Review: Yaasa Studios - Infinity Blanket

Long enough to cover a Tactical Coyote

Being cold is awful. I'd rather be too hot than too cold any day.   Fortunately we have the technology to battle the chill. I'm a big fan of curling up in the corner of a couch in a hoodie and wrapped in a woobie. Some of my favourite blankets have been the Go-Anywhere by Tribe Provisions which have pride of place in my car as picnic blankets and car-trip bundling as well as my go-to camping blanket.  I was excited to see a Kickstarter come up with a new blanket project in the form of the Infinity Blanket by Yaasa Studios.

Soft enough to bundle a Tactical Baby

 The chief selling points of the Infinity Blanket are its size, reported at  2.0m x 1.5m (80" x 60") and the material from which it is woven. a 72% organic cotton and 28% Celliant blend. Celliant is high tech fabric. Reported as a revolutionary, patented technology that recycles the body's natural energy (heat) into infrared (IR) light that is emitted back into the body's tissue.

Infrared is widely recognized for having positive effects on the body. The use of Celliant® fibers converts the body’s natural energy (heat) into infrared (IR) light and emits it into the body’s muscles. They propose that over 60% of your consumed energy is lost simply through heat escaping your body. and that rather than simply trapping your body heat like a space blanket might, Celliant® turns that wasted energy into infrared light. The result is a responsive textile clinically tested (in one paid study) to benefit the human body, utilizing a blend of minerals and proprietary ingredients embedded into the fiber’s core.

The Infinity Blanket blends Celliant® material with organic cotton to create a fabric that recycles and emits infrared light. On average, (it has been estimated) your body emits 100 watts of energy in a given moment. The Infinity Blanket is a unique way of taking advantage of that energy! This supposedly increases blood flow, energy, strength, endurance, and decreases recovery time after an active day, supporting a more restful night's sleep.

Drapes as a cloak

Magic fiber! I can't comment much on it's clinical properties, but it was enticing enough that I wanted to check it out. What I can comment on is that it is very soft, and comfortable. It breathes nicely and is quite water resistant. Upon ariving (too late to be the Giftmas present I had hoped it to be, the struggle and gamble of being a Kickstarter backer) I noted its lightness at only 1kg (2.2lbs) and with an overall density of 320 gsm, and how well it packed down. For some reason I had expected the blanket the blanket to be looped, like an Infinity scarf. It is not. A simple edged rectangle, with rounded corners. I have a lot of polar fleece throws which have come to be a winter and camping standard and the Infinity Blanket blows them all away as far as comfort goes.

Wraps like a burrito to use as a sleeping-bag

Hemmed with an internal blanket stitch, the two-tone grey and cream material is thick and buoyant feeling without feeling "fluffy". The pile is quite dense and uniform feeling, almost felt-like.

The colour tones are relaxed and subdued, and very reminiscent of the old grey woolen Army blankets but without the smell or scratchiness. It is sufficiently heavy to not blow off in a breeze and maintains a nice drape without being heavy (at 1 kg vs the wool Army blankets 2kg) to sleep under. It's also very comforting to snuggle under when feeling a little under the weather. Be it cold or hangover riddled. Tactical Baby is very fond of it and that's generally good enough for me. Good thing I got two! when folded longways twice and rolled up it makes for a very hikeable bundle, especially when bundled with bedroll straps. I' m going to have a go at making some leather straps myself but till then , dual slip-knotted looped string will do.

Rolls into a tight bundle for easy packing

The Infinity blanket has a nice drape to it as well, and will form a solid shelter with just a ridgeline line and corner pegs. I'm considering sewing loops into the corners and midpoints, much like those found on the original woobie, the classic Poncho Liner to serve as peg anchors to make an impromptu pup-tent. The dense cloth is very good at blocking light and would make an excellent sun-shelter.

