Thoughts on Darche swags

[Jimmyboyjr4]

Been thinking about getting this swag:


http://www.4wdsupacentre.com.au/products/camping-gear/darche-dusk-to-dawn-swag-double.html

I like the look it and the price isn't too bad, anyone had experience with either this particular swag or similar? I'll be chucking an awning on the side of the truck once I get a roofcage so this should help protect it from the elements too.

Thanks!

[boots]

Hi Jimmy . I have owned a single darche swag near on 22 years . One of the best investments I have made . All I have done is increase the padding of the mattress with some carpet underlay . Besides this it has been great . That one your looking at is very flash indeed , one thing to consider is once you put your bedding in it and roll it up , how much room it will take up , it could be bulky and it states the dry / empty weight is 14 kg , so bedding etc 17 kg ? Things to consider before you fork out your hard earned $ . Good luck .

[oncedisturbed]

Shouldnt have any issues with Darche at all, I would be more worried about lack of customer service from the seller. Nice looking swag though


Never underestimate the power of the darkside, let the tap flow through you.

[Jimmyboyjr4]

The size I'm not to concerned about I mean I do drive shorty but I'm single so lots of room, also heading to Lorne in Vic for a music festival over New Years which I do a bit so would like to have the room in the swag and not be constricted.

Customer service shouldn't be too bad, their main showroom is just near work. Pretty sure they advertise in a mates magazine as well.

Thought I'd go well with Darche, I've only read positive things there isn't much out there though.

Thanks!

[Sir Roofy]

there a goog thing mate pricey yes but you wont go wrong

[mudski]

I brought my Darche from their factory over 15 years ago. Comparing it to the other cheap swags I have looked at lately, mine still is better made and with better canvas than all the others. Just had to put a new matress in it thats all. I haven't actually seen a current Darche in the flesh yet so hopefully they are still just as good as the oldies. I couldn't see on their website it they are still made in OZ or not...

[Hodge]

My Darche swag never failed me. Don't know how old or what model, but it's about 10 years old. Considering how many times it's been used and what it went through it should be in shreds by now, but it's still in one piece and as good as ever. It even survived tumbling along calder highway at 100km/h. :thumbup:

[mudski]

The size I'm not to concerned about I mean I do drive shorty but I'm single so lots of room, also heading to Lorne in Vic for a music festival over New Years which I do a bit so would like to have the room in the swag and not be constricted.


Lol. I know what you need the room for....

[Winnie]

Like I have always said, the trick with swags is to go 1 wide, 2 high

[Jimmyboyjr4]

Haha, I also like to have a lot of room to sleep. Like your trick though Winnie!

[batesy]

check out kulkyne campers big boy swag exactly the same $100 cheaper.

[threedogs]

Best swag ever made, you'd be hard pressed to find a better, well made swag.
Had mine over 20 yrs still looks brand new

[taslucas]

Gday mate, heres two other threads that may have some useful info and different brand swags...

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?22350-Reviving-my-old-Darche-canvas-swag.

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/showthread.php?20717-Which-Swag

[FNQGU]

Darche are a good brand and well made, as are quite a number of others. I doubt you would have any dramas with it. I might be getting off topic here, but swags are a compromise like everything else and you do get what you pay for, especially in terms of canvas weight and quality, and as mentioned somewhere above, different designs suit different climates. If you are in the cold then you want something that allows the condensation out. My first swag was a 16oz canvas job with two large flaps that clipped down, sort of like that Saul Swag of Cuppas. Bloody heavy though and I think the canvas came from old railway freight cars! Great in the cold though as it had the two layers of canvas.

If you are on the move all the time then swags come into their own. If you want to stay for a week, get a small lightweight tent. I spent a lot of years living out of swags, mostly in the tropics, and I ended up using both. A light weight single aluminium flexipole insect mesh tent that I could throw my swag into and just lie on top of on those hot humid nights. If it pissed rain, then throw the fly over the tent etc. etc.. It worked well for that situation and most of the blokes I was working with at the time all did similar things. (Some also used the light aluminium stretchers, but for me they creaked and made too much bloody noise every time you roll over. Arguably more comfortable though.)

