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Sleeping bag....

NorthernRedneck

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
I currently have a mummy sleeping bag that originally had a -30C rating when it was new back in the early 90s. I have slept in -25 celcius in a quinzee in this thing when it was new and was nice and warm. Last weekend, I used it right around the freezing mark. I had to be fully dressed and was still cold.

So since I will be doing winter camping with the scouts, I decided to upgrade the sleeping bag. I'm currently looking at a military modular sleeping system. (the same ones soldiers use in the army). It looks to be a one stop shop with a protective gortex outer shell followed by two inner shells. It comes with a compression bag that is supposed to shrink it down to 1 cubic ft. Anyone else have any experience with these? Are they good?

https://www.ebay.com/p/Military-Gor...-US-Army-Part-MSS/1951720131?iid=152070518578
 
I've always used synthetic mummy bags. But, as you found out, they do have a life span as the synthetic fibers break down with usage.

Not sure about those military modular systems, I've never had any experience with those.

If I would buy another bag now I'd be looking at some of the Big Agnes brand bags. I looked at them a couple years ago, they have a sleeve that allows you to slip in an insulated pad. One of the problems with sleeping bags and comfort is making sure that you stay on the pad. With the BigAgnes sleeve system there is no way to slip off the pad.
 
I really like my marmot sleeping bags, I have a -20f down mummy, 15f synthetic mummy and 35f down envelope style. The bags are really well built and the temperature rating is accurate. If you shop around on the Internet they are usually available way less that retail price.

The fact that the big Agnes bags hold the pad is nice. The bag of theirs that I had didn't have full insulation on the bottom for some reason and seemed really "cheap".

My Dad taught me a winter camping trick that has made winter camping so much better. He packs down the snow and puts thick interlocking foam floor like you would use in a kids play room on the packed snow. Then he puts his tent on the foam floor. Makes everything more comfortable.
 
I've never owned a modular bag but I did look at some a few years back to carry in the RV … just in case. It's a one bag does everything solution. It would work well as a camp bag or in a cabin but they are fairly heavy and would be useless if you had to tote them around. I don't know how our soldiers manage it. Okay, they're 50 years younger than I am and in a darned sight better shape.

I don't know how they come up with the temperature rating for bags. It all seems to be pretty subjective and I approach it with a large degree of skepticism but a bag that weighs in around 12 lbs fully assembled has got to be warm.

One thing that I used to do that drove my wife nuts was that I would try on sleeping bags in the store. Many years ago I had a sleeping bag that was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever slept in. In fact, it was impossible to sleep. There was no room to move in it, none at all. You felt like a mummy. It was like sleeping in a corset. The last two or three bags that I've bought, I've always tried for fit.

Sleeping bags are an interesting topic. The technology incorporated into them these days is quite impressive.
 
GlacierSean said:
I really like my marmot sleeping bags,...
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I don't have a Marmot bag but I do have some Marmot hiking gear. Both my wife and I have Marmot rain shells. Based on my experience with their gear I'd bet their sleeping bags are probably very good quality.
 
I know that this won't help NR in his quest but my comment about how far sleeping bag technology has evolved got me to thinking about my first sleeping bag.

As a young kid we used a paliasse and ex-WW2 woolen army blankets. As a budding teenager I got my first sleeping bag. It had a woven cotton shell and inner with some sort of batting in between. No baffles, it was sown in big squares to keep the batting in place. There was plenty of room but there were cold spots all over that thing. It might have been good down to +40° at the most. I often had to sleep in every stich of clothing that I'd brought along. By my late teens I had graduated to a down bag. It wasn't a very good one but it was sheer luxury compared to what I had previously. In the damp and rainy Scottish hills I also found out the main drawback of down bags, especially the early ones. I've pretty much been a synthetic bag man ever since although modern down bags have tackled most if not all the shortcomings.

I'd have been a happy little camper in one of those bags that NR is looking at.
 
I have several sleeping bags. My son is a Boy Scout and does a lot more camping than I do. He always grabs the military bag in the OP. It's bulky so it doesn't work well for backpacking but it has served him well in any temps. In the link, it shows a Therm-a-rest sleeping pad. I'd recommend having one of those as well. At $6, that's a great price as they normally go for $50+.
 
