Swag in Wind and Rain

my 3-hoop onland swag has withstood 80+km/hr winds on the great Australian bight without getting me wet.

Admittedly whilst the rain was driven, it wasn't of tropical proportions.

Got a swag, as well as all our other stuff, and love it !
Easy enuf to get in and out of in the rain, just gotta think about it a little, and pre plan a couple of what if's ??

Amazing what a $20 tarp from Big W will do for shelter, as well, and a couple of very large plastic bags ( wheelie bin type ) for a "Pancho"
Cheap and effective in the rain
Cheers
Bucky

Thanks to you both.

Anyone use one of those biker's swags? Basic, just a bag with no hoops or poles.

I'm cautious about a self inflating mattress with the prickles. Is a foam mattress OK? Got to think of my age, you know!

Thanks,
Laurie.

I have a 3 hoop swag and it's fine in wind and rain, in heavy rain one needs to be a bit quick getting into it but that's all :) Two minutes to put up and 4 minutes to pull down.

However I also take a couple of 12'x8' tarps and a couple of tall steel tent poles in order to make a tarp shelter when the rain is prolonged, spending half a day in the swag would be _no_ fun at all.

A tarp shelter may not be an easy option for you - few trees and no tall vehicle to tie it to?

Take a look at some quality hiking tents ($400+), small, light, easy to errect and will withstand well over 60kph wind.

Mike Harding

Laurie,

For me there is more to think about here than simply sleeping.

I have used swags and love tghe esperience but in a prolonged period of rain I would much rather be in a tent.

I don't know the purpose of your trip so it is hard to know what other things should be considered but here are a couple that spring to mind immediately.

In these windy conditions what do you do about meals? Or where do you go when you simply need to get out of the weather for a little while?

A decent quality tent will set up and pack up quickly, and will provide good protection from all kinds of weather. I have a geodesic dome which sets up in less than 5 min and will stand up to winds in excess of 80km/h. I have emerged from it on more than one occasion to see many other tents in the campground smashed by the wind. My tent also provides areas for storage of gear at either end out of the weather and not in the tent proper, vestibules. These vestibules also provide a place where, if necessary I can set up my stove and cook tea, again out of the weather but not in the tent proper.

A clean dry place to sleep as well as somewhere to sit out of the weather, where I can sit up or kneel to make getting changed easy goes a long way to making bad weather far more tolerable.

A good tent will normally cost between $400 and $1000. but you can get them at sales for half that which will make them competetive with good quality swags.

Check out Kathmandu camping stores they have a good sale running at the moment. I have no association with Kathmandu just got a flyer in the letter box the other day.

Duncs

Thanks Fellas. There's some good thinking there from people who've obviously experienced the lot.

I'm between a rock and a hard place in some ways:

1) It's pretty rough country and I travel and camp pretty rough. Things get chafed easily and to pack them adequately takes time, extra packing material and more space as well as adding weight. I'm not keen on taking a tent worth 500 bucks and getting a hole chafed in the roof on the first day's travel.

2) I was hoping to get away with a robust, low cost, low weight, low bulk swag with a small mattress.

3) In the past I've taken extra tarps in case of need. I need to cut down to the bare minimum.

4) On my trip a few weeks ago, on the return journey with the fuel half gone, most of the tucker eaten and a surplus drum of water tipped out, the little trailer got quite top heavy because the camping gear, which hadn't diminished, was in boxes on the top. I rolled the trailer three separate times. The third time it went right over onto it's back and smashed up the boxes a good bit.

On subsequent trips out from my base at Roxby Downs, I traveled a bit lighter, leaving most of the comforts and "just in case" items behind.

So I'm looking to cut back both on weight and space. Even light items, stacked high, make a difference to the centre of gravity with such a small vehicle.

5) I carry a fair bit of photographic equipment and other things such as phone, paper maps and toilet paper, that can't be left out in the rain. The tent is very good for this.

6) If you wish to get a feel for where I've been and my way of travel and camping you could go to outback camping trip.

Regards,
Laurie.

