Playing around with Tarps in the Garden .... again !

22nd April 2020

It's been funny year. I had planned to complete the Wainwrights before turning 50 in June. I'd booked off a number of days in March and April, plus a week at Easter and another in late May. That should have been plenty of time to climb the remaining 35, especially as most of them are clumped together in the Northern Fells. That was the idea anyway. Unfortunately though, a particularly stubborn virus with grand ideas of world domination has interfered with my carefully laid plans. And to add insult to injury, the recent weather has been glorious. We are now 4 weeks, or is it 5, into the Covid-19 lockdown. I lose count. Being an NHS key worker has thankfully spared me from the boredom of weekday 9-5 lockdown but there was no escape from my planned Easter week off. So having completed my list of garden chores I thought it would be a good time to update my old tarp pitching video on YouTube from 2015. Since then, nearly all my wild camps have been under a tarp and I've become much more adept at pitching them. I've learnt which shelters work well in the Cumbrian fells, particularly on windy summits where I seem to find myself more often than not. So here is my updated video showing, in my humble opinion, the best 5 tarp configurations using 2 trekking poles and my 9x5 foot silnylon tarp (the solo tarp, £55 from https://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/).






The A-Frame and the Cave are probably the least useful for my needs, the former being only suitable for really calm weather and the latter as a 'hunker down in a storm' shelter. Others may find them helpful though. The A-Frame would be the best option for a sheltered woodland camp and can be pitched between 2 trees instead of trekking poles. The Cave would be much more useful with a bigger tarp, but that's not really my thing. 

The other 3 shelters (the lean-to, the 'closed end' lean-to and the Flying-V) are my favourites and ones I use most. They can all stave off the wind which is usually my primary objective, and they all represent what wild camping with a tarp is all about for me. Wide open vistas, a real feeling of space and an open view of the sky. One of the best things about the tarp and/or bivvy is being able to lie supine in the comfort of a down bag and slowly allow your night vision to soak up the celestial arena. To fall asleep under a pitch black sky studded with countless stars and bisected by a glowing milky way that is hardly ever seen in 'urbandom'. To have wandering satellites, distant galaxies and streaking meteors for company.  You just don't get that experience in a tent. Of course its not always like that and I've had plenty of camps where the weather has unexpectedly turned for the worse. Where wind and rain have rattled the tarp and sleep has been sporadic, but even those experiences are special. Yep … I must admit that I've really fallen for the tarp. 

As Tucas Custom Down Quilt - First Look

I have new Gear !! First look at the As Tucas Down Quilt

The inherent design flaw with down sleeping bags is that all the insulation underneath you is compressed by your body weight to a degree where it loses all thermal efficiency. This squashed down is essentially dead weight. The idea behind a quilt is to eliminate this dead weight and instead use the insulating properties of the mat to protect you from the cold ground.

As Tucas Down Quilt bottom ....

... and top

This idea was popularised by legendary America backpacker Ray Jardine and has since become become very popular, particularly within the lightweight backpacking community in the States.

This short video from 'standing bear' explains the concept a little better than I can.





 Personally I've never really got on with mummy sleeping bags. Not so much for the reasons above but more because I'm a fidgety sleeper.  I tend to roll over a lot, throw arms and legs out all over the place and generally not stay in one position for long. As such, I'm forever twisting and turning; trying to move the zip, that was in the perfect position 10 minutes ago, out from underneath me. Or I'm straining the fabric trying to stretch out a knee or an elbow. I'm very envious of those lucky folk who can sleep on their backs without moving from dusk til dawn.

 Quilts are therefore an attractive proposition to me, and after doing a bit a reading around the subject, I bit the bullet and ordered a custom down quilt from Marco at As Tucas. It arrived a few days ago and I thought it would be worth posting a few pics, a few stats and a few thoughts.

  As Tucas offer an increasing number of ultralight outdoor products but they also offer a custom made service. I therefore emailed Marco with my quilt requirements; namely that I like a bit of wriggle room, that I'm 5' 10" and I would like it keep me warm down to about freezing point. He suggested a custom made sestrels quilt with 350g down in size medium length and regular width. The sestrels quilt in its usual form is synthetic and the details can be found here. I understand that Marco will be selling the 'Foratata' down quilt from July 15th, which is almost identical to this one.

  On initial inspection the quality of workmanship is superb. There really isn't a stitch out of place. The quilt is simplicity itself with a roomy enclosed foot box and a open back which can be closed up by fastening 2 press studs.

 This particular quilt uses 350g of pure white 900 cuin down sourced from Poland. It has an estimated comfort rating of 0 degrees C. The fabric is Schoeller 12 denier which is 28g/m2. It is windproof and breathable. It has an 'ecorepel' coating which provides resistance against water and dirt. Full details can be found here.

  Marco tells me that the internal baffles are made from cuben fibre and their height is 25mm.They are sized so that the down is slightly compressed within the chambers. This allows for better control of down movement without a loss of thermal efficiency.

The down lofts really well

  On my scales the quilt weighs 519 grams. It packs down to 30cm x 15cm x 15cm .

This 10 litre dry bag weighs 43 grams.

  As Tucas design their quilts to be a bit wider and longer than the typical equivalent from American makers. This is so the quilt can be pulled up over your neck and head when the temperature drops without necessarily having to use a hat or balaclava. Also, it is not adorned with complex fastenings to secure it to a mat. You simply use it like you would a normal quilt at home and tuck it under your sides as needed in order to keep out the droughts. It certainly seems very comfy on my lounge floor with plenty of room to cover my head.

 

Plenty of room

 There is also the option of putting the mat inside the quilt. This is not something I can imagine doing but a few people have asked if it is possible and the answer is 'yes'. With the thermarest and me inside its a bit of squeeze with the poppers fastened and is essentially a wide mummy bag in this configuration. There is adequate room with the poppers unfastened though, and the quilt just tucked under mat. However, I don't like this idea and I will be using it on top of the mat and tucking the quilt underneath me as it is designed to do.

With full length Thermarest inside

  

Room for a thermarest prolite plus regular if you want to tuck the quilt in underneath the mat.

 The one thing I'm not sure of is what to wear whilst in it? In a sleeping bag I usually use a liner bag to protect the down from my general sweat and grime but of course that would kind of defeat the object of using a quilt. I think perhaps a very lightweight base layer top and bottoms will do the job. Perhaps something like these from Rohan. Any other suggestions welcome :-) 

  I intend to use the quilt for 3 season use in the Cumbrian mountains, the first trip being described here - 'first night in the as tucas down quilt'. I will post an update as to its performance in the field later in the year.



I should also make it clear that I have no affiliation with As Tucas or Marco personally and I paid for this quilt with my own hard earned dosh.