November has been a month of mixed emotions for me. I have had a fair bit of time free up for getting out into the woods, but at the same time it is also the first month following the clocks being turned back an hour in the UK, so its been a case of mixed blessings. The weather has not been conducive to doing much filming for the YouTube channel either, which has been a shame. The new(ish) Ridgeline Grizzly is continuing to prove its worth during my outings. Teamed with a mid weight fleece and a t-shirt base layer, temperatures of around 1 degree C to 3 degrees C have not posed any problem at all to this combination in protecting me from the elements. While I know that this jacket is not monsoon proof, the rain that has come down has also been kept at bay.
My wife and I took a nice weekend drive down to the coast at the beginning of the month, visiting Lancing, West Sussex, for a walk along a small stretch of coastline, and the Devils Dyke further inland, to get some fresh air. Lancing is a beautiful pebble beach only an hour and a half drive away for us, and a place we enjoy beach combing for shells etc. We prepared for a cold crisp day with the correct clothing, a flask each of coffee and our hats and gloves, again giving me the opportunity (or so I thought!) to test the Ridgeline Grizzly for its ability to stop the wind from chilling me to the bone! Unseasonably, however, the weather was completely different to most of the forecasts that I checked and it was a warm day, too warm in fact for the Grizzly!
After a good couple of hours walk at Lancing, we headed off a few miles down the road towards Brighton to pay a visit to Devils Dyke, a beautiful area for walking, and one that was quite busy with people enjoying the unexpected sunshine. Here are a few photos from the walk...
After a good couple of hours walk at Lancing, we headed off a few miles down the road towards Brighton to pay a visit to Devils Dyke, a beautiful area for walking, and one that was quite busy with people enjoying the unexpected sunshine. Here are a few photos from the walk...
UK Hammocks 'Hammock Chair' & modification:
One of the videos that I was able to make while out in the woods a week or so ago, was on the UK Hammocks 'Hammock Chair', purchased after my mate 51Foxy did a review video on his channel a couple of months ago. This is a cracking bit of kit and in my mind is not limited to being used only when you have two trees spaced nicely apart to accomodate it. Anywhere you have two anchor points that will take your weight, you have an option for hanging this thing. I have done a review of this item already for this website, check it out for specifications etc. What I will concentrate on here is the idea of using my wool blanket for insulation. Nothing complicated at all, just the use of the blanket itself and 4 x clingons. Lets take a look...
First step was to fold the wool blanket in half lengthways, and then attach a clingon to each corner. One of the top corners was threaded onto the carabiner, then the amsteel that leads down to the hammock chair, and then the next clingon went on. This arrangement keeps the blanket firmly in place and doesnt afford any slippage of the blanket round one side or the other when sitting in the chair and shifting about.
Next stage was to bring the rest of the folded blanket down and around the hammock chair, pushing the hammock chair into the channel that was created by the blanket. The idea is to stop any air flowing under the blanket actually coming into contact with the chair and causing heat loss through convection. The blanket being doubled over, and under the chair, creates a layer of trapped air that warms up and provides insulation to your body when in the chair.
The final stage was to make sure that the bottom corners of the folded blanket came below the hammock chair, protruding out from the bottom, and the attached by a bungee that went round the tree at the same height as the tree hugger coming from the hammock chair, this allowed some flexibility of movement for the blanket while still keeping it taught, and making sure there was no undue stress placed on the clingons themselves. All in all, after an hour or so testing, it became plainly obvious that this was a modification that worked, and one that would give me yet another use for my wool blanket, an indispensible piece of Bushcraft kit, just like the Hammcok Chair is now!
Here is a link to the video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jrTRoi5yw
Thanks for reading!
MTFBWY!
Here is a link to the video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3jrTRoi5yw
Thanks for reading!
MTFBWY!