It may not actually be your bag that left you freezing but the lack of a good thermal sleeping pad under it. An air pad won't retain warmth or insulate cold be it from the ground or a cot with open air beneath it. You need something thermal like a army blanket or two between the bag and the cold hard ground.
 
I checked out the marmot bags. They are nice but a bit pricey up here. (Anywhere over $250) I like the idea of the whole modular system to adapt to most temperatures.

When I'm out cold weather camping, I have a 3" self inflating mattress underneath with a wool blanket. And still found it cold. The mummy bag I have now is an extra long one. It does the job for most spring and fall camps. But for next month and January, we'll be camping out in a field in nylon tents no matter the temperature. So I want to be as comfortable as possible. I'm not so concerned about the weight as I won't be doing any hiking in. Plus, with my current mummy bag, it's not exactly the smallest thing when stuffed into it's carrying bag.
 
NorthernRedneck said:
I currently have a mummy sleeping bag that originally had a -30C rating when it was new back in the early 90s. I have slept in -25 celcius in a quinzee in this thing when it was new and was nice and warm. Last weekend, I used it right around the freezing mark. I had to be fully dressed and was still cold.

So since I will be doing winter camping with the scouts, I decided to upgrade the sleeping bag. I'm currently looking at a military modular sleeping system. (the same ones soldiers use in the army). It looks to be a one stop shop with a protective gortex outer shell followed by two inner shells. It comes with a compression bag that is supposed to shrink it down to 1 cubic ft. Anyone else have any experience with these? Are they good?

https://www.ebay.com/p/Military-Gor...-US-Army-Part-MSS/1951720131?iid=152070518578
Click to expand...


The newer Milspec bags are very good, as long as you don't buy junk. Take a look here; https://www.midwayusa.com/sleeping-bags-mats-and-cots/br?cid=23350

Midway has good stuff, good prices, and good service.
 
NorthernRedneck said:
...

When I'm out cold weather camping, I have a 3" self inflating mattress underneath with a wool blanket. And still found it cold.

...
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Some of those have a thermal insulation layer and some do not. Check yours. If it doesn't have a thermal insulation layer then it is for moderate temperatures. If it has a thermal layer then it is good for winter use.

I learned that the hard way.
 
Melensdad said:
Some of those have a thermal insulation layer and some do not. Check yours. If it doesn't have a thermal insulation layer then it is for moderate temperatures. If it has a thermal layer then it is good for winter use.

I learned that the hard way.
Click to expand...
All the writing on the tags have worn off over the years but if I recall, it was originally rated for -30 Celsius. That site you shared has the same sleep system I have been looking at. I pulled the trigger on one last night on Ebay for $129 with free shipping to the border. That's alright. I don't mind the 40 minute drive to get there.
 
I have 1 or 2 Big Agnes bags and they have been good. Unfortunately, I'm a terrible judge of warmth since I run hot all the time. Last time I camped in the snow the Big Agnes bag I had was too hot for me.
 
I just picked up my new sleeping bag today. I'm anxious to try it outside next month. It's HOT! Gortex outer shell with essentially a summer bag over a winter one. Just the inner black shell is comparable to the one I had before.
220cc47bb5bb72decd9ae8c09f216780.jpg
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Congratulations!!!

Nothing beats being wrapped up in a nice, warm, cozy sleeping bag when it's cold enough outside to freeze the nuts off a snowman. :yum:

Your thread got me inspecting my sleeping bags. I only have two. One is a heavy weight fleece bag and the other one is a synthetic that's good to 20°F. I used to have a cold weather bag that I carried in Wyoming 25-years ago but I can't find it. I don't know what happened to it. I've still got it somewhere because I don't usually throw stuff away until it is worn out. Now where the hell would I have put it?????
 
That's my problem too. I had my old sleeping bag since high school. It was in the garage where it was forgotten about for years. It's not a bad bag overall. But I guess sitting in the garage stuffed in a bag for years wasn't the best thing for it.
 
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