Sleeping bags help

[Deleted member 20]

I am unsure if different ecws sleeping bags came in alternate colors. My thickest/warmest bag is deffinately olive drab in color and heavy. There is a lightweight black summer patrol sleeping bag.

 

[RSTY802510]

i went to walmart and bought that mummy bag, 15 minutes after i got home i broke a buckle thing on the compression sack.

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Yeah you just gotta be careful with it lol.Mine lasted 6 months for me and only had one rip inside of the bag due to me being a lazy ass.Its a good bag if you are careful just take your time with it is all.The zipper can be a bitch too.I never ripped the compression bag but i thought i did on many occasions lol.

Its a good bag for the $$ just be careful with it is all.

 

[travelin]

old style bivy is woodland camo, green bag is patrol bag and is lighter weight, black bag is the heavier one. the black bag says intermediate on it which might mean that there is a heavier weight bag than the black one to the system.

ive not seen a heavier bag that i knew was part of the actual ecws sleep system.

the newer syle uses acu camo bivy and the bags are different colors.

hell, one would probably be better off overall with the high end civilian alpine type gear but that type of stuff is extremely expensive.

 

[RSTY802510]

Yeah you just gotta be careful with it lol.Mine lasted 6 months for me and only had one rip inside of the bag due to me being a lazy ass.Its a good bag if you are careful just take your time with it is all.The zipper can be a bitch too.I never ripped the compression bag but i thought i did on many occasions lol.

Its a good bag for the $$ just be careful with it is all.

i have a habit of breakin shit like that. and i noticed the zipper is a bit weak. and i might get a fleece sleeping bag liner so i can use it in colder weather.

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Yeah the liner wouldn't hurt i know that cheap bag has a habit of getting cold spots.But if you use it like a mummy bag and tighten the draw strings up plus wear a cap/hat to keep your head warm that'll help.

Another tip is to eat a decent meal before you lay down as the process of digestion creates warmth and that will help to your advantage too.

Or heck throw in one of those maylar blankets if need be they are like a $1 at walmart and those damn things make a big difference.

Yeah i got the whole woodland camo MMS sleep system for $90 shipped off ebay and it comes with everything.Seemed like it was the way to go.Though i dunno how bulky the whole system is since i just downsized to a med alice pack.I'll figure out some way to bring the whole system along either way.

 

[Deleted member 5971]

Yeah the liner wouldn't hurt i know that cheap bag has a habit of getting cold spots.But if you use it like a mummy bag and tighten the draw strings up plus wear a cap/hat to keep your head warm that'll help.

Another tip is to eat a decent meal before you lay down as the process of digestion creates warmth and that will help to your advantage too.

Or heck throw in one of those maylar blankets if need be they are like a $1 at walmart and those damn things make a big difference.

Yeah i got the whole woodland camo MMS sleep system for $90 shipped off ebay and it comes with everything.Seemed like it was the way to go.Though i dunno how bulky the whole system is since i just downsized to a med alice pack.I'll figure out some way to bring the whole system along either way.

i got med alice and its actaully smaller then i expected, iv got JUST enuff space for a few changes of clothes and a jacket or 2, on the inside.

 

[travelin]

the trick to medium alice is to use the webbing on the sides and back to attach more pouches.

i will highly recommend using some sort of sleeping pad in cold weather. makes a hell of a difference in comfort and warmth.

 

[RSTY802510]

I got a bass pro compression sack and its alot nicer, only cost like 9.00$
And i have an alice but i left it at home. Its to small. I got the jansport big bear and it works fine.

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Yeah i noticed that with the med alice you got alot of spots to hook extra pouches onto.I overall like it alot better then my large alice least this thing is manageable and not all over the place.The large alice is just too damn big to deal with plus it pokes out like a foot behind your damn frame when full lol.And the 3 pockets on the outside are more then enough for my gear that i use daily.Hell they are deeper then the large alice pockets are.Plus i like the way its laid out its alot better put together then the damn large ever was.

I think ill figure out a way to cram everything into the medium.And i already got a nice sleeping pad which is the thermarest trail scout its r rating is 3.4 and claims to be an all season pad.Its damn comfortable thats for sure.

Glad i made the wise decision to downsize my pack and still be able to cram everything i need into the smaller version.Though ill sorta miss the extra room of the large.But what i won't miss is jumping over knuckles with the large and having it bash into shit that is just flat out dangerous.

Since i got the hellcat mod on my alice which is the MOLLE straps and kidney pad i was thinking of getting the shelf that attaches to the bottom of the frame to carry other things.Seems like you could use it to put a tarp or sleeping bag ontop then strapping it into the shelf.Only part of the hellcat mod i don't have is the sleep system attachment that attaches to the bottom of the frame.I'll have to do some digging and see if i can score one.


