Post you insulation beds that you spent the night in here.
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(I)Student Practice for Insulation Bed
- Thread starter IA Woodsman
- Start date
This was a great class Terry I would like to make one using grass one day as well. We just didn't have any around this that wasn't wet and matted down.
We were going out this weekend anyway and stayed in our Hemlock woods spot.
Here is my bed before compression and sleeping in it.
Here it is from this morning after I stayed on it.
We were going out this weekend anyway and stayed in our Hemlock woods spot.
Here is my bed before compression and sleeping in it.
Here it is from this morning after I stayed on it.
From the same outing as Sweeneyguy, did my bed with some pine duff, sticks, and mostly hemlock boughs since that was the only suitable material that was in abundance in the area.
I would like to try this again with grasses and cattails or mullein some time as well. The boughs weren't as cushy as I expected, if I did this again I'd save a few layers of softer/more flexible stuff for the topmost layer.
I would like to try this again with grasses and cattails or mullein some time as well. The boughs weren't as cushy as I expected, if I did this again I'd save a few layers of softer/more flexible stuff for the topmost layer.
Debris pillow for my debris mat. Using the ditty bag I sewed for the other lesson.
El done o. All work was done using my cold steel shovel. It worked great at cutting the saplings, boughs, and grass. Handy tool. I really like it.
Although the bed compressed under me through the night, I was suprised at the loft it retained. With no pad, I was suprisingly comfortable. I wont be trading in my pad anytime soon, but it was a neat skill to practice.
Forgot to add, I have a nice cut almost all the way through my leather work glove from gathering the grasses. If I didnt have them on, it wouldve no doubt been a nasty cut. Cedar boughs also leave nice splinters. So be carefull guys, and wear gloves for this one.
This was a great lesson, I was warm and comfortable in my bed, when it was cold and damp everywhere else. Thanks for the lesson.
Natural insulation bed overnight. - YouTube
Natural insulation bed overnight. - YouTube
You guys picked a great spot for harvesting materials... good show Josh!
That's for sure :dblthumb: Nice set up Josh.
I was concerned that the end being open to the breeze would pose a problem keeping warm, it didn't appear to have been a factor.
I probably could have readjusted the grass and used it again without having to add any more.
Kenny... I do believe Josh called you a pencil-neck in the video.....
Insulation bed for the night made from fir bows that littered the forest floor. I didn't have to travel more than 30' to gather thanks to the storms we had the last couple weeks.
Spot chosen was between two trees that looked safe to be under and in a pretty flat spot above the valley.
Side rails had wood pegs drove into the gound to keep them in place
sticks placed at bottom of bed for ground spacers
Fir bows piled about 22" high
Bow bed the morning after. Temps got down to 27F in the valley below me, I bet it was closer to 33F where I slept. Bed was comfortable.
Insulation bed after one night.
Spot chosen was between two trees that looked safe to be under and in a pretty flat spot above the valley.
Side rails had wood pegs drove into the gound to keep them in place
sticks placed at bottom of bed for ground spacers
Fir bows piled about 22" high
Bow bed the morning after. Temps got down to 27F in the valley below me, I bet it was closer to 33F where I slept. Bed was comfortable.
Insulation bed after one night.
Man, great work on the bed and the shelter too - was the shelter one you built before or was that built at the same time?
Was the wool blanket your only sleep insulation for 33º and you stayed warm enough? That's pretty good for a wool blanket!
Thank you.
I built the shelter same day as the bed. We had a big ice and wind storm a few weeks ago that caused alot of branches and tree tops to fall to the ground making it easy to gather matierials. It took about an hour to build the bed and another hour or two for the shelter.
I also had a wool jacket, balaclava, fresh socks, t-shirt, fleece shirt and nylon pants as insulation in addtion to the wool blanket. My feet did get cold but the rest of me stayed warm enough to get good sleep. I did get up once during the early morning to stoke the fire and drink some tea then went back to sleep until the sun came up.
I have tried this in the past with military surplus blankets and spent some cold nights, the Hudson Bay blanket did much better.
We went on a minimal kit overnighter which gave me the chance to make my natural insulation bed.
Base of poles and sticks with stakes:
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Cedar boughs:
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Tall Grases with reflector and USGI poncho shelter:
[/IMG]
Temperature got down to 15F but stayed nice and warm through the night:
[/IMG]
Thanks.
Base of poles and sticks with stakes:
Cedar boughs:
Tall Grases with reflector and USGI poncho shelter:
Temperature got down to 15F but stayed nice and warm through the night:
Thanks.
I just got back in from a weekend in the woods where I spent some time sleeping on an insulation bed.... all I realy had to work with - mainly Ivy - but I gave it a go....
Not my best rest ever but as it got down to minus 6 celcius I guess I survived in reasonable style under my tarp
Frame to stop the materials migrating
Insulation
Fireweed topping
Poncho/tarp over the top
Trying it for size
sleeping bagin a bivvibag on top
next morning
The insulation compressed to about one inch thick and slightly rearranged in the night to fill hollows and remove lumps...
ice on the pocho
not the best insulation material - but I got a fai nights rest...
Not my best rest ever but as it got down to minus 6 celcius I guess I survived in reasonable style under my tarp
Frame to stop the materials migrating
Insulation
Fireweed topping
Poncho/tarp over the top
Trying it for size
sleeping bagin a bivvibag on top
next morning
The insulation compressed to about one inch thick and slightly rearranged in the night to fill hollows and remove lumps...
ice on the pocho
not the best insulation material - but I got a fai nights rest...
