Released into the wild - the Fastpacker's Swag

My cousin, Joel, has been talking about ideas on his blog.

Specifically, he's been talking about the way we jealously guard our ideas, even if we don't have the skills or means to do anything about them. Even though we can't do anything with the idea, we seem reluctant to release it into the wild to see if anyone else can make it happen.

This is, as Joel would confirm, odd, because it means we may never see our ideas brought into reality - and for some reason we are equally depressed by the idea of our ideas coming to nothing as we are by the idea of someone else realising them.

Anyway, I have seen the wisdom of his comments, so I have an idea that I would like to release into the wild. Anyone who can make this is welcome to. I won't be asking for any acknowledgement or royalties - I only ask that you don't try to keep the idea for yourself (no patenting, in other words - share and share alike).

My idea is:

The Fastpacker's Swag

Fastpackers (that's an American term, but I don't know what we call it in this hemisphere) like to go hiking at a rather fast pace. That is, they run. They run for several days through the wilderness, and like to travel light (what with all the running).

Because of this, they tend to avoid taking most of the stuff that a normal hiker would take - like a complete tent or a full-sized sleeping mat.

A swag (that's an Australian term, but I don't know what it is called in the northern hemisphere) is like a combination between a sleeping bag, tent and sleeping mat. They can involve a bit of a vestibule, for you to keep your back out of the rain, and may involve a single tent pole or a guy rope.

It is usually made of canvas and involves a full mat, but if you could make one out of a lighter (water proof) material, with a mummy style torso mat (with cut-outs to reduce the weight) and make the mat section inflatable so that you get the extra cushioning of the air, you could probably reduce the size and weight of the swag considerably.

So much so, that it might serve as a complete replacement for tent/mat/sleeping bag for a fastpacker (take a bag liner instead of a bag). And, of course, you could design it to work with a walking stick instead of a tent pole...

It wouldn't be as comfortable as a proper swag, but fastpacker's gear isn't high on the comfort level anyway.

And, anyway, I want one - so if you make it and it becomes commercially available (or you are aware of such a thing already existing) let me know.