The Infinity Blanket is manufactured with green practices in Europe and uses certified organic cotton. Up to 12 plastic water bottles are recycled in the production of each blanket. This makes it an environmentally responsible product and should give you that warm feeling of righteousness.

Stretches to make  pretty decent shelter

Whether you're an athlete looking for a tissue oxygenation recovery trick, a wasteland survivor bunkering down for the night, or simply someone who's looking to improve sleep; The Yaasa Studios Infinity Blanket might well be perfect for you. I really like mine and it goes into an overnight outing pack-list these days.

Lastly a post-production note from Yaasa Studios themselves. They noticed an issue with the weave and wanted to explain to backers,this kind of openness from a vendor is very reassuring.




It has been brought to our attention that some of your blankets were too short compared to the dimensions (80" x 60".) intended. We took immediate action and reviewed this with our manufacturer in Germany.

During our investigation into the cause of the shorter dimensions, we discovered that it occurred in the raising and stretching process. The weft yarn (this is the yarn woven in the width of the throw, and the length of the travel size) Celliant fiber contracted more than expected. This resulted in the blanket coming in slightly under the specified width, or length.

Due to this being such a unique new fabric, the factory technicians are still familiarizing themselves with its behavior. We want to assure all backers that we used the material as specified and marketed in our campaign for all of the blankets, and you were not by any means shorted on the Celliant material. This issue lies in the tensile properties of this new fabric, and while this resulted in shorter dimensions of the blanket, you will still experience the same benefits from the blanket.

Despite our earlier prototype run, this eventuality was unforeseen until we had completed a full production run. As this dimensional issue was not our intention, we appreciate all of our backers for your feedback and bringing this to light to always ensure quality control. We truly apologize for this inconsistency and hope that the quality and benefits you receive from the blanket outweigh the shorter dimensions.

Home Front: storm's a commin'

I'm really proud of this post, which I'd delayed publishing for logistical reasons, but found out had been picked up by 5.11 TACTICAL, as a "Breach-Bang-Clear Senior Staff Contributor" , which I am doubly proud of! So, without further ado, here's my take on being ready to be smacked with several mega-storms one after another.

Recent meteorological events in my old hometown of Houston, and the subsequent humanitarian concerns that came with the destructive flooding being experienced in the lowlands of Houston, have all gotten me thinking. Irma GERD is hitting Florida and the Caribbean, and... Well piloted, Captain, Delta DL302!



I've had the good fortune never to have had to evacuate an area, though my family's rapid departure from Dubai on December 31, 1990, some three weeks before one of the grandest fireworks shows in history happened just over the horizon in Iraq, was close. I've also had the need to be ready to go, when I lived in the forested Dandinong ranges following the black Saturday fires of 2012. However, frequent moves and travel while growing up equipped me with a certain mindset. Pack light, take only what you can carry, and carefully choose what valuables you really need. When things took a turn for the worse for me emotionally at the end of my marriage, I packed bags, loaded essentials in my car and was out of there that same evening. Better for everyone in the end. I was lucky that some good friends of mine had a spare room and the open hearts to let me crash with them for a couple of months so I could get my life in order. I'm deeply indebted to the Moffits and will be for some time.

I'd hope that if I lived in a disaster-prone area I'd be ready whenever hurricane, cyclone, tornado or volcano season rolled around, and not only would I have a bugout destination but also a route and plan. However, nature gives not one damn for me or my plans, nor (I suspect) for yours. It's up to you and me to rescue ourselves.



The Houston floods have shown that freak events can essentially turn a modern metropolitan city off, and reduce it to third world status. Without wanting to go into the politics of civil engineering and infrastructure shortfalls, I think it's fair to say that while some of what was happened in Houston or New Orleans could have been mitigated, nature will find a way. So what can we do about it? I think the answer to that is threefold:



1) Threat assessments;
2) Risk mitigation & planning; and
3) Practice.

1) Threat assessment.