The trick to doing that though was to go for a swag that would open right out so you could lie on the mattress without canvas on top of you if needed. No poles or frames or anything fancy. These types of swags (I have a Viking swag) can be configured several ways, and even work with poles if you like to keep the canvas up off you. Normally I just tie mine off the bull-bar or a tree etc. The Viking swag also has the sandfly mesh for those horrid nights near the mangrove swamps or the Starke River etc. but it cuts the breeze right out and makes for a very uncomfortable sleep.

Mattresses are another pain to get right. If only used occasionally, or when drunk, it really doesn't matter much, but if you are going to spend a lot of time in them, then even if mostly drunk, it pays to get it right, particularly if you are not as sprightly as you once were. For a long time I used a thermarest mattress beneath a standard 50mm foam mattress, which graduated to a 75mm foam mattress. This was ok, but I got sick of the bloody thermarest in the end, particularly having to deflate it when rolling up the swag every morning. My current luxury solution is a 50mm mattress with one of those bits of memory foam on top. Yes, it adds to the weight, but if the swag is just coming off the roof-rack and onto the ground, it is no big deal. The memory foam setup actually rolls up as tight as my previous setup with the thermarest, although I can see the day when I upgrade again to a 75mm with memory foam...

In the end, if it takes you more than about a minute to set up your swag for the night, because of the need for poles and frames and ropes and that sort of thing, then the argument swings to just using a tent. For me the swag comes into its own because it is so simple and some of these fancy ones might be in the tent category anyway. Each to his own though of course.

[NP99]

This is what I bought. It's good value and worth considering.
http://www.techniice.com/camping-gear/swags.html

[Drewboyaus]

I've never understood why you'd put a swag in a tent......why not just use a tent?


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

[Jimmyboyjr4]

Spent hours yesterday at the Penrith camping show just browsing, the Darche swag was easily the best quality swag I could see that day. Mattress isn't as thick as some of the other but the canvas is definitely thicker and feels to be more heavy duty. I got the Dusk to Dawn double for $429 with free postage so I was happy. I'll throw up some pics once it arrives.

[Sir Roofy]

i've never understood why you'd put a swag in a tent......why not just use a tent?


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

most times my wife and i just sleep under the tarp but up in the high country hunting
the swag goes in the tent on a strecher cuts down the chill factor and unexspected rain snow or frost
on the simmo trip we,l most likely be under the tarp on the strechers and swags with mossy nets handy
up of the ground so the wrigglers creepy crawlers go under neath
will also have a tent in case the weather cuts up to bad

and the truth of the matter is
its easy getting down but harder geting up these days

[Bob]

and the truth of the matter is
its easy getting down but harder geting up these days

and don't I know it LOL

[threedogs]

@ Drew as well as what Roofy said up in the tropics etc flies, mozzies etc attack at all hours so throwing
the swag in side the Fly wire inner frame of a GEO tent would make sense

[Drewboyaus]

@ Drew as well as what Roofy said up in the tropics etc flies, mozzies etc attack at all hours so throwing
the swag in side the Fly wire inner frame of a GEO tent would make sense

I get all that but why not just roll out a sleeping mat and bag and use the tent rather than the swag inside the tent?


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

[taslucas]

I get all that but why not just roll out a sleeping mat and bag and use the tent rather than the swag inside the tent?


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

I suppose a swag is "your bed". Its already got a matress and blanky, its water proof when rolling around in the back of your patrol and you can just grab it out of the shed and go knowing that everytting is included ready to go

[FNQGU]

Yep, exactly. Your swag is your bed and it is safely kept out of the dust etc. by being rolled up and ready to go. Storing all your bedding separately is in my books more of a pain in the ass than having the swag rolled up nicely and ready to be laid out. It has to go somewhere anyway, and the ability to throw them on the roof is pretty bloody handy. Where else does everyone put the mattresses, sheet, sleeping bag etc.? One of those age old compromises I suppose...

