This is one of the swags owned by a world famous Crocodile Farmer & TV presenter from Broome.

The humble swag has been a part of Australian life and folklore for more than a century. Invented out of necessity by early explorers, it has been a home away from home for generations of outback travellers.

It is the simplest and most carefree way to set up camp... Packing up to move on takes a couple of minutes.

Some technical information and points of interest:

DOUBLE SWAG         1.45m wide (4’9”), 2.13m long (7') plus 2.13m head cover (7’). In total 12.5 square metres (15 square yards) of canvas.  This is a lot of canvas.

SINGLE SWAG           1.07m wide (3’6”), 2.13m long (7') plus 1.5m head cover (5'). In total 8.5 square metres(10 square yards) of canvas. No one gives you this amount of canvas for our price. Enough space to store fishing rods and rifles down the side while asleep. The generous width of the swag provides plenty of leg room and prevents pressure on toes when laying on your back. This simple, yet effective design, eliminates the need for frustrating laces, zippers that catch the bedding; or Velcro tabs and press studs that get clogged with grass seeds or sand and in turn, stop functioning. No plastic fittings are in use as they break in time when stood on or accidentally driven over.

                                    In fact, all fittings are solid brass. We do not believe in the use of a zipper for a number of reasons, one being, the stress on it when rolling the swag up tightly will eventually cause malfunction. When water banks up against the swag due to rain it would seep through the zipper. The head cover can be strung up to a sapling to keep you dry, create shade from early morning sun or act as a windbreak. You can still smell the fresh air, hear and see what goes on outside while totally enclosed by the “Mozzy” net.

MOSQUITO NET         A sturdy fibreglass mosquito net with reinforced edges is available covering the whole swag for a better air flow. It is suspended 60cm above the ground by eyelets in the corners. The bottom edge, 30cm, is held snuggly under the swag by the weight of your own body. This allows ample freedom of movement and is easy to get in and out of. In contrast to tent like swags, we refrain from attaching mosquito netting to our swag, because a sewn-in net becomes crushed and stressed from rolling the swag up tightly every time you use it. The net would deteriorate after a time. The seams of the zipper would need to be undone to replace it. Our system considerably extends the life of the net, because it does not need to be rolled up inside the swag. It is carried loosely in a bag. On many occasions a “mozzy” net is not required. Of course, the old camp fire will keep insects at bay.

CANVAS                    The canvas that we use weighs 12 ounces (12oz) per square yard (410 grams per m2) and is woven with 2 ply yarn in both the warp and weft directions. The hydrostatic head is 40” (1000mm) or 10 kpa (kilopascal). This means the canvas can withstand a column of water that high before it begins to penetrate. (Through the Australian Standards AS 3567-1988, the Dept. of Defence call for a minimum hydrostatic head of 500mm or 5kpa). Imagine, apart from being uncomfortable, 1000mm of water on top of your swag would weigh over 2200kg and you still would not have water leaking through.

                                  The fact that water can still be forced through the fabric means that it is not impervious to air…...... in other words, most importantly because it still breathes, it will not condensate. It is rot proof and mildew resistant. A feature of this canvas is it's two way “Tear-stop” grid in both directions which prevents tears continuing. Due to this characteristic the canvas is truly a cloth of excellence when compared to the standard single weft all cotton canvas used by most other swag makers. An all-cotton canvas is cheap and not a good canvas for this purpose, in fact our 12 ounce cotton/polyester tear-stop canvas is stronger than a 16 ounce all cotton canvas but far less bulky.

                                    Free canvas samples and colour available on request.

MATTRESS 

(removable)            A medium density polyurethane foam covered with cotton cloth.

                                    For single swag: 2’6” wide (76cm), 6’1” long (1.85m), 3" thick (76mm).

                                   For double swag: 2’ wide (61cm), 6’2” long (1.88m), 2" thick (5cm), but somewhat firmer. In double swags we provide two mattresses laying side by side. One mattress may be left at home or put on top of the other for extra comfort when the swag is only occupied by one person. However, if you wish, you may provide your own choice of mattress, such as an air mattress or a harder high density foam.

                                    PLEASE NOTE: Foam mattresses usually lose some height due to compression. When the swag is not in use for any length of time storing the mattress in a flat state will help it to “bounce back”.

STRAPS                      6’ long each (1.85m). These are not webbing straps, but solid carrying straps secured with two 1” brass buckles.

BLANKETS                  It is not ideal to sew a blanket into the Swag for two reasons…firstly, it will be too warm in summer-time and secondly, the lining cannot be washed without adverse effect on the water-proofing of the canvas. We make a separate woollen blanket 7’x6’ (2.10mx1.80m) suitable to use in any swag for $80.

                                    Free sample of woollen material available upon request.

SEWING THREAD      Polyester/cotton core spun, which expands when absorbing moisture, thereby preventing water from leaking through the seam. Joints are double sewn using a shorter stitch on the second run. This is important, because it prevents the needle from following its own track .The joints are constructed so that water runs over them (like on roofing tiles) and not into them, thus it is not necessary to soak the seams before use to make them leak proof.

WEIGHT                     Single Swag: 5kg excluding mattress, 7kg including 7cm mattress which rolls up to 12” diameter (30cm).

                                    Double Swag: 11kg including two 2” mattresses. Rolled up:70cm long by 50cm diameter.

COLOUR                     Available in olive green only.

PRICES

                                    Extra $20 to make the single Swag 9” (23cm) longer – recommended for people over 6'4" tall -

                                    Extra $30 for the double  swag.

POSTAGE &                Free freight Australia-wide.  Overseas freight cost  to be quoted on application.

INSURANCE                    

   

BIKE RIDERS            A single swag without mattress is easily mounted on a motor bike by folding it in half lengthwise before rolling it into a 5” diameter pack ($250). When inserting a 2” (5cm) mattress 24” (61cm) wide it will roll up to 7” (18cm) diameter by 24” wide ($290).

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