Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hey Guys,

Lookin at getting a swag for myself this xmas.
I have never owned or slept in a swag, but they look ok to me.
Lots of em are on sale at the moment, just wondering what one
I should get.

There are alot of different styles like dome swag, enclosed swag, etc
What TYPE should I get? IE Which is the best style/design swag to get?
*I need alot of support, otherwise I get a sore back the next morning.
*I need it to fit 1.2M wide by 2M+ long in case I want to set it up in the
middle of my tray.

Also, what is the BEST BRAND of swag (durability, waterproofness)?
And is it worth looking at the cheaper models (Great Outdoors, etc) or
are these just crap?

Thanks guys, post up any and all experiences you have, post up the
brand and how much you bought it for so I can compare.
also, is there a website where they compare swags??

Cheers,
Bart

Toyo Truck wrote:I have never owned or slept in a swag, but they look ok to me.

borrow one first then and try it...
I got mine for less than 1/2 new price, used once. the bloke hated it.

failing that there was a couple of really good threads when I was gettin mine on here, cant find at moment.

Yeah I searched for like an hour, found alot of good stuff,
no brands tho or prices at all so I know what is a "good" price, and what
is not.

Tell me bout your swag you got for 1/2 price dude?
How much was that? What brand? What style?
Do you like it, or do you wanna sell it now LOL

Cheers,
Bart

Toyo Truck wrote:Tell me bout your swag you got for 1/2 price dude?
How much was that? What brand? What style?
Do you like it, or do you wanna sell it now LOL

Cheers,
Bart

mine has the hoops at each end, cant remember brand, havent used for bout 18mths, good quality zips, I paid under $200 and it was $460ish at the time.
its a single, and I use an airbed inside, im a fat Cookie, and couldnt find any good foam materress for me fawked back.

you can hire them too, which as I said, give a go first..

Burke and wills

try www.aussiedisposals.com.au
www.raysoutdoors.com.au
anaconda's website, etc.... plenty out there.. but go and touch and feel the quality first.

I use my swag on a regular basis.

slept in mine for 3 months straight and loved it.

mine is a burke and wills, hopped at both ends with a full fly. my top cover can be unzipped down to the feet for greatest amount of cooling. i have 2 mattress for different occasions. 1 is 75mm thinck medium 1 side high density the other. 2 mattress is 100mm thick again 50/50 medium, high.

this is because of the job i do which allows me to conserve room if need be. (when rolled with 100mm mattress they are fairly large!)

ensure you get the titanium hoops as the fiberglass ones will break very quickly. also by some brush or spray on canvas water repellant, and coat all exterior canvas. allow to air for a couple of days as the smell will make you high if slept in the first night.

it's all personnel preference, but buy the best one you can afford, other wise you will hate it and never use it again after the first couple of nights.

also for cold areas, buy a horse blanket, or a pure wool blanket, you won't regret it.

I vote for Burke and wills, good gear mate.

try this:
http://www.outfitters.com.au/index.php? ... &Itemid=61


all I can say is PiMpeD..

My2C

+1 for Burke and wills, they are awesome. but cost alot more.
I got mine from Anaconda its a Dune 4x4 one,
Make sure you get one with the poles to hold it up, in winter and the canvas is wet its freezing if you touch it. and for summer make sure it has a fly screan that goes all the way to your feet to let out the heat.
Here is a link and price
http://dune4wd.com/Product.asp?p=7

What's the advantages/disadvantages of a PVC or canvas base?

I have a single with canvas base and never had a problem with it. I also in a market for a new double swag and am undecided on the base type.

if you get one with hoops make sure they ar enot fibreglass or if they are make sure the have metal angles/corners..