Where I live several state and federal agencies exist to deal with this kind of thing. The SES (State Emergency Service) and CFA (Country Fire Authority) have great resources available to determine whether certain areas are at risk from fire or flooding, and can deal with those threats. Victoria has occasional very mild earthquakes, nothing to brag about. We do occasionally get heavy storms pushing up from the Antarctic but again, pretty mild compared to the North Sea gales or Atlantic hurricanes. We're well too far south for any tropical action, unlike our Queensland bretheren. We do get some big winds and heavy rains occasionally though, so in the Hills (to call the Dandinong ranges mountains is generous) power is often cut due to tree-falls. A caved-in roof during a winter storm is never a good thing, nor are washed out roads. In the lowlands that water has to go somewhere, and we are pretty lucky in that current and former governments have maintained infrastructure to deal with it. However. Knowing is the first step.

Melbourne Water is proposing to update existing planning controls for land in Bayside that's susceptible to flooding. The controls, called the Special Building Overlay (SBO) and Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO), aim to ensure that land covered by the overlays is developed in a way which reduces the potential for flooding and minimises the risk of flood damage to property. Since the planning controls were introduced in the early 2000s, Melbourne Water has developed better mapping and more accurate flood modeling. As a result, the SBO boundaries are being updated and the LSIO removed from the Bayside Planning Scheme.

The changes to the boundaries of the SBO mean that some properties will be within the overlay boundaries for the first time, some properties will no longer be covered, and other partially-included properties may have more or less of their land covered by the overlay.



For properties within the SBO boundaries, a planning permit is required to construct a building, carry out works and subdivide land. This enables drainage and flooding issues to be addressed early in the development process by, for example, raising building floor levels. It also ensures that flood waters are not obstructed or diverted by new development, causing an increased problem for existing development.



2) Risk mitigation & planning.

What are my big threats to house, home and family? Well, my ex-wife and our 9-year old daughter live in the Dandinongs, in the midst of very tall trees in the temperate rainforest. There is a summertime fire risk mitigated by maintenance of the grounds to remove deadfall and reduce fuel sources, plus they have an evacuation plan and use the CFA fire-risk scale system as a guide and routinely "get off the mountain" in times of high risk. In winter they face storms and damage from runoff. Frequent power outages are a hassle, especially as the water to the house is via an electric pump from a rainwater tank. Landslides are a potential risk but more substantial is the risk of a tree falling on the house. Aggressive tree felling is not much of a solution given the local ordinances. When I collect and return our daughter, I'm mindful of the risk of roads being cut by treefall and associated downed power lines or washed out roads, but day to day it's not much of an issue. In the case of my own home, having checked the floodplain maps of the Melbourne Water Board, I can see we're just outside a predicted 100-year flood area. One end of our street is not though, so I'm going to err on the side of "Yep, we'd flood."

Where I live is fairly suburban so I don't have to worry about bushfires come summer, but we're not far from the beach, just above sea level, so a hefty storm surge could potentially reach us. I don't worry about a tidal wave as the Port Phillip Bay is shallow and protects us from the Bass Straight, so anything big enough to cause a tsunami would bring its own special dooms. Knowing that, if a big flood event was coming, or even imminent, our best bet would be to pack up and bug out. The house, being old and rickety, couldn't be trusted to withstand even a knee-deep flood, let alone the hip, head or street sign deep waters as in Houston.



The question then becomes "what to pack?" Assuming the house would be a write off and most of our possessions would get trashed it might be tempting to try to take everything, but that's just impractical. A moving van would be needed and would take a day or two to load up anyway. Alternately, in a "do it NOW" situation, the decisions become easier. Only the most valuable and irreplaceable things would go, as well as things needed to get us through the disaster. Photo albums, back-up HDD's and some heirloom antiques are a good start, along with some important legal documents: deeds, birth certificates, divorce papers and the like. Clothes and day to day essentials like toiletries and medications are no different from any vacation packing and need to be weather appropriate. We'd be bugging out in my Toyota RAV4, not much of a bug-out vehicle but comfortable even crammed full of family and gear when we go on our camping holidays, so we have an idea how to pack it. This brings me to one of my bug-out or camping packing tricks.



