Folding a Bedroll

In preparation for the trip I'm packing all of my gear to get it loaded up and ready to roll. My shelter component will consist of the Tom Claytor Jungle Hammock, a black closed cell foam pad, my Wiggy's poncho liner, and a space blanket. I'll use my fleece for a pillow and should be plenty warm even when the temperature drops in the evening.

I carry the foam pad, poncho liner, and space blanket in a bedroll strapped to the bottom of my pack. The seam on the roll should be toward the ground to prevent rain, should it fall on me, from leaking into the liner. The space blanket provides a waterproof barrier for the contents.

Here is how I create my bedroll:

	The space blanket is laid on the floor reflective side up. On top of that goes the Wiggy's poncho liner. Notice how close in size they are. In an emergency I can make an expedient waterproof sleeping bag with just these two components.
	Here you can see I've chosen a bright red space blanket. This choice aids in discovery should I require rescue. It also happens to be the blanket I could most easily locate. (Nalgene bottle for scale.)
	Get the foam pad as close to center as possible. Eyeballing is fine for this project. I believe this to be the 3/4 length pad from the local outdoor store.
	Fold the ends up to the length of the pad.
	Fold the sides in to the width of the pad. You now have a water resistant "burrito" which you simply roll up.
	I like to kneel on one end of the "burrito" while rolling toward myself. This prevents the roll from skewing one way or the other. It also allows me to get some pressure on the roll to squeeze out air that gets trapped inside. When I'm finished I like to wrap the bedroll with a loop of paracord just to keep things tight.

And that's that. Easy.

This roll will get strapped to the bottom of my pack and the hammock will be stuffed inside. I can have my shelter pitched and ready to go in just minutes with this easy setup.

Thanks for reading,


B