Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Loving the new instagram page. but, Udwin, what's that sushi mat thing?

Hahah! That's my cattail sleeping pad rolled up!

Oh yeah! I meant to put that in the description. Hang on a tick and I'll go edit that!

Udwin wrote:Hahah! That's my cattail sleeping pad rolled up!

Darn, I was getting hungry.

That looks right comfy. I wish we had more reeds available up here.

It's for making tako makizushi out of The Watcher in the Water.

Seems like you've had that thing for a while; how do you like it? What does it weigh?

SierraStrider wrote:Seems like you've had that thing for a while; how do you like it? What does it weigh?

Yeah, I made it back a couple summers ago. It's held up surprisingly well considering what it is. If I were to make another one, I'd use stronger cord and maybe make it a few inches narrower. It's about 24" wide by ~5' or so. Only weighs I think 2 pounds which is nice. I made it mostly because my blanket is too thin, and my woods face northeast, and so the leaves are usually damp (not the best for making sleeping nests). This seemed the best solution to keep me off the ground with some insulation under me.
I talked to a native fellow last fall who told me that his people would use something similar, only they made theirs from the round stalk of the cattail, instead of the leaves like I did. Both have the same kind of plant fluffy insulation inside, so I don't think it would really make much of a difference. If I had a good stand of Tule rushes near me, I'd use those in a heartbeat, since they're both round and plentiful (it's way easier to gather cattail leaves in bulk, compared to the stalks).