10 year olds first swag

[AB]

Happy friday folks!

It's Lachy's birthday coming up and the big boy wants his own swag for camping which is awesome!

Any recommendations on swags?

I def want a stretcher swag but funds are aslightly limited however I don't want to buy crap either.

What about the Oztent bunkers? https://www.tentworld.com.au/buy-sal...stretcher-tent

I do like this one that Winnie got a while back from Kulkyne.
https://www.kulkyne.com.au/King-Sing...UaAkW0EALw_wcB


Any help appreciated!

[PeeBee]

Andy I have 3 swags, and none of them are perfect. The latest unit I have is the 1100mm wide Darche swag with the 1000mm wide Darche stretcher.

I use this as my go to the others as back up or for friends without swags.

The Darche quality is fine, has a plastic tub base and has never leaked or fallen down, has been in heat and snow up to 6" deep without issue. The matress is good integrity and can be exchanges with a therma rest or supplemented. It has the full length flyscreen shell and is fine to sleep in when 45 deg or minus 10. The combo of widths was recommended to my by a mate and there is a problem with rain running off the swag and wicking/finding its way between the borttom external surface of the plastic tub and the stretcher top surface. In the snow this turns to ice and its cold to sleep on, regardless of the insulation adoption. It also accumulates un heavy rain. The only solution is to rig a tarp over the setup and stop the water reaching the swag. The stretcher is sturdy and well built, and other makes have copied , or maybe Darche copied from them, but its robust, and bit of a handful to fold up though. The stretcher bags is of a good size, but you will never get the swag back into a Darche over bag - so I bought one of those big waterproof roll top style bags and its a perfect combo, slips inside easily and ca be stored on the roof without water and insect/stick damage to the sway floor.
My concern with the Tent World unit is it seems like an integrated design - what happens if the stretcher gets damaged - can the swag be seperated - what if the package is too big - these are usually vacuum packed for transport to sale. The monster size one Winnie suggested looks like an improvement on the Darche - more room for internal dressing. thrashing around and storage, better ventilation I am guessing - the Darche has vents at both head and g=feet - I think this is really important as when its pissing down the ventilation still happens.
Lastly remember its going to be a cotton polyester mix fabric and it will sweat in either hot or cold so ventilation during the day and at home after the trip is essential. Also I found the mattress can get quite wet just from condensation and body contact, so each day you need to pull the mattress out with the sleeping bag and air it out - the polyester mix does not breath. The first swag I have I purchased the 100% canvas from Bedggood and Sons in Ringwood and made my own -it does not sweat, but its very heavy and oppressive in summer heat.
I dont think there is anything wrong with the Darche brand, however there are probably variants out there that are more cost effective but ultimately today they are just all similar.

[AB]

Andy I have 3 swags, and none of them are perfect. The latest unit I have is the 1100mm wide Darche swag with the 1000mm wide Darche stretcher.

I use this as my go to the others as back up or for friends without swags.

The Darche quality is fine, has a plastic tub base and has never leaked or fallen down, has been in heat and snow up to 6" deep without issue. The matress is good integrity and can be exchanges with a therma rest or supplemented. It has the full length flyscreen shell and is fine to sleep in when 45 deg or minus 10. The combo of widths was recommended to my by a mate and there is a problem with rain running off the swag and wicking/finding its way between the borttom external surface of the plastic tub and the stretcher top surface. In the snow this turns to ice and its cold to sleep on, regardless of the insulation adoption. It also accumulates un heavy rain. The only solution is to rig a tarp over the setup and stop the water reaching the swag. The stretcher is sturdy and well built, and other makes have copied , or maybe Darche copied from them, but its robust, and bit of a handful to fold up though. The stretcher bags is of a good size, but you will never get the swag back into a Darche over bag - so I bought one of those big waterproof roll top style bags and its a perfect combo, slips inside easily and ca be stored on the roof without water and insect/stick damage to the sway floor.
My concern with the Tent World unit is it seems like an integrated design - what happens if the stretcher gets damaged - can the swag be seperated - what if the package is too big - these are usually vacuum packed for transport to sale. The monster size one Winnie suggested looks like an improvement on the Darche - more room for internal dressing. thrashing around and storage, better ventilation I am guessing - the Darche has vents at both head and g=feet - I think this is really important as when its pissing down the ventilation still happens.
Lastly remember its going to be a cotton polyester mix fabric and it will sweat in either hot or cold so ventilation during the day and at home after the trip is essential. Also I found the mattress can get quite wet just from condensation and body contact, so each day you need to pull the mattress out with the sleeping bag and air it out - the polyester mix does not breath. The first swag I have I purchased the 100% canvas from Bedggood and Sons in Ringwood and made my own -it does not sweat, but its very heavy and oppressive in summer heat.
I dont think there is anything wrong with the Darche brand, however there are probably variants out there that are more cost effective but ultimately today they are just all similar.

Thanks Phil, I was also thinking this present for "Lachy" could be the perfect little swag for me too when I just do the solo dad trips as well lol

[Zabelv]

Oztent makes good stuff, generally pretty durable. But for a 10-year-old, maybe something a bit simpler and lighter would be better? Unless he's going on serious outback trips, a fancy bunker might be overkill. Check out some of the smaller, more budget-friendly stretcher swags from Anaconda or BCF, they often have good deals.

[AB]

Oztent makes good stuff, generally pretty durable. But for a 10-year-old, maybe something a bit simpler and lighter would be better? Unless he's going on serious outback trips, a fancy bunker might be overkill. Check out some of the smaller, more budget-friendly stretcher swags from Anaconda or BCF, they often have good deals.

Thanks mate, but this will be a little sneaky birthday present for him but I'll also be using it myself lol

[AB]

I ended up getting the Kulkyne swag.

Looks to be the goods and I'm loving the storage shelf at the end for clothes, boots, etc.

They've really thought about this design with the high sides and the non symmetrical poles so its bigger at the zip entry to get your fat ass into bed at night.

Apparently the swag poles line up perfect for the stretcher too.

[PeeBee]

That i a very clever attachment with internal storage shelf. It will still collect water between the underside of the sway and top of stretcher, but as mentioned, set up under a tarp will take care of that.