caedmon wrote:One consideration on the dart/fitted shoulder seam for our purposes is that it makes very hard to lay the cloak flat and used as blanket. But the improved fit for trekking might make that worth it.
J.R.R. Tolkien, in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Book 1, Chapter XI: A Knife in the Dark, Pg. 186 wrote:Frodo and his companions huddled round the fire, wrapped in every garment and blanket they possessed; but Strider was content with a single cloak, and say a little apart, drawing thoughtfully at his pipe.
I set aside this quote from my article because I knew a question that merited it would come up in some form or another. Here's where I'm at with it: I
do intend to dart my left shoulder. It will reduce the number of wrinkles of fabric under my bedroll strap, keeping it a bit more comfortable, as well as the closer fit helping to prevent the cloak shifting around.
Strider's ability to handle the cold with just a cloak has to do, largely, with his personal acclimation. Go read Austin's article in the Winter Edition for ideas on improving your own. In the meantime, I think the dart would be more help than harm. Proper sleeping protocol in the wilds is having something over
and under you, so I believe that warmer conditions (or a well-acclimated traveler in early October, as was the case) could easily make use of the original Bocksten design by actually wearing it for sleeping, unpinned from the shoulder. Colder weather? Now we're talking a bedroll with a dedicated blanket.