I have a 3 hoop swag and the fibreglass poles are bent to create the hoop, i have gone thru 2 sets of poles so far in about 2-3yrs.

thats my only gripe with my current swag.. apart from that its all good.. think you need to wet the canvas inside and out when you get it to make the canvas swell and seal the seams..

go the darche swags they rock.

yeah, apparently when you get your new swag your supposed to hose it out a couple of times to swell the seams so that the canvs doesn't leak when it's exposed to the weather.

looking at upgrading from my single to a double swag, i'm going darche

check em out

www.darche.com.au/

i've got an ultima swag ...


http://www.ultimaswag.com/


and definately rate them for build quality

I got a Mr Swagman double. swagman are a really nice swag but are expensive.

I have the jumbo size, not quite double, but bigger than a normal one, and it's just about right, though I could still use even a little more length but since I sleep with my legs up a bit, it's not a real issue except when I stretch fully straight out.
Brand I'll check when I get home, but think it's a jolly swag (that's the brand, not my assesment of it).

Hooped at both ends, can be left open with just the gauze top to watch the stars without being eaten by mozzies or can seal it tight as a drum for bad weather - and mine's seen some attrocious weather - and not got a drop on me.
I even once woke one morning after a severe storm, with the swag submerged to a depth of about 4 or 5 centimetres, with water a few centimetres deep in all directions (quite a surprise as I'd set it up on a tarp, on a raised concrete base, under a Parks and Wildlife information board (for cover overhead while getting in and out) and had not expected the area to flood like that.
Water obviously soaked right through the swag base and into the foam mattress, but the mattress's waterproof cover meant that I never found out about it during the night, and the sleeping bag and myself stayed toasty warm and dry.
I did however rewaterproof the base once I got home (after it all dried out)

A swag is a once in a lifetime purchase. Pay a bit extra, get a good one, and it will do you for life. That's what I did, and have had a lot of use from it. The 75mm foam is more than enough for me.

My wife wife is part Scottish, and hates spending money on anything, and no amount of convincing would change her mind on buying the cheapest one she could find. Hers is the envelope type you slide into, whereas mine is the top opening "coffin" style.

I seriously advise against buying cheap. Buy a good one. One night in hers and she had such a cold head all night, she's hardly used it since. And never used it in cold weather and just opts to stay home instead if it's not a summer trip.
I intend very soon to replace hers without her knowledge, and just get her a good one.

There are brands now the same as mine but with gauze at both head and feet for better flowthrough ventilation. Of course, the downside would be temperature loss. It does get quite stuffy in mine when totally sealed for wet weather, but then again... I have woken up in mine three times with the entire swag and the surrounding area covered in frost, and the canvas top frozen stiff so it opens like a coffin lid not a canvas top, and yet despite that not felt even slightly cold during the night. So maybe a bit of stuffiness is worth the fact that flow through air might have made those nights a lot colder.

I've got a Burke and Wills Redgum and it is fantastic. Hoops at each end and opens top to toe. Also can get in and out via top or end.

I have back problems too so I changed the mattress for a 75mm self inflating "4wd mat" that makes it very comfortable. When rolled up its about 10% larger but 200% more comfortable!!!

Buy right buy once.

Another vote here on the Burke and Wills. Ours is the Coolabah double swag model. They are fantastic swags and we have the PVC base. We went this way because at the time I had a 75 series Ute and I thought the water would run off the PVC instead of soaking in a little if it were canvas while rolled up in the back of the ute while travelling or while rolled out on wet ground. PVC is also easier to brush the crap off when rolling it up in the morning. Later on we also bought a PVC bag to keep the swag in. That way it can rain all it wants.

The only gripe we have with ours is that the flap at the top doesn't fold all the way down making it a bit hard to tuck a sheet down at the bottom.

The missus loves the flap on the end, near our head because it means she can stick her nose out into fresh air when I let a good one rip

Hey guys,

thanks for the responses and info.

PVC base has GOTTA be better than just canvass right?
Just by nature that its gonna be in contact with a cold/wet surface for
hours on end. Thats what I was thinking anyway.

That dune4x4 swag from Anaconda looks OK for $269.00
What does it mean when they say 8oz canvass??
Is 8oz good or bad??