Tactical Milk Crates. These seemingly ubiquitous, stackable, skletonised plastic boxes, designed to carry sixteen 2L jugs of milk, are often repurposed as student household furniture and storage. The modularity of these makes them good for packing anything small enough to fit. They'll hold 42 regular 420g-sized cans. That makes for 17kg of beans and diced tomato, in one big water-insoluble brick. That's a lot of meals. Two people could carry it fairly easily between them.


I also pack my camping gear in them: hammocks, lanterns, propane store and fuel canisters, pots and even pans. I have one for sleeping bags, one for power generation technology and one for "household" camp-accessories. Coupling this with our big-assed tent and camp bed, I'd say I could bug out in relative style with my whole family using about six milk crates of gear. The boot of my car can fit none to twelve crates with relative ease, so that leaves us with, let's say, three to six crates worth of refugee loot we can pack and go with, less if we pack extra food and water .



Given those numbers, each member of our four-person family gets about one crate of space as their allowance. Extra space can get stuffed full of blankets and jackets, filling all those gaps and pockets with padding and the like. One thing to note is that milk crates, being skeletonised, are not even remotely waterproof. Lining them or wrapping them with heavy duty trashbags should do the trick, and includes some trashbags in your gear by default.



As an addition to our bugout plan for floods, we have my two-person kayak. Having a non-wading means to cross waterways is key. We have maritime-rated flotation vests for everyone in the family, especially the kids, plus helmets, be they bump or bike helmets (remember: expanded foam floats). Rope and climbing harnesses don't go astray either, and I figure I have enough rigging gear to set up a rope bridge over any river narrow enough to sling one across. Take a page from the SES floodwater guidelines: "Never drive ride or walk through floodwater - if it's flooded, forget it."

Have a go-to destination in mind, maybe more than one, and plan out different routes, in case of traffic snarls, cut roads or bridges or obstacles to your egress. Keep your vehicle fueled and fit for travel. Stock up on packable food. A couple of bricks of cans at your local big-box produce store per trip will put you in good stead.

Bear in mind that in most cases the milk crates yo use stacked behind a grocery store are not abandoned but remain the property of the milk company. That's why I suggest them as as evacuation expedient solution. Should the situation arise getting it done is key. There are commercial options for packing gear, look into those if your budget allows.

http://modernfarmer.com/2013/08/illegal-use-milk-crates-anything-besides-milk/

3. Practice

Evacuations are not easy things; they're panicked, rushed and anxious times. Much like in combat, fine motor skills will be affected, rational thought will be interfered with. Kids will cry. Things will be left behind. Organize your bug-out kit early and have it sorted and ready to go. The more you can do early, the better off you'll be under the pressure of "time to go!" Remember, it's going to be harder if it's night, or storming and wet, more so again if the water is already at your ankles or the embers are falling.



There's no harm in doing dry runs either, especially if you can get the whole household in on it. Packing for a camping trip is a great opportunity to do so, with the payoff of the trip itself and "let's get on the way quickly" as incentive. This needn't be a "duck and cover" air-raid drill with stopwatch and sirens but instead some trial runs, from a dead stop to a "half the gear is already packed." I'll let you gauge how long it will realistically take you to be on your way, with the barest of essentials from when you decide that your position is no longer tenable and it's time to make a move. Make tasty meals from your stashed bug-out meal ingredients to get a handle on what you can do to keep morale up whilst on the go.

Lastly, have plan for your pets. Take them with you, or set them free to fend for themselves, whatever your conscience allows.



Be safe out there, and be prepared.

Review: Tensile style Skytent

I love tents and I love hammocks, and I've expressed a desire for one of the Tentsile aerial tents for a long time, but they are quite expensive. Not wanting to miss out forever, I kept an eye out and checked out AliExpress, where real things go to be replicated. For Giftmas I bought myself the one-person equivalent. I always feel a bit bad buying knock-offs but at the very least, its getting the very innovative concept out there.