[mr_jsd]

I recently purchased a Darche Ridgedome, made in China. I would give it a 1/5 rating.
* They are too mean to put eyelets in the window flaps.
* The ridgepole supports the tent in one place which is off centre. It would be nice to see at least support in 3 places. As a result of lack of support, the tent looks very "saggy-baggy" and this "may" result in water pooling in severe rain.
* The swag was erected in the yard and hosed to "weather" it. There has been some rain (bordering on heavy) during that time and there has been some minor water leaks, but perhaps that is part of the "weathering" process, however it does not fill me with confidence.

Having expressed my disappointment in my Darche, it does appear to be the best of a bad bunch bearing in mind that I wanted a swag that was 200cm * 110cm, at least 80cm high and easy to erect.

[PeeBee]

Swag material today is a polyester cotton blend and it does not respond all that well to the weathering process as used to exist when canvas was 100% cotton. Generally the seams are configured with a sealing tape and thats about as good as it gets. If it still leaks I would check the zips and also apply a waterproofing agent either in a spray can or brush on to all the seams for good measure.- you won't win with the supplier. I have a Darche Swag, very happy with it. Mine did not leak from memory, and has been thru everything from dry dusty hot to freezing cold under 6" snow and torrential rain. I have a Darche stretcher, bought to match the swag and don't think much of it to be honest - not as sturdy as perhaps the price would indicate it should be.

[mudski]

I have the Kings swags are they are shit. They cannot be pulled tight from end to end to stop sagging and therefor pooling when it rains. Lucky I dont use them often enough to warrant spending good coin on one. My old Darche swag I had was great. Survived many downpours with zero leakage.

[Winnie]

I have the Kings swags are they are shit. They cannot be pulled tight from end to end to stop sagging and therefor pooling when it rains. Lucky I dont use them often enough to warrant spending good coin on one. My old Darche swag I had was great. Survived many downpours with zero leakage.As much as I hate to say it, my kings swag is great quality. If you use the ropes it pulls tight. Mines a couple of years old now though, don't know if they've changed since then.

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[AB]

As much as I hate to say it, my kings swag is great quality. If you use the ropes it pulls tight. Mines a couple of years old now though, don't know if they've changed since then.

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Yep same but I haven't had mine out in elements away from the awning.

Having saying that though when seasoning it three times with a drenching from the hose only minimal drops got in.


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[AB]

I have the Kings swags are they are shit. They cannot be pulled tight from end to end to stop sagging and therefor pooling when it rains. Lucky I dont use them often enough to warrant spending good coin on one. My old Darche swag I had was great. Survived many downpours with zero leakage.

I do have sagging in mine too mate.


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[mudski]

I do have sagging in mine too mate.


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Yeah to over come this I use a second rope and attach it lower down on each end of the rod and peg it out in the middle. If ya get what I mean.

[Avo]

I do have sagging in mine too mate.


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no personal problems here please mate

[mad66]

Thanks for the review, I was just about to push the button on one of these swags I thought it looked ok but haven't seen it in the flesh. There is an alternative that is similar called the "Dirty Dee" which as a locking lever on the ridge pole so you can tighten it up properly. Might have to go and have a look at one.

[mad66]

As much as I hate to say it, my kings swag is great quality. If you use the ropes it pulls tight. Mines a couple of years old now though, don't know if they've changed since then.

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I Also have the Kings one and the two biggest problems I have with it is the bloody zips don't work. I gave up trying to do them up so left the swag open. The other problem is I can't roll the damn thing up by myself, needed a mate to give me a hand. Yes it does sag badly as well, but that can be overcome with the use of occy straps placed halfway down the end poles and peged out in the center. otherwise the quality of the swag is not to bad. But on the lookout for something I can manage by myself. Also this month the new OZ tent RS-1 swag is being released so I might wait for some reviews on that before I buy another swag.
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