Waterproof sleeping bag | Squat the Planet

Waterproof sleeping bag

soapybum

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Idk how well this would work but I was thinking of sewing some heavy duty trashbags onto my sleeping bag and having some hangover on the ends to try to waterproof my bag (well closer to rainproof than waterproof but oh well)
 

Dishka8643

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you would still get a lot of moisture + condensation on the outside and inside of the bag because trashbags can't breathe. Hit up a VA and try to get a military issue goretex bivy bag. Those things are waterproof, windproof, and breathable. If you get 2 of them, you can snap them together and make a 2 man tent. Good piece of gear.
 

wildboy860

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or go to a high end camping store and get a bivy sack. they;re a waterproof covering that slips over your sleeping bag. they are quite pricy though. from around 100 - over a few hundred dolars
 

keg

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i do not know if this is what you guys are talking about but the army watproof bags that go inside(if your in the stupid army)the pickles are great.i use it that way but use 2 and you can stay dry.better than tarps and all the moistness.
 

bryanpaul

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instead of sewing the trash bag to your sleeping bag... just keep it folded up in yer pack till you need it......but yeah..construction sites are good places to get those "contractor" bags...and restaraunts... good habit to always have some in yer pack
 
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travelin

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Kind of expensive, but check out the ecws sleeping system. It comes with a goretex bivy, a "patrol" sleeping bag, and an "intermediate" sleeping bag. All this goes inside a stuff sack that compresses down fairly small for so much stuff. Supposed to be good down to -30F.(with the caveat that it provides four hours @-30 provided the sleeper is wearing artic gear inside it which is kind of bullshit I think)

I am seeing the system for around a hundred bucks sometimes.

At the least the bivy for the system can be bought by itself. It is fairly well water proof and any bag can be stuffed inside it.

Hit military surplus stores to find the system.
 
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I concur with travelin. I have used this system in the military & a few individual pieces outside on the road. I dont suggest the complete system all the time becasue of weight & price but definately the goretex bivy sack & perhaps one of the sleeping bags. Its on my xmas list to myself if I can find another at a cheap price.
 

travelin

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Good point on dropping one of the bags. Around here for a phoenix winter I think I'd want the black one and the bivy. The bivy provides little warmth by itself but keeps the night dew and sure nuff rain off of you.

Note that there is a new system in that digital camo, whatever they call it(sad i cant remember the name of it, i was wearing one of the blouses in the mountains today)
 
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Different branches have experimented with different digital camoflauge with various results. ACU & UDP(Army),ABU(Air Force, Marpat (Navy/USMC I beileve both the origional woodland camo & digicam bivy's are made to similar standards by a few manufacturers. Cost is key for me so surplus is the way to go, sometimes you can find stuff on ebay/cl from returning troops super cheap. I have a set of acu cammies with boony hat, 2 packs & some polypro thermals & love em all except I feel they are a bit light colored. I like dark colors to hide grime & feel less exposed wearing darker colors.
 

travelin

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Yes, ACU, the digital stuff that the army went to is what i meant. the bag colors have changed on this new issue. IT was fairly late last night and i was pretty beat from humping up and down those 50 miles slopes hunting the fire agates. guess google is your friend, hey?
 
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Well i do love Google but being former a former Marine it was interesting that so many similar versions of camoflauge were experimented with by the different branches. It also helps to know their acronyms when searching craigslist for good deals. I just obtained 2 woodland bivys in trade. Im glad they were on my radar thanks to these posts otherwise i would have missed out. So are you a rockhound? Didnt google fire agates yet but Im guesing they are stones that you hunt & then sell for cash.
 

travelin

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I meant google is friend to us all. Was not trying to be a smartass with the statement.

Im just learning how to rockhound.

Fire agates are pieces of quartz with various mineral intrusions created by the pieces being heated and ejected from volcanos. They flew through the air and impacted the ground and cooled.

when they hit they were still partially molten and so the bottoms of a pristine piece will be flat and the colors of the peices will be oranges and reds into deep reds and purples, depending upon which mineral were mixed in with the quartz.

The impact zone we were in was from a volcanic upthrust that was about a mile and a half away. The slope we were on was facing that upthrust. after we were all done I postulated that we would probably be able to find much larger pieces if we crossed the draw downslope from us and going over the next hump which was lower than the one we were on but I figure larger pieces would not fly as far. My friend just stopped and stood there thunderstruck!

They are called fire agates because when the colors are right , they look like all the reddish/orangish colors one sees in a campfire.

iron, silver, gold, copper are the usual mixes for the good fire agates with iron being the most prevalent as i understand it.

Another closely related type is called desert rose. this was fairly pure quartz that impacted and the impact formed the top into a hollowed out section with "petals" surrounding the depression in the middle of the piece.

I think I explained that semi-correctly. Yesterday was my first trip out doing this. Ive got a LOT to learn.

I entered into rockhounding more because I wanted to see the geology of the earth but now I am finding the things I want to look at, the volcanic actions in and around various places, are actually worth some bucks.

My experienced rockhound friend told me yesterday that in his estimation the pieces I picked up and brought home are worth as much as 2 grand in the rough and as much as 8-10 grand if the pieces are worked and have the proper lustre and whatnot. he did say it was the best stuff he had ever seen.

Apologies for thread hi-jack.

Now back to sleeping bags!
 

travelin

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Forgot to mention the possibilities of the good ole military poncho. cheap and works pretty well. can make a decent shelter with one.
 

Kevin Mc Grath

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when I backpacked in the Vantana wildernes before I was 20 there was a sleeping bag make out of foam. It was called an oxta (sp) bag I have been looking for one for years. It had a criss cross string system on the top that you cound snug up to get it closer to your body. The nice thing it that it worked when wet. How do I find a pattern or a sleeping bag of that type. Way nice board,Glad I found you folks
 

travelin

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1228111452.jpg

here is the bivy and green patrol bag in the stuff sack. one quart mil issue canteen for scale. compresses down pretty small!
 

travelin

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1228111456.jpg


the green bag and the bivy snap together at the zipper points.

the bivy bottom extends past and around the head and the top overlaps it. there is a velco fastening between the top and bottom of the head.

if you are six feet and under this size will work for you. i am six feet and i fit in it ok. like all bivys and mummy type bags it feels confining at first.

there is an long version tht can be found if you look.
 

Unslap

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The usgi bivy is my favorite piece of gear, though i won't suggest the bags. Mine was forty bucks. The only time i've wanted an additional tarp was in the PNW in autumn. I've woken in the morning completely dry and with puddles on top of me. The problem is that if the rain flap isn't positioned just right you will get wet in a storm. But that is why bridges exist!
 
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