Space Blanket to the rescue.....

Bugga!

Let me rephrase that.

I have only ever used a sleeping bag (used as a quilt just on top) in my swag and have never been cold. The swag itself should contain a lot of your body heat.

Bill,

16 day Beadell tracks tour, in May next year, so I'm bound to have a fair temp variant.

So far I've been fine, but that's in the temperate areas, like Woomera & points south.

Just sort of trying to hedge my bets.

Cheers

Wolfie

Now, that's something I hadn't considered.

Thank You.

Wolfie

Ian,

Condensation is a real issue. Don't use them as a regular way of keeping warm. They are best kept as an emergency thing for when you are freezing and need extra warmth. Use them daily and you'll spend all day drying out your bag.

I know of a bloke who got lost in the bush and found a car to sleep under with nothing but a space blanket he carried in his pocket for emergencies. Kept him reasonably warm for the night.

I'm talking here of a thin sheet of alfoil type that folds up to pocket size, use it once and pitch it type ($2.50 at the cheapo shops). Not the Coleman type that looks like a tarp covered in foil.

Cheers,

Jim.

>I have slept in my swag on some pretty cold nights (once where I forgot
>about the dog and I woke up to find him covered in frost) and found that
>one sleeping bag and my beanie was all I needed.

If you won't care for your dog properly don't take him camping and, preferably, find a home for him with someone who will.

Mike Harding

mike_harding@fastmail.fm

Thanks for your advice Mike, but he gets looked after better than most. SWMBO thinks I care about him more than her :)

He accompanies me most times when I am out 4wding and camping and absolutely loves it.

Action has been taken to ensure he does not get hit by the frost again ;)

So please don't get too worried about him. He appreciates your concern though, god bless ya.

Just a slightly off-topic question.

Where does that 30% body heat figure come from? I have heard all sorts of figures, from 10% to 80% of body heat lost through your head.

Does anyone know what the actual figure is? And how that came about?

Chris

I think the 30% figure might apply to newborn babies - they certainly put tiny beanies on the prem babies in the neonatal nursery and these guys are already inside an incubator with an air temperature ~34 degrees.

It's much less than that in adults - but it not something that isn't worth minimising by the application of a stylish beanie!

DavidT

Kool - thanks for that.

I was sort of picturing running around naked in the cold, and how cold I would be, then putting a hat on, and seeing how much warmer I would be.

I would be guessing not too much warmer.....