So, given my ongoing stroke recovery and my work situation, we haven't ben able to go away camping, so I hadn't been able to tryout my aerial tent. Australia Day came around and we were invited to BBQ in a park, sounded like the perfect opportunity to try it out. I took some extra webbing strapping, in case we had trouble finding tree's to sling it on, but as it turned out the picnic table we picked was close to three gum trees. I unrolled the skytent from its stuff-sack bag and took stock.

The contents included the triangular base, made from webbing reinforced ripstop with a low (70D) Cordura number and (high quality silicon coating to give it a waterproof index of 2000-3000 mm) the base, which is about 4m a side, had built in reinforced eyelets for the two sets of shock-cord threaded anodised aluminium alloy poles and a light, waterproofed (to 1500-2000 mm)fly sheet to connect to.

It also came with three sets of 6m (19') loop-ended webbing, and shackles to for it to the base. At one end a ratcheting system for increasing the tension was supplied.

The base triangle comes with a breathable B3 bug-screen net with twin zippers. Built into the "roof" are two sleeves to feed the poles through to keep the roof in place and add stability when setting it up and to drape the fly over.

Once set up, which took a bit of doing (pro-tip; set the tent part up on the ground in the middle of your space, then string your straps. I rigged my straps with a truckers hitch. Getting partial tension on the tent to set it at a good height was just matter of sliding the webbing up to the right height, one tree at a time and tightening the truckers hitches once they were even. PRO-TIP 2: get the three corners as evenly high as possible. this will stop you sliding "downhill" on the slick ripstop nylon.

Once set up, the remaining slack can be eaten up with the ratchet, but this takes some doing. I'm glad we weren't setting it up in the rain. Once fully tensioned which it really needs to be, we put the fly on, which  had nylon hook hardware and shock-cords. The 240D fly has a single up-and-down zipper which coupled with the wide door in the flyscreen, makes a nicely framed entry/exit and window when pegged back. with its attached toggles.

The interior is spacious, the 4m sided equilateral triangle provide  almost 7m². of floorspace, with 1.2m (the almost 4') of loft, with its quite steep sides, there is  a lot of real-estate.

The wide webbing reinforcements throughout the base distribute weight nicely. I'm 192cm (6'4") and weigh 90kg (200lbs).  Laying right down the middle, legs splayed to the bottom corners, I was very comfortably supported.

This skytent is rated to carry 400kg (880lbs) and the heavy-duty ratchets buckles have a staggering 2.5 ton minimum breaking strength. Even so, the makers recommend only stringing it at a maximum 1.2m / 4' from the ground. As a good rule of thumb, you shouldn't set a hammock up from higher than you would want to fall from. Or climb into.

The supporting poles that give the skytent its vertical structure are seated in these washer equipped eyelets, and with the shaped ends of the poles, they seat securely and remain in place even with the rambunctious efforts of Tactical Baby. The seams are all also all double stitched. The whole tent is well finished.  I had had worries about the quality, given it was a knock-off, but it's been well made and put together.

All packed down, the tent weighs3.0kg or so, including the included webbing and the ratchet. and packs down into a stuff sack measuring 50cm x 20cm x 20cm. It's not too bulky nor heavy and would make an excellent addition to a backpack for a camping trip.

Internally as I've said it is spacious, but good set-up is key. if any one point of the triangle is higher or lower than the others the effect is a slow and steady slide to the lowest point.

I took it camping off to a full-emersion live action roleplaying weekend, "After The Fall" .

So I found myself three trees and set myself up. As with most tents, second time was much quicker and easier, and i'd had my lessons learned from my first attempt so it was pretty quick.  I even slung a second hammock along side, for lounging in when I was in my full tyre-armour kit. TO somewhat disguise the bright green of my tent and its fly sheet  I draped the whole thing in some scrim. One thing I didn't want was anyone tripping and falling onto me as I slept, so I put it a little higher than previously.