Btw if anyone wants a free large alice hit me up just pay for shipping!

 

[travelin]

dont forget the HUGE topflap pocket. i usually put a two quart collapsable bladder in that pocket but im more about weekend hikes with my gear than totin everything i own.

well im too stoopid to figure out how to get them here, but i just uploaded two pics of one of my medium alices. the camo bag on bottom is the bivy and green bag from the ecws sleep system.

they are in an album labeled travelins pics

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Yeah i just got my mss in today.That black bag is so damn massive its ridiculous how bulky it is.Even trying to compress it to something useable is a real task and not even able to really pack it down.

I wonder how the sleep system carrier that everyone use's would work with the mss stuff?I know the green bag and they bivy cover compress really small and i love that.Just curious as to how i can drag the whole system along with me as it doesn't weigh much complete.

Worse case ill go back to my large alice i guess if i can't figure out a way to bring the whole system along with the med alice.

The sleep system carrier doesn't seem anywhere big enough to carry the whole system completely.Heck i have tried to compress the whole system in the standard compression sack and its still too bulky.But if i just use the bivy and the green bag its perfect.I also wonder what the green bag + the bivy cover are rated for?I think its 30-40F or so.

 

[travelin]

i think the green bag itself is a 40 degree bag and with the bivy it should be good down to freezing.

id guess that a space blanket between the green bag and bivy would be good down to around 25 or so , but thats purely a guess. i always toted two space blankets and a poncho liner along with the bivy and green bag but never needed em.

the molle ruck will tote both bags and the bivy. the cfp 90's lower compartment will only hold the bivy and green bag.

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

I guess ill try and see if i can cram the whole system in its bag then throw it in my large alice.I know that would work no problem and id have more then enough room for the rest of my gear.Just bums me out that i can't carry the whole system on a med alice.

Maybe their is a way around it i dunno.I was thinking of buying a space blanket or 2 to make up for the black bag.But with those you sweat so damn much inside its truly disgusting lol.Sucks i bought the whole system and can't really bring it all along with me off from the get go.I know ill figure out a set up.

I got my compression sack from my old ozark bag for the bivy and green bag that compress's it down to something very small.So in that way im good.Just need to figure out a way to roll the black bag up as tight as i can get it.

Maybe what ill do is throw the bivy and green bag into the original compression sack then put the black bag inside.That might be the ticket lol.

I'll go out in the woods tomorrow night and experiment with the whole system since its gonna be in the 30's tomorrow night.That'll show its true colors lol.

 

[travelin]

ok, if you look at the pics in that album i posted, the bivy and green bag is in the little camo bag on the bottom. thats the one held on with the black straps.

ok, so ya got that on the bottom. those pics have it mounted on a molle frame but the medium alice has slots on the bottom that straps will go through and the alice frame has slots that the straps will pass through to secure the compression sack on bottom.

stuff the black bag into a compression sack and load it on top of the pack.

i personally havnt done that but it should go on top of the medium alice with no problem as long as its strapped tight so it doesnt wobble.

a poncho and liner and/or a blanket can be rolled into a tube and attached up the sides and across the top of the frame kind of like the pics you see of the old time soldiers with the bedroll rolled and bent over the shoulder. by the way, you can roll stuff up inside that roll.

 

[travelin]

oooooooooooor shit, you could put the bulky sack on bottom of the pack and the little one on top, duh!

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Yeah ill just figure out something that'll work with the med alice.If i can't come tp a fix then ill just drag the old large alice out again lol.

Thanks for the ideas and info ill try and figure it out tomorrow either way ill end up with a solution that'll work.Be damned if i paid $90 for the system and can't bring all of it due to its bulkiness lol.

 

[travelin]

right on, with winter pretty much here its worth having both bags with the bivvy.

im sittin here wishing i had to time to haul the system out and a bunch of straps and see what i come up with but im up at 4:15 for the new job and so its almost bedtime for me!

 

[Bl3wbyyou]

Haha word.Yeah im just gonna test what of a system i have built for the next trips out.I picked up a thermarest trail scout which has a r rating of 3.4 and only weighs 1lb.They say its a all season pad so thats whats up.

No more cold ground and ill have a place to rest my bones in comfort from here on out lol.

 

[wildwerden]

I'm about to get one of the military sleeping bags, what do you think of it now that a few months has passed? Was it worth carrying the extra bulk of the black bag or did you end up ditching it? a buddy of mine offered to buy the black bag off of me and I would keep the bivvy and patrol bag and maybe bring along my other sleeping bag for extra warmth if needed. Or I could just use the bivvy and black bag...
anyways, how has the system been treating ya?