Had a cold snap down here and I figured it knocked back the chiggers enough to do this one. Ocala National Forest. Got down to 25. Started by smoothing out and laying a coupla sand pine containment poles.
Found some kinda straight scrub oak saplings on the edge of a clearcut and laid sabal palm fronds over them for a sorta vapor barrier, because the sand was damp. After deconstructing the bed the next day, I found the saplings had worked down into the sand somewhat. Next time I'll put the fronds first, then the woody stuff to prevent that. Maybe another layer of fronds on top of that to trap some more dead air.
I used dry dog fennel (a good drill for friction fire, BTW) with the bulky tops at each end.
Layered some long grass on.
Some shorter finer grass at my torso and head to tie it together and soften the bed.
Used the M.E.S.T. for a reflector/wind break.
Long fire.
Which was crucial to staying warm. (I did clip up a space blanket under the tarp after dark, BIG difference, Max took it out sometime before dawn :34
I had 7 inches of loft left in the morning. Reversing the wood and palm fronds will help. Then just more material.
Great lesson and learning experience. I haven't done this in FL and really learned alot. Thanks Terry!
Found some kinda straight scrub oak saplings on the edge of a clearcut and laid sabal palm fronds over them for a sorta vapor barrier, because the sand was damp. After deconstructing the bed the next day, I found the saplings had worked down into the sand somewhat. Next time I'll put the fronds first, then the woody stuff to prevent that. Maybe another layer of fronds on top of that to trap some more dead air.
I used dry dog fennel (a good drill for friction fire, BTW) with the bulky tops at each end.
Layered some long grass on.
Some shorter finer grass at my torso and head to tie it together and soften the bed.
Used the M.E.S.T. for a reflector/wind break.
Long fire.
Which was crucial to staying warm. (I did clip up a space blanket under the tarp after dark, BIG difference, Max took it out sometime before dawn :34
I had 7 inches of loft left in the morning. Reversing the wood and palm fronds will help. Then just more material.
Great lesson and learning experience. I haven't done this in FL and really learned alot. Thanks Terry!
Great work men!!! I love seeing all of the different materials used.
Here is mine,
The only thing we had at the resivour was dried leaves. I put a log in front and filled my sleeping area full of them. then my ground cloth then my blanket the first night and sleeping bag the second.
All those leaves sure made a big differance in keeping my gear dry since it rained almost all day saturday. The only thing I should have done different was be more careful getting all the sticks out of the leaves. Saturday evening required a search of the bidding to find the one poking me in the hip.
The last two pics are of how much it compacted. I would need about 6 times as many leaves for a winter outing.
The only thing we had at the resivour was dried leaves. I put a log in front and filled my sleeping area full of them. then my ground cloth then my blanket the first night and sleeping bag the second.
All those leaves sure made a big differance in keeping my gear dry since it rained almost all day saturday. The only thing I should have done different was be more careful getting all the sticks out of the leaves. Saturday evening required a search of the bidding to find the one poking me in the hip.
The last two pics are of how much it compacted. I would need about 6 times as many leaves for a winter outing.
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I have been into pioneering as a related hobby for the past 8 years. In my log cabin, I have a rope bed, which is just a moved-indoors insulation bed. Rope beds have been used since the days of the Vikings or before. Topping that is a "tick" or big pillow case stuffed with straw, which we grew on the farm.
Insulation Bed Part One - YouTube
When I saw Terry's video of the insulation bed outside, I wanted to try it!
bushbumming29, bartman and I camped out back in February when the temperature was 24 degrees. Ryan and I made insulation beds, and I used only my wool blanket for bedding that night. I claimed the overnight with the blanket as an elective, but I would like to use the insulation bed video below for my first Intermediate lesson:
Shelter Half with BushBed - YouTube[/url]
The video shows both of our insulation beds and shelter halves. The views of mine begin about 6 minutes into the video. We started by collecting pine duff and carrying it back to camp wrapped in a shelter half
Insulation Bed Part One - YouTube
When I saw Terry's video of the insulation bed outside, I wanted to try it!
bushbumming29, bartman and I camped out back in February when the temperature was 24 degrees. Ryan and I made insulation beds, and I used only my wool blanket for bedding that night. I claimed the overnight with the blanket as an elective, but I would like to use the insulation bed video below for my first Intermediate lesson:
Shelter Half with BushBed - YouTube[/url]
The video shows both of our insulation beds and shelter halves. The views of mine begin about 6 minutes into the video. We started by collecting pine duff and carrying it back to camp wrapped in a shelter half
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Natural ground insulation for bed
Natural insulation bed is shown beginning at minute 6:30.
Solo Overnight In Natural Shelter - YouTube
Natural insulation bed is shown beginning at minute 6:30.
Solo Overnight In Natural Shelter - YouTube
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Spent last night sleeping on a thin bed of palmettos and sticks with a wool blanket, it wasn't the greatest in comfort, but it did the job of keeping the bugs and moisture away. I sleep on a firm mattress anyways so the lack of cushion didn't bother me. I did remove some sticks that were poking my back, but overall I slept alright for having nothing but a thin wool blanket.
It drizzled all night but my tarp kept me dry.
I also shot some video, I'll publish it later on tonight.
Here's a couple of before/after pics:
EDIT: Video is up!
BCUSA Wool Blanket-Insulation Bed - YouTube
It drizzled all night but my tarp kept me dry.
I also shot some video, I'll publish it later on tonight.
Here's a couple of before/after pics:
EDIT: Video is up!
BCUSA Wool Blanket-Insulation Bed - YouTube
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