So high in fact I needed to step up onto one of my tactical milk-crates that I pack my camping gear into. I also stowed my kit under the hammock, off to one side from the Skytent, in case I did have a fall.

Inside at one of the three apexes was a pocket system which worked quite nicely with a jumper stuffed in it as a pillow. I used the zipper as an attachment point for my night-light as there weren't any internal loop hangers.


All in all I am both impressed by and happy with my SkyTent, and would heartily recommend you al lgo check out the original design at TENTSILE - Stingray

After an afternoons romping by Tactical Baby, and perhaps more roughhousing than was necessary, one of the poles has been warped and now adds an uneven curve to the dome, but no real issue there.  Certainly no fault in manufacture. I've managed to straighten it out a little but eventually  I might either replace it or run it through a pipe bender in reverse.

The Skytent handled nicely when occupied by two. even if one was little and bouncy and the other big and lumpy. Alas, I haven't tried it with two adults, but they are rated for it.

I put  a yoga mat in it when I camped, just as insulation, it was plenty comfortable to lay in in warm weather but any breeze below will chill you right down. Setting up an under-quilt like those made by the Go-Outfitters would work  a treat, but you'd need a triangular one.   

One thing I found was that the fly lifted and flapped about a bit, so I lashed it down underneath with some handy paracord.


All in all and excellent product and not just a gimmicky concept. all the benefits of a hammock and tent combined.


Pro-tip #3: set your doorway at chest height if you-re expecting friends to pop by. Nicer conversations for everyone when you can be eye-to-eye.

Wish-Lust: Go Outfitters UnderQuilt.

Here's a pre-emptive Kickstarter post for the new project by GO! Outfitters, who bought us one of my favorite camping hammocks, the  asymmetrical GO! Hammock  
and the outer-shell for it, the Apex Camping Shelter & Hammock Camping Tarp and the upcoming, and freshly released Kickstarter Project, the Adventure Under Quilt: Hammock Camping Insulation. 

The idea of the UnderQuilt is to ensure that the underside of the  hammock sleeper stays toasty warm. As more people are switching from tent camping to hammock camping. they are coming across an unusual phenomenon; they often find that their backsides can get cold fast, because it's exposed cool air and wind. Some people use sleeping bags in hammocks but the insulation gets compressed and doesn't work as it would on the ground.

Others sleep on sleeping pads, but keeping them in place can be a nightmare in a hammock. They slide around and bunch up inside the walls of  the hammock, and can be far from comfortable. The UnderQuilt adds a layer of insulation to the outside of the hammock, freeing up the internal space, which is at a premium, as well as adding an extra layer of weather-proofing.

Filled with  100% Polyester Max Loft 10° Insulation.  but we have set the Temperature Rating of the quilt conservatively at 20°F). plenty warm enough for anywhere  I would want to camp in a hammock, to be sure. with a
210T Ripstop Polyester, Calendered, Water and Wind Resistant Shell Fabric and
210 Polyester, Breathable Liner Fabric not that it matters greatly as you won't be touching the liner, as the whole thing sits under the skin of your hammock. Designed with their own Hammocks specifically in mind, but will suit any gathered-end hammock, thanks to the ingenious cinching self-locking drawstrings and built in attachment systems, the UnderQuilt will suit up to a 7' user. 

It is 81 long and " 52" wide, and comes with its own weatherproof stuff-sack packing down to a mere  1lb. 9oz. (Includes: Under Quilt, Compression Stuff Sack, 2 Carabiners, and Built-In Shock Cord Suspension rig) all in a  8" diameter  x 10" long bundle.

I really like the idea of this, and hope to back it myself, for those rare camping trips I get  to take. Winter is coming, and I'm a skinny kind of guy at the best of times, and my bony ass needs all the warmth I can give it.   Do check out the deals on their Kickstarter page, the bundles would make an excellent way of starting your own hammock camping collection.

