cowboy bedroll

[shiftyer1]

Does anyone use one anymore?

[COWBOYSURVIVAL]

I have considered using one...just haven't dropped the cash for one.

[hunter63]

Does anyone use one anymore?

What is your definition of "Cowboy bedroll"?
Just curious.......
We use wool point blankets with a canves cover at rendezvous....lately on cots, LOL getting old......

Some pic's......http://www.google.com/search?q=Cowbo...w=1259&bih=648

[shiftyer1]

Hunter63.....thats my definition. I would love a hudson bay point blanket but it's alot out of my range I've been thinking of making or buying one and was just curious if anyone still used them.

[hunter63]

Yup............Still do when primitive camping.

[FVR]

Piece of canvas with a wool blanky, yes I do use one.

[shooter_250]

Go on ebay, there are or were some nice alpalca? blankets for around 75bucks...I have a great big one and i have a smaller wool blanket , I sleep under one in the winter and the other in the summer...comfy

God Bless

Lee

[Old GI]

Wow, $75 for an alpaca blanket! You can't touch them for that here in the middle of alpaca country.

[shiftyer1]

For ya'll that do use them, what weight canvas do you use? Also do you think one made from a canvas painters drop cloth would hold up?

[hunter63]

No..................I think it's like 12 oz or something like that.

[crashdive123]

I've got a couple of canvas painters tarp that I water proofed. I don't think they would hold up for too long if used as a bed roll.

[kyratshooter]

Painter tarps are usually 8oz or 10oz. You can see through the weave on the 8oz.

I have gotten by with the 10 oz but you need to wash it and run it through a hot dryer to shrink the weave, then waterproof it.

Panther Primitives has a premade bedrool cover of 130z sunforager. $80 Too pricey for me.

When I was doing a lot of summer backpacking I used a nylon poncho liner and a shelter half. It was just the right size to roll up in and keep the dew off. I also spent the better part of 1973 sleeping in that same poncho liner rolled up in a GI poncho. Same principle, different Indians than the Cowboys had.

Sportsmans Guide and Cheaper Than Dirt usually have some good surplus blankets. They once had a Swiss blanket that was as good as my Hudsons Bay blanket and they have some very good Itallian blankets.

You have to be careful these days because the cheap blankets are not woven, they are pressed like felt. They come apart real quick.

I have found that when I am in a real stripped down camp I often rest better if i do not lay down. I lean up against a tree with my blanket around me and snooze away. That is espically good if I am using a candle as a heat source. Lite the candle, sit it between my feet and cover all with the blanket. It keeps all the candle heat right there inside your covers.

Do not plan on camping light if you are using a bedroll! My Hudson Bay blanket weighs 8 pounds and I have one king sized wool blanket that weighs 13 pounds. Add anothe 2 pounds of canvas to that and you are humnping a real load. I use my blankets in primitive camps where I can drive right up to where I set up the tent.

Contrary to popular belief, the cowboys bedroll was a massive thing and was carried in the chuck wagon! That thing you see rolled up behind the cantle of the saddle in the westerns is a duster or a slicker, not a full bedroll. I have seen photographs of cowboys on the drives sleeping on 3 inch thick cotton matresses with quilts, laid out on the grouund around the chuck wagon. I think the Time Life series has several pictures of these "Beds rolled up". Hate to burst the bubble like that.

Here's you a reference Rick, just to keep things from the history prof honest:
http://www.lemen.com/qa226.html

For general camping a good sleeping bag will be lighter and warmer, and will not cost as much as a good Hudson Bay Blanket.

You do realize they stopped making the blankets several years back, did you not? Both Whitney and Earleys, the origional suppliers, shut down.

Woolrich still makes a copy with prices starting at $289.

[hunter63]

With out a doubt the newer, modern sleep systems are lighter, warmer, more water proof, able to be carried on ones person, and probaly cheaper, BUT,

Mountain man mostly had pack animals, (I use a truck), and so in keeping with at least appearences of traditional gear, yes, I still use a "Cowboy bedroll" from time to time.

[shooter_250]

OLD GI...the price has gone up in the last few years but here's where I bought mine...mine is a great big one, king size, and looks like this one..

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-HUGE-Alpaca-...item484037a08b

enjoy

Lee

[shiftyer1]

I've seen several commercial bedrolls online and they very from 10 oz to 18 oz. I guess 18 oz. would be the only way to go then. Yes I realize they are heavy but i'd like to give it a shot I also just ordered a hammock so we'll see which way I prefer.