RE: A New Swag To Keep My Wife Happy
Swags (as far as I know) are pretty unique to Australia. Started with Cattle drovers back in the 1800s and the 1900s. Even today to a lesser extent used by drovers. Those days it was more like an oversized canvas sleeping bag. The canvas kept them dry from water and the coldd conditions of the outback.
Today many overlanders still like the swag but designs have evolved, more aimed at the recreation market. The main difference to a dome tent, swags are made from canvas, comes with a mattress and accommodates no more than two adults. Some designs can take two adults and two children. Unlike in some dome tents, it is not possible to stand up in a swag.
I guess the main attraction for swags over tents is it's canvas construction (works well in cold desert conditions) and it also in part a sense of Aussie outback tradition.
very cool. I guess they are closely related to a 'Bivy', which we do have here, but I don't think is very popular. I was not aware Swags included a mattress.
We have a large canvas tent, but it is more of a 'family' sized tent and it is sometimes difficult to find enough clear space to set it up (it is 10'x14' ). We recently purchased a small dome tent since it is typically just my Wife and I now. It is easier to set up, and is much smaller and lighter to store in the vehicle.
Dome tents would take up a lot less packing space as compared to a swag. Because of the mattress, once packed, the width of the carry bag is as wide as the mattress. That's a downside you could say. Swags are great for one or two adults. But nothing beats a proper tent if you have a family. The other alternative would be a rooftop tent. Are these popular in the US?
Roof Top Tents are fairly popular among overlanders, but are pricy. A RTT would be my choice if i had the money for it.
How much do they cost over in the US?
Here is Aus we can pick up a RTT for around US$450.00.
you are looking at closer to $1000 US to start for any 'name brand'. There are, of course, Chinese no-name imports that you can get a bit cheaper. and of course you can always pay a lot more... the 'hard shell' tents are pushing $4000
WOW! That's pretty steep.
Here too some of the established brands go high as US$2000, but at the same time, we have new local brands entering the market. The quality standards are pretty good. These start from around US$450. Three years back a friend of mine bought for US$550. Has used it extensively. Still going strong with no problems at all.
Yea, it seems a bit ridiculous for some canvas and a few tubes... (I know there is more to it than that). $400 for 'base' and $800 for 'delux' sounds a lot more reasonable to me.