Wish Lust: Nubé Stratos Kickstarter

I had to get this out to you all. The makes of the camping hammock tent system, that I love, the Nube, from designers Sierra Madre Research, have a Kickstarter going with a new and improved design, and it looks great. I've been in touch with them and gotten some press-release details, which I really wanted to share with my readers, to see if I could get more of you hanging above ground! New word: Hangers, those who hammock-camp.

The Nubé Stratos is a modular, lightweight, hammock shelter that offers 360° elevated protection from rain, wind, and insects for one or two hammocks, and up to 45 kg (100lbs) of gear (such as hiking packs, or a LOT of booze) that store neatly protected suspended below in the Gear Stash. The Nubé Stratos is comprised of two independent layers that can be set up as two independent shelters, or connected together with a color-coded quick connect system. The external layer is the StratosFly and the base layer is the StratoShield.


Hangers are offered the option to setup each layer in tandem for optimal protection, or as two separate shelters for efficient coverage and maximized viewing capabilities.

This versatility allows the outdoor explorer to “create their own adventure” by choosing which layer to utilize according to the needs of the ever changing environment.

External Layer: The StratosFly.
The StratosFly is much more advanced than any typical tarp or rain fly. It’s patented aerodynamic design, asymmetric shape, unique lightweight materials and factory-seam taping, work together to deflect rain and wind like a water shedding force field. Most tarps or flys leave your hammock ends completely exposed to the rain. SMr’s Patented Closure Sleeves synch down around the hammock suspension lines creating a watertight seal. This feature existed on the original Nubé and I really liked it. No damp feet or heads!

Base Layer: The StratoShield.

SMr put their master craftsmanship into the engineering of the StratoShield and created the first ever, Air Gap design. This beautiful design, is a 3 dimensional barrier that completely separates from the insect world and offers the most spacious interior imaginable, unlike the claustrophobic design of most bug nets on the market today. One of the most useful and praised integrations of the StratoShield is the Gear Stash. Rather than leaving your extra gear or pack in the mud, everything you brought becomes easily accessible, fully protected, and suspended inside right below you. The no seeum mesh is a unique blend that is extremely tightly
woven and quad layered lock-stitch making it soft to the touch, impenetrable by insects, and virtually invisible. The S-Curve dual sided doors for a sleek entrance zip is the main difference I noted, with a "S" shape rather than "U" shape, should make for much easier opening and closing from within the hammock.


There are many more intricate and ingenious SMr inventions layered throughout the system. Such as T-Locks (to fit a hiking pole from underneath to elevate the lip), opening up a wide viewing window to the beautiful world outside. Pocket Locks and Line locks built into the corners add to the existing designs options for neat, no tangle storage of  guy-out lines.

 The addition of interior Sky Hooks to hook a ridge line for hanging personal items, clothing to dry or interior lighting. is a brilliant complement to the pockets previously added.


Here are the vital statistics of the components and the system as a whole:

Nubé Stratos Hammock System
(Composed of StratosFly and StratoShield as a System)
Intended use: Hammock Camping/Backpacking
Seasons: 3
Recommended Capacity: 1-2 person (for those who don't realise, the Sierra Madre Research hammock systmes are designed to STACK. Bunk hammocks!)

