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DIY Lightweight Bedroll?

40K views 60 replies 32 participants last post by  Gnut 
#1 ·
I am trying to find a good shelter alternative for my Bug Out Bag and have searched all over this forum for how to make a good lightweight BEDROLL. I cant find anything worthwhile, does anyone have one of these in their BOB? Any tips or ideas?
 
#2 ·
what are your expected minimum temperatures?
Do you dress properly for extended outdoor stays in temperatures you likely to encounter?
Are you carrying shelter?
Will you be counting on building shelter?
Will you be bothering with shelter at all?
Ya got some thinking to do before you can start to minimize the bedding.

I use 8 custom fleece sacks that are 6" longer than I am tall. Works great in a pup tent during a Michigan January and I can remove layers according to the time of year. Easier to clean and dry too.
 
#3 ·
Summer into fall months. I would like to totally eliminate the tent altogether. I can build a shelter if need be. The cold doesnt bother me at all. I dress accordingly as I would hope anyone in this forum would. This isnt my first rodeo. I dont have an EXPECTED minimum temperature because it varies greatly where I am at. Im just reaching out to see what other people who have had the same idea are doing.
 
#6 ·
I would go with layers of fleece then, just keep adding and testing them until you you think you have enough. Add enough plastic to at minimum double wrap your sleeping bundle. Or use a manual space bag to compress because it doubles as a pillow/water carrier etc.
I have an expected minimum of -20°F with knowledge that it can dip lower, but I only expect it for a maximum of a week. You cant count on a person knowing how to dress just because they come here. I know woodsmen 20 years older than me who think a tee shirt and winter coat will do them just fine to tag along with my on one of my 30 mile CC snow hikes. Well they thought it till they tried it and couldn't risk stopping.
 
#8 ·
I'm going to be experimenting with Insultex, silnylon, Tyvek, polyester terrycloth and polyester/cotton bedsheet material. Since the insultex doesn't breathe very well, but is very warm, waterproof, and weighs like nothing - 2 sq yards: a piece 3x6 ft weighs less than 2 ounces - I'll need to put some breathable material between me and it. That's where the terrycloth will come in.

I want to use the Tyvek as a ground sheet - again weighs next to nothing. And it - or the silnylon for the bedroll cover - that can double as a tarp.

I'll let you know how it turns out. The supplier has the insultex on back order and I'm waiting to hear from them when it's in.
 
#11 ·
I am worried about massive weight with layering something like duck canvas with some fleece but I am wondering if it will still be lighter than a one person tent....

If I did the duck canvas and sewed in some flannel fleece or something similar, I think it would be plenty warm for the summer/fall months. Then I could just waterproof it and stick a small tarp underneath it to barrier the ground.
 
#12 ·
I think, and I'm just a dog, that a rain poncho and a liner or two is the most versitile set up. you can layer it, use the poncho for a slelter half or a heat reflector if you have a fire. Your somewhat dry in a poncho. you can also improvise a lot of things out of a poncho and liner.
In the days of the bed roll, most people built fires and set up camp, there was camp etiquette in those days, meaning if you sneaked up on someone you might get shot. I can see where a fire might be out of the question in the future. But is a bed roll still a good option with the new materials out now? I would think a Wiggys bag and a gortex cover would be a good choice.

http://wiggys.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=218

http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=2321024
 
#15 ·
Its a little bulky, but if you get a military issue sleep system, you've got everything you need. Patrol bag, winter bag, bivy cover, and a compression sack to stuff it all in. Total weight is about 6 pounds, and is rated down to -30 F. The Gore-tex bivy cover will keep you plenty dry. There were plenty of times when I was in the Army that all I slept in this in the rain. I'd wake up with water hitting my face, pull the bivy cover over my head, and go back to sleep.
 
#27 ·
i sleep 99% in a hammock with wool blankets as under quilts.....but in a bug out bag i do have a childs tent i bought for $4 at a junk store. it weighs about a pound for just the tent not the shock corded rods and stuff sack. it is water proof and has a bug net window and i can use the tent as a stuff sack for my wool blankets....roll the blankets up inside the tent and use velcro straps on the outside.

to me it seems easier to use a little tent instead of a tarp specially when it weighs the same and i can use it as a sack and it is the 'tub' base design that cant flood.....i would rather hang at night but for an energency, the tent would be quick and easy and warm and i could pile brush on top to make it even warmer.
 