What are brands to steer well clear of??

Cheers,
Bart

Toyo Truck wrote:Hey guys,

thanks for the responses and info.

PVC base has GOTTA be better than just canvass right?
Just by nature that its gonna be in contact with a cold/wet surface for
hours on end. Thats what I was thinking anyway.

That dune4x4 swag from Anaconda looks OK for $269.00
What does it mean when they say 8oz canvass??
Is 8oz good or bad??

What are brands to steer well clear of??

Cheers,
Bart

Our Burke and Wills is 15 oz canvas. So I'm guessing that it is nearly twice as thick as the one you are looking at. Sometimes we sleep in a bit late because it is that dark in there with it all zipped up it is quite dark.

The heavier the canvas the better. It will be warmer, dryer and less prone to rips.

OK then. That makes sense.
Is your 15oz swag twice as heavy tho?
How much did it cost you??
Is it more than twice the cost of the dune4x4 one??

Who sells burke and wills swags in Syddo??

Cheers,
Bart

Another thumbs up for a Bourke & Wills swag.
Mines a Redgum single and I love it!
Had it for about 6 years now and gets used a fair bit.

I love the option of zipping back the whole top cover which then exposes a full length flyscreen for those warmer nights.
Also has a cool little doggy door opening at the top end, which is also handy for climbing into it when its raining.
Saves upzipping the top letting rain on your pillow/sleeping bag etc.

They are pricey, but well worth the money!

Toyo Truck wrote:Hey guys,

thanks for the responses and info.

PVC base has GOTTA be better than just canvass right?
Just by nature that its gonna be in contact with a cold/wet surface for
hours on end. Thats what I was thinking anyway.

That dune4x4 swag from Anaconda looks OK for $269.00
What does it mean when they say 8oz canvass??
Is 8oz good or bad??

What are brands to steer well clear of??

Cheers,
Bart

i got the dune one.

good for the $$, i got mine on special for 149 has all the zip options and such. basically the same swag as the ozitrail one.

all the above advice is good.

get one of the cocoon style swags - they can be zipped up 100% to keep rain, and creepy crawlies out. And your bedding in and clean.

get one that is way wider and longer than your good self - so you have room to turn over, or sleep on your side + not feel squashed. (i outgrew my first swag)

get one will full length fly mesh (mine isnt). On a hot night you will be comfortable all night with full length mesh

A PVC base would be an advantage - mine hasnt got that - and has had water seep thru the bottom several times. Dont worry about people that say condensation is a problem - is it even without a a pvc base.

Tips to all swag owners:
always keep a beanie, stubby holder and torch in the head end of your swag.

Dont seal yourself in 100% - you will get condensation dripping on your face in the morning !!

If its going to rain - run out a tarp over where you are sleeping - otherwise you get wet will getting in and out.

put your boots UNDER the swag if its gunna rain !!!

[/b]

Toyo Truck wrote:Hey Guys,

Lookin at getting a swag for myself this xmas.
I have never owned or slept in a swag, but they look ok to me.
Lots of em are on sale at the moment, just wondering what one
I should get.

There are alot of different styles like dome swag, enclosed swag, etc
What TYPE should I get? IE Which is the best style/design swag to get?
*I need alot of support, otherwise I get a sore back the next morning.
*I need it to fit 1.2M wide by 2M+ long in case I want to set it up in the
middle of my tray.

Also, what is the BEST BRAND of swag (durability, waterproofness)?
And is it worth looking at the cheaper models (Great Outdoors, etc) or
are these just crap?

Thanks guys, post up any and all experiences you have, post up the
brand and how much you bought it for so I can compare.
also, is there a website where they compare swags??

Cheers,
Bart

Best swags on the market and i highly recommend the dome swag easy to setup takes stuff all space and when your in there has plenty of room and you don't feel like claustrophobic.

http://www.southerncrosscanvas.com.au/swags.htm

And yes i have had burke wills and a couple of other however southern cross are awesome..