Hammock Compatibility: Most Camping Hammocks (I would certainly recommend their Pares hammocks, awesome ... )
Packed weight: 1.02 kg (2lbs 4oz)
Packed Dimensions:    28cm x 15.2cm x 15.2cm (11" x 6" x 6")

StratosFly
Protects From: Rain, Wind, Sun
Packed weight:   0.50 kg (1lb 2oz)
Packed Dimensions:    18cm x 13cm x 13cm (7" x 5" x 5")
Material Exterior: 15D Nylon Ripstop Silicone impregnated Exterior
Interior: 1,200mm PU
Covered Area: 48sqft
Setup Dimensions: Width: 160cm x 254cm (63" x Length: 100")
Diagonal Coverage: 218cm (86")

StratoShield
Protects From: Insects, Muddy Gear
Packed weight:    0.50kg (1lb 2oz)
Packed Dimensions:    13cm x 14cm x 10cm (9" x 5.5" x 4")
Number of doors: 2
Material: 15D Quad-Layered Lockstitch Nano-see-um Mesh
Gear Stash Weight Capacity:    45kg 100lbs)
Design: Symmetric
Setup Dimensions: Width:    96.5cm (38") x Height: 137cm (54")

There's no doubt in my mind that these are going to be awesome. If you love hammocks, and camping, and hammock-camping then you should totally look into the Stratos system to cover your existing hammock, and if you are just getting into it, check out their hammocks as well.

I expect good things to come from Sierra Madre Research, they've not let me down this far.

Home Front: shipping containers

 
I've briefly covered the use of shipping containers as houses, but I wanted to go into them in a little bit more depth. About 80% of the world's containers are either 6.1m, twenty foot or 12.2m, forty foot standard length boxes of the dry freight design. These typical containers are rectangular, closed box models, with doors fitted at one end, and made of corrugated weathering steel (commonly known as CorTen).
 
Weathering steel refers to the chemical composition of these steels, allowing the steel to rust in order to form the protective coating.
 

The containers are typically lined with a plywood floor, but bare walled and ceilinged. Corrugating the sheet metal used for the sides and roof contributes significantly to the container's rigidity and stacking strength, just like in corrugated iron or in cardboard boxes.
 

 
Standard containers are 2.44 m (8') wide by 2.59 m 8'6" high, although the taller "High Cube" or "hi-cube" units measuring 2.90 m (9'6") have become very common in recent years.
 
By the end of 2013, high-cube 40 ft containers represented almost 50% of the world's maritime container fleet, according to Drewry's Container Census report.
 

 
ISO containers have castings with openings for twistlock fasteners at each of the eight corners, to allow gripping the box from above, below, or the side, and they can be stacked up to ten units high. Regional intermodal containers, such as European and U.S. domestic units however, are mainly transported by road and rail, and can frequently only be stacked up to three laden units high. Although the two ends are quite rigid, containers flex somewhat during transport.
 
Their standardised design, high strength and durability materials, makes the use of shipping containers for domestic repurposing quite appealing. They can be stacked, staggered and arranged. The corrugated steel can be welded, cut and shaped, and the heavy beams at each corner and the solid base give you the ability to completely cut away the sides to give a open-plan effect.
 

 
The rest of the stats of the containers give you an idea of their workability, as far as architectural use goes: A 40' container weighs 3,800 kg and has a capacity of 67.5 m³, and are typically rated to have a net load of 26,200 kg. That's a lot of capacity. The internal dimensions are 12.03m x 2.35m x 2.38m, and externally 12.2m x 2.44m x 2.59m.
 

Converting them into homes isn't anything new, and there are loads of resources to review plans and different configurations are widely available.
 
There is also some good advice about what NOT to do with your shipping container, namely burying them, because they are not designed to take loads on the sides or middles of the panels, rather than on their stacking corner posts.
 
There are also the issues with the containers "floating" if buried, let alone at sea, if they fall off the back of a ship, which apparently happens more often than anyone wants, but other than that, they are very versatile, and readily available, rapidly pre-fabricated units.
 

They are, however, not designed to be bulletproof, and the folks from Civil Advantage put them to the test in the following video.
 
However, if you really need that kind of thing going on, there are of course, options. However, all told, it looks like they are robust, resilient and readily available home construction alternative. I think I would really like to do this at some stage, at least a two storied construction, and in my minds eye, a horse-shoe style two-story building, which can be buttoned up securely at the ground level.
 
 
What do you think?