#29 ·
Look into various companies for ideas and find a fabric mill for lightweight materials like silnylon. I like this place:
www.rockywoods.com
Because it is in Colorado, has most of the things I need at great prices, stocks Under Armour and Mossy Oak materials, and makes me happy. But there are other places out there. As an Ohio native I would imagine finding a place out there where you can get hands on the material would be easy. Given the economic situation in a typically economically-sound state, you may find some outstanding prices right now.

I like the designs at Kifaru for getting ideas on making my own kit. (Kifaru.net) They make outstanding stuff and have some very outside the box ideas to gain inspiration from. Wiggys makes some similar items at lower prices but everyone tweaks things differently so the strokes for all folks are not satisfied by either company.

Kifaru's woobie and doobie are outstanding. I would highly recommend anyone look into buying one or creating something similar. It is hard to beat. Similar materials would get you the same effect if you sew it all up like they describe. Throw a layer of silnylon on the outside and you'd have a one piece version of a poncho/liner combo with about 20 degrees more coverage than the GI version.
 
#33 ·
I haven't done it yet -- but I'm looking to make a fleece sleeping bag with a nylon ground cover bottom.

I spent a couple of cold nights (in the teens -- that's cold in Texas); began with a bunch of blankets, ended up using just a single simple doubled fleece blanket (was sleeping in a "vardo" -- 3/8" plywood sides, tarp covered top).

I got about 6 yards of 60" wide fleece. Will fold this back on itself to make a doubled top/doubled bottom 30" side "sleeping bag". Also bought a couple of yards of nylon fabric. I plan to sew this to the bottom of the bag. Probably not necessary, but just in case I ever have to use this directly on the ground, I figured it would help keep condensation away.

All the fabric is camo. Plan to have it roll up pretty small (no padding -- just fleece) and should be pretty light.
 
#34 ·
For those temperatures, make sure you have an insulating ground pad as well, or you will lose all your body heat through the ground. For winter, something with an R value of 3.2 or greater.

I have been cold in a 0 degree bag at 15, so I guess you sleep hot. No way would fleece be enough for the teens, at least for me.
 
#35 ·
I keep the standard "Ranger roll" in my BOB. It's a military poncho with an insulating liner tied into it. The poncho snaps together to make an impromptu sleeping bag.

Worked well on 3 deployments (including freezing temps overnight in the sand box) as well as Mountian Warfare school up in the Bridgeport, CA mountains.

I'm sure there are other lighter, fancier systems, but this is what I've been using for 20+ years, so I have no complaints.

Just my 2 cents.
 
#37 ·
I spent a lot of time in my youth on horseback and in the winter. In spite of the size of the horse there is not a lot of room on there to carry all the stuff it takes to go out for a week or two at a time. + in those days sleeping bags were poor at best.

In the winter I would double up on my hose blankets, use larger ones and use a US Army issue wool blanket as my bed roll.

Today times have changed and we are all the better for it. Today I use a military type poncho that is lined with thinsulate and inside that I have a high quality fleece bivy sack. This will do most above freezing temps if out of the wind and you have any post fire embers still glowing. I carried this on the front of my Harley and make for nice sleeping out on the road. NOTE: I also had a self inflating mattress, 1/2 thick that makes ALL the difference in the world in temp and in comfort.

Beyond that its a good quality bag....But when you said bedroll that is a very small rolled up item NOT a sleeping bag.
 
#42 ·
I can definitely see the utility of the canvas and blanket bedroll in the warmer months.

My old bones would require at least a good ground pad under it.

How many wool blankets it would take to be warm in 20 degree weather?
 
#40 ·
I had the same 'Bed roll' idea as you. In Australia a lot of people use 'swags' which contain a mattres, sleeping bag and pillow wrapped in a canvas shell. After going offroad car camping with a few guys with swags they just chuck em on the dirt and unroll them then get stuck into a beer, while i was still pushing in pegs and playing with poles in my little tent.

I got an 'Integrel Designs' Bug liner which is essentialy a mosquito net with a tent like tub floor. It supposed to use one extendable hiking pole to set up but i found that the netting is so light i dont bother with pole anymore. I placed an inflatable mat inside, the kind you blow up. And a lightweight sleeping bag.

Then I just roll the whole thing up. Its about the size of a rolled up closed cell sleeping mat, very light and i rolled it out like a swag. If it looks like rain i'll set up a tarp but other wise you sleep under the stars without worrying about finding a 3" centipede crawing in your ear!

I've since grown a dislike for inflatable sleeping mats, but the theory works with a close cell mat too.
 
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