Hi Laurie,
David and I and both our kids travel with swags (a double and 2 singles) but we also take an OzTent as backup, or for multi-night stays as it's nice to use the tent as a daytime shelter, and if not windy, is good for wet nights as you can't eat out in the rain very happily. Our swags are have 2 hoops - and are made in WA by AOS Swags, available from most WA and NT tackle shops and Ranger camping. But - I know the double is more than $500 and the singles are around $370. The OzTent is around $1000. We have (unfortunately) done a lot of wet weather camping in the swags and the tent. Had a couple of wet weeks in Tasmania a few years ago - when my youngest child was just 8 mths old and still waking up during the night for feeds (oh joy, how I remember that trip!!). Anyway, in wet weather, in our experience its not the sleeping bit to be worried about but you have to be careful of how they are secured to your vehicle during the day/s driving. Our mistake as that we incorrectly zipped up the sides and left the mattress and mossie net exposed at the sides and found the next night that they wet inside and we had no chance of drying them due to bad weather. But they don't "leak" if you've closed them properly when you're in them thankfully. We've even slept on ground that was thick with mud and we thought we'd slide away so tied off the heads of the swags to the wheels of the vehicle to keep them secure! You tend not to get any flapping in the wind like you do with a tent so that is preferable. Like you, we travel as light as possible so that with all 4 of us we don't have to take a trailer. We have all the extra gear too but you know how it is, you just make it work! Best of luck.

I use a swags most of the time now.
If the weathers really bad, I run a 10'x8' blue tarp from my bonnet to the ground, and slip under there. Maybe you could do the same off your ATV??

Also, you can take the foam mattress out and slip a self-inflating mattress in if you want to reduce bulk. And you don't really need a thick mattress from the hips down.

Thanks people. I am indeed honoured, getting a reply right from the very top.

So can you buy a short, inflatable mattress. Hips up.

What about an inflatable mattress on the prickly ground? I once punctured an blow up air bed through the tent floor. There were hundreds of tiny spikes through the floor. Not much fun waking up at 2.00am with your hips on the hard ground. Perhaps the swag floor is a bit tougher.

Regards,
Laurie.

Laurie,

A swag will suit you well.

My Down Under Swag is a few years old and only has one fibreglass hoop at the head end.
The foot is held up by a simple straight rod that holds the foot up like a mini tent shaped arrangement.

A good quality swag will withstand heavy rain, but to keep the canvas dryer most people would erect a tarp of some kind to act as an awning if the weather looks doubtful.

A swag contains its own mattress and if you use a sleeping bag opened up as a "doona", to keep you warm in cooler weather, this can be left stored inside and the whole lot rolled up.

The tarp could be tied to the bike's handlebar and the rear of the trailer then pegged down at the low end. Alternatively, you could tie the tarp to a couple of tree branches, or hang it over one and place the swag underneath.

The advantage of the tarp is you can still cook, etc. if it's still raining and pack up the dry swag before you pull the tarp down.

Thanks Sand Man.

It's looking, as you have said, that a swag will suit me very well.

One or two hoops, and a tarp as well. Should be able to take my delicate stuff to bed with me.

Looks like I'd better get one of those tiny gas stoves. Can't light a fire right beside the bike (petrol) or right beside the swag.

With thanks,
Laurie.

Laurie, although a good swag will keep you dry on a rough night they are not really suited for use in wet conditions in your case. As you have no car to get into you'll be laying down all night in a swag. There's no where to put your boots, rain coat or gear so you'd have to take a tarp to cover that. The bulk of a swag too would be more than a light tent & a self inflating mat.
If your dome wont stand up in the wind I'd suggest you've bought the wrong one. They use dome tents on Everest without getting flattened. Tunnel tents like the Macpac Olympus are almost bomb proof. For lightweight gear to suit a 4 wheel motorbike setup I'd be looking in a bushwalking store.
Cheers Craig..............

Well, thanks Craig.

There's good thinking coming from different directions.

It's six inch rainfall country. Although there notable exceptions, it's generally pretty dry.

My main fear in my photography trips to the outback is of getting stuck out for several days, due to rain and boggy conditions. This worries me more than stacking the bike or treading on a snake.

But I won't die from a wet tail. Might be pretty uncomfortable but not fatal. I think that after a certain point, I've just got to do my best in the conditions with the gear I carry.

Thanks to all of you who've made good suggestions for me to work on.

You're right about the tent not being the right type for difficult conditions. My wife bought it so we could have a weekend away together, now and then. I think it was about $200. It's fine for the intended purpose.

Thanks,
Laurie.