Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CAMP BEDDiNa i2>one under him Is built upside-down. The man willhave at least part of his back only half protected iand one's vertebral region is the very part of himthat ismost vulnerable to cold.Blankets.— The warmest blanket for its weightis not a close-woven one but one that isloose-wovenand fluffy. An army blanket is made for hard service,and so must be of firm weave, but a third of itsWeight is added for that purpose only, not forV.jvarmth. For use in a sleeping bag, where they areprotected from wear, blankets of more open tex- /ture are better. Two three-pound blankets arc/*Warmer than a six-pound one of the same grade/owing to the thin stratum of air between them.Hence the best bags are made up of several layersof light, fluff>' blanketing, instead of a thick, feltedbag.A cotton orCamp blankets should be all-wool.much more prone to absorb moist-part-cotton one isure from the damp woods air and to hold that whichexudes from the body of the sleeper, hence it isclammier and colder than wool. The differencemay not be so noticeable in the dry air of a heatedbedroom, but it will quickly make itself felt in thewoods. Another bad quality of cotton is that firewill spread through it from an ember cast out by thecamp-fire, whereas the coal would merely burn ahole in wool.The warmest blankets for their weight are thosemade of camel's hair. They are expensive, but oneof them is as much protection as two commonwoolen blankets. They are favorites among experiencedtravelers all over the world.Hudson Bay blankets have a well-justified reputation,being much like the well-nigh everlastingproducts of the old hand-loom. Their size is distinguishedby " poinds "^ (four points, three-and-ahalfpoints, three points) and they are marked accordinglyby black bars in one corner.Blankets should be of dark or neutral color, sC