Sleeping Coffins
My partner and I were talking to a friend recently about international travel and how the cost of accommodation is, for what you get, quite a lot. All an Escapologist wants is a clean bed plus a door with a lock on it, yet even at the affordable end of the scale you have to pay €40-90 per night. It becomes the main expense of travel, even though sleep isn’t exactly what you’re travelling for.
We discussed the prospect of (we couldn’t think of another name at the time) a “sleeping coffin.” They’d be immovable coffin-like boxes, lockable from the inside, and purchasable for €7 by contactless debit card. They’d be scattered around city streets like e-scooters and locatable via an app.
My partner said it was the worst thing she’d ever heard me say. She’s probably right.
But wait! Lets think again. With sleeping coffins, you’d be completely mobile, freer even than a snail or tortoise. You’d just turn up to a city, zero planning, confident of a secure place to sleep for barely any money. Maybe you’d bring an inflatable pillow or something, and climb into a coffin when you run out of steam.
Faced with the prospect of a camping trip shortly, I was wondering what the absolute minimum of a tent might be. I remembered the sleeping coffin and understood immediately that such a thing must surely already exist in the realms of camping.
And of course, it does:
It’s true… The bivouac sack (or “bivy” sack) is merely a weatherproof cover for your sleeping bag with a breathing hole — the perfect bear burrito, filled with your ambitions to complete those ultralight objectives.
It’s more of a body bag than a coffin. Perfect!
So, you’d pack a rolled-up sleeping bag and one of these “bear burritos” then sleep where you drop. Obviously this is intended for ramblers and adventurers rather than culture vultures like me who visit cities to see art galleries and opera. But how bad could it be? Sleeping in one of these in a cosy alley or a public park?
Well, it could be absolutely terrible, obviously. And dangerous. And yet…
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The ideas in Issue 16 — Footloose and Facy-Free — are better than this one. Get your copy here.
About Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham is the editor of New Escapologist. He also writes books and articles. Read more at wringham.co.uk
Genius! I can see Sleeping Coffins inc. needing zero marketing for the goth crowd. For the rest of the public…
While doing some research on bivy sacks, I found this gem of a tip from a manufacturer of such equipment: “Cinch the bivy’s hood down around your face, but avoid breathing inside the bivy which can create condensation.”
Not sure if they mean don’t breathe at all? Definitely a body bag in that case!
When I visited the Greek island of Hydra (a wonderful town devoid of cars and full of cats) I almost slept under a tree near a monastery to avoid hotel fees. In the end it rained, and I had an (unwarranted) feeling that I would be scolded by someone for slumming it, so I scampered back to civilization. Next time I’ll arm myself with a bivy sack and more courage!