug net held up, or whatever (I live in snake country, that bug net does double duty for me) and If it's really cold, I can use the "lid" as a fire reflector and not worry about spark holes.
 
57 years ago I needed a sleeping system so my mom took a small canvas tarp, a wool blanket and blanket pins to make a bedroll. I used that during the first years of my backpacking career. I never had a tent for years or a gas stove. Neither did any of the ragtag wrecking crew I ran with and we did alright. None of us were reenactors. We simply didn’t have much scratch in those early days and had to make do. The cowboys of the late 19th century were in the same place and had to make do with hardware stores over dude stores. Most likely they were only several years older than I was at the beginning of my homemade bedroll years. While a bedroll like that is somewhat protective when one selects a good site, they only go so far on a chilly night so one usually sleeps in their clothes for the extra insulation.

Eventually I was able to progress to a down bag, ultralight tent and canister stove. Down bags are far warmer and lighter but need some kind of protection when precipitation is present. A waterproof tarp covering the bedroll did slough off light rains.

If you want to read a very informative book Early Days in the Range of Light by Daniel Arnold is a narrative where he retraces the routs of the earliest explorers and takes the same gear such as just a woolen greatcoat like Jon Muir or only woolen blankets for others. Those guys were tougher than me in my wildest dreams.
 
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SwiftDream said:
If you want to read a very informative book Early Days in the Range of Light by Daniel Arnold is a narrative where he retraces the routs of the earliest explorers and takes the same gear such as just a woolen greatcoat like Jon Muir or only woolen blankets for others. Those guys were tougher than me in my wildest dreams.
Click to expand...

Got a copy headed my way!
 
Sid Post said:
Got a copy headed my way!
Click to expand...

I hope you find this book as interesting as I did. Each chapter is a specific journey by a specific historical person and the journeys are not anything easily done or accessible. Navigation and travel were harrowing at times. He tries to be as true to the original routes as possible using the first hand text carrying the same equipment as close as possible.

There were no maps back then of those areas and these early adventurers were truly in the back of the beyond. It has been several years since I read it and after I whittle my current reading list down I might have to revisit this book once more. I have this as an ebook in my Kindle library along with hundreds of others. During wilderness travel it’s good to have a few books on the iPhone or even paper books as I used to carry in case one becomes tent bound in a storm.
 
By the way. I have used Oztrail and Burke and wills swags. Both are good. I would suggest one with a fly screen and poles.

Then you either use them like a tent, or crawl in to it like a bag.

Depends how drunk you are.



Swags vs swags.

 
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