Modular sleeping bag advice

[lauriek]

Following on from my sleeping mat query, I'm seriously thinking about upgrading my sleeping bag (ancient british army bag iirc) to one of the two bag modular systems.

The options seem to be

U.S. Army Modular sleep system
British army modular sleep system
Dutch army modular sleep system

Are the latter two exactly the same? They both appear to have the same specifications and be designed by Carinthia, so I'm assuming they're basically the same.

If I was in the US it would be a no brainier, the U.S. One is cheap as chips over there and comes with the goretex.

However I'm in the UK so I'm tending towards the Dutch one as its the cheapest I can find.

What sort of pack size is the minimum you can compress these down to, with both bags together?

I assume the Carinthia one works with the regular NATO goretex bivvy bags, is that correct?

Anyone tried the US and Carinthia versions, is there any major advantage/disadvantage to either?

 

[The Lord Poncho]

I have a Carinthia Defence 4, and recently got hold of the latest British army equivalent (i.e. the cold weather 'outer bag' of the modular system) for a family member. The two are very similar, however key differences- the british bag has different locations for tieing in the polycotