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Two Letters Re: My Experiment with a Field Gear Invention
Hello, Mr Rawles,
I´m writing to you in response to Mike B´s letter "My Experiment
with a Field Gear Invention."
Halfway´ through the second paragraph I began to smile since I instantly
recognized the item he was writing about. How different outdoor culture can
be from country to country. In Sweden this is called "sittunderlägg" and
is somewhat of an household item among outdoors people. However, I would like
to add some tips about the manufacture of the same. In Sweden they are made
of closed foam, the same material as in the cheap camping mattresses. This
has several advantages. First it´s cheap. A car mat
can supply material for maybe one or two but a six foot mattress can be cut
up to comfortably sit five or six people. Seeing both can be had for ten dollars
or less the camping mattress saves some money, Secondly, weight. This I have
not tested but I can´t imagine that car mats are lighter per square inch.
Third and most importantly, closed foam insulates from cold. A car mat seat
may be all right during summer treks but if you have to bug out in low or even
sub-zero temperatures you would want to sit down without losing precious body
heat.
As always, thanks for a great blog! - D. from Sweden (Editor of Att
Leva Efter
2012)
Jim,
The "Posterior Flap" described by Mike is popular among skiers, who
use it to stay dry and warm while sitting on the ski lift. I believe some ski
pants
have the flap built in. There are also commercial "belt
mounted" flaps available; so it may
not be necessary to build your own unless you have unique requirements:
