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:
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!
Pity I've no room to bring along the fleece as well, that looks like it'd be comfy if I stuffed it full: 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!