I got one from a commerical tent/marquee maker in QLD called Copeland Pickers at Woolloongabba. Paid about $300 for it a few years back. Has PVC base double size dome with nearly full reemoveable canvass so its nearly a complete fly screen dome (you need it for summer mornings in QLD. I put an extra foam matterss in it and love sleeping in it. HD canvass with impermiable base, nice and cool when needed and warm and dry when needed. Will not part with it now.

Will fit the Minister of Finance and myself in it no worries and we are both 6' + and i'm not a small unit.

yorgerg wrote:go the darche swags they rock.

yeah, apparently when you get your new swag your supposed to hose it out a couple of times to swell the seams so that the canvs doesn't leak when it's exposed to the weather.

looking at upgrading from my single to a double swag, i'm going darche

check em out

www.darche.com.au/

I have a Darche and love it. Often sleep better in this then when I'm @ home (I'm sure the beers help here though )

It's a Double Super Dome model, with the extra hoop in the middle. PVC base.
[/img]

mine is a Southern Cross Canvas Swag.....double

I spent a great deal of time researching them and I found these to be top of the line in design and especially quality.

As mentioned above the things to keep in mind is the weave quality of the canvas, the thickness of the PVC base and how much it turns up the sides and most importantly how quickly it can be set up.

The last thing you want to be doing is climbing inside your swag to put poles in etc.

I substituted the standard foam mattress for a Black Wolf self inflater and have never looked back.

In summer I can sleep with it wide open safely protected from the creepy crawleys by quality mesh and in the winter its zipped tight for a toasty slumber even in sub freezing temps.

Best advice it try not to be governed by price rather what it easiest to setup and pack and alos access. This involves going to shops for a practical test run.

PS: I got a good discount at a 4wd show some time ago as x demo

i have a mitchell swag from oz trail,its got full length mesh, hoops,door at head end,foot ventilation,slept in rain for days had no probs,done about 4-5yrs service and cant fault it,and just bought another one for my young bloke,cost$199.

x 2 I agree on mitchel swag
ive had 3 swags now 1 no hoops no flyscreens & clostrofobic
2 hoop at head & screened,but feet feet get squashed
3 mitchlle has 3 hoops,head middle & feet,that many fly screens mozzies give up,making summer use comfortable,&priced right
on special at presant $199,& wider than most king singles

iv got a mr swagman delux, there expencive but worth every cent, roomy inside, dosnt leak, has top quality rip stop canvas. quality alloy polls. pay 400 plus and you will get a good swag, any less and there made to a price that you will pay for on the 1st rainy night.

www.mrswagman.com.au

Bart, I got a downunder swag!

I lived outa it for 12months workin on the cattle station! dont rember how much i paid but i think it was around the $250! its bout 3 years old now and still is awsome!!! BEst sleep i ever get is in it
I got the brumby model!

http://www.downunderswags.swag.com.au/c ... 597#Brumby

Hey Haydo!

Whats doin buddy?

You got that swag for a steal mate! I just checked the link and they
are now $409, but they have "20% more mesh" LOL.

I had a look at one of those Dune4x4 swags while walking past an
Anaconda place, they appear to be a Dune4x4 stockist.
They look pretty good for the price.
And they ain't 8oz anymore, it says on the box they are now 15oz
canvas which is just as good as alot of the pricer brands (X2 or X3 the $)
And they are on special too...very tempting indeed.

Got ALL the features including 3 poles (good quality), PVC base, full length
mesh, foot and head mesh/openings, and awnings. Got a 70mm high-
density foam mattress with cover too.
Packs up with a nice simple adjustable strap system.

Anyone got any wet-weather, or cold weather stories/experiences with
these dune4x4 outback swags??

Even if I bought a cheapie (this would be my first swag, so I wanna try
it out for a good period but not pay a fortune just yet). Couldn't I just
get some canvass waterproofing spray on it?

Cheers,
Bart