Impromptu Browse Bag mattress of the Angle

Hard Kit is all other accoutrements that are not clothing, weapons or armour. This includes pots and tents, and flint & steel, and other things like that.

Moderators: caedmon, Greg

Post Reply
User avatar
Elleth
êphal ki-*raznahê
Posts: 2932
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 5:26 am
Location: in the Angle; New England

Impromptu Browse Bag mattress of the Angle

Post by Elleth »

Thought I'd show off a side project:

Kortoso's bedroll video re-introduced me to the humble browse bag:
Browse bag-This is an empty cotton bag which gets stuffed with leafs and other materials to function as a sleeping mat. It is 32 inches by 78 inches, and weighs 1lb.
Woodtrekker Blog: The Gear of Horace Kephart

I really didn't want to add another project to the pile (or more weight to carry) but I suddenly remembered an abandoned project in the fabric box: a scrap of linen sacking I'd intended to make demo site decorations from back when I was doing 18th c.. And that reminded me of the bag in the Shepherd's Adoration that came up in our snapsack discussion:
merf-browse-bag-adoration-of-the-shepherds-bronzino.jpg
merf-browse-bag-adoration-of-the-shepherds-bronzino.jpg (36.41 KiB) Viewed 6456 times
I could make an old timey fleece bag!
ba ba black sheep...

I especially liked the idea because I think we may overdo the amount of specialized outdoor equipment a traveler in Eriador - even a Ranger - might have available to them in the comparatively scarcely populated Eriador of the Third Age. But a recycled sack for storing wool fleece? That couldn't be hard to find - not even for a Hobbit or Breelander!
:)
merf-browse-bag-mattress-wool-fleece.jpg
merf-browse-bag-mattress-wool-fleece.jpg (240.67 KiB) Viewed 6456 times
Pity I've no room to bring along the fleece as well, that looks like it'd be comfy if I stuffed it full:
merf-browse-bag-mattress-in-grass.jpg
merf-browse-bag-mattress-in-grass.jpg (189.35 KiB) Viewed 6456 times
I honestly don't know how well it will hold up: the weave of the sacking is fairly loose, so it's possible a few snags from missed brambles will be the end of it. But on the other hand it's so light it seems worth the experiment. If it pans out and is worth the bother, I could imagine sewing another like it, and stitching the two end-to-end for a proper impromptu groundpad.



As an aside: all of last year's wool goes out for processing to yarn tomorrow! Hopefully in a few months we'll have some nice heavy blankets from sheep right here on the farm! Woo! :)
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
User avatar
Kortoso
Haeropada
Posts: 822
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:37 pm
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Contact:

Re: Impromptu Browse Bag mattress of the Angle

Post by Kortoso »

Thanks for the link! :P By all means, experiment all you want!

Reminding me I need to do some experimentin' with bedstraw. It earned that name for some valid reason.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_aparine
"In Europe, the dried, matted foliage of the plant was once used to stuff mattresses. Several of the bedstraws were used for this purpose because the clinging hairs cause the branches to stick together, which enables the mattress filling to maintain a uniform thickness."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galium_verum
"In the past, the dried plants were used to stuff mattresses, as the coumarin scent of the plants acts as a flea repellant."
There are no safe paths in this part of the world. Remember you are over the Edge of the Wild now, and in for all sorts of fun wherever you go.
Post Reply