Taurinor wrote:
I'd love to get some details on your shelter components - what are you using for your tarp and groundcloth?
The ground sheet is cut from an old oil cloth tarp which was meant for keeping a log store dry. I didn't bother to hem the two sides I cut but it doesn't look like it will fray quickly. I cheated when I made the shelter tarp, that was a rip-stop nylon tent fly-sheet (you can just about see on the photo that the inside has that silvered coating to reflect heat). All I did was reinforce points around the edges with canvas and put in eyelets. To give you an idea of scail the ground sheet is 6ft x 2ft 6".
Taurinor wrote:
Where I usually roam, I'd be worried about the lack of breathability of waxed canvas (I'd be as wet with sweat as I would from the rain), but up in Scotland I'm sure you have different climate considerations! You'd be surprised how dry a wool cloak and hood can keep you, though.
It was so cold and windy most of the time that I was glad of the extra layer. I didn't have an issue with breathability, partly because it was cold, and partly because the cloak is short and loose, so there is a lot of air flow underneath it. In the 7th photo I'm nearly 200m above the valley floor (where I was staying) and I climbed that quite quickly and only noticed sweat on top of my shoulders where my cloak sits and behind my pack.
My only real worry when I started the project was how heavy it would be when it was done. My panic was added to when i receved the fabric and the package was really heavy. Turns out when I opened it that the supplyer had a roll end and had sent me 2 yards extra, phewww panic over
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
its still a lot lighter than a wet wool cloak.
Elleth wrote:
Like Taurinor I think you may find trying the same experiment in wool interesting: I find wool better right up until the point it gets actually soaked through, at which point it's sooooo heaaaavy. Takes a lot to get there though.
The answer to how dry wool can keep me is not dry enough, I tryed wearing my wool cloak (made from an army blanket) in the rain here in the UK, that was heavy set in rain and it soaked through in just over two hours and was really heavy wet as Elleth says. Although if it's only light drizzle it never seems to soak through. My cloak is wool blend (only 60â„… wool), maybe if it was all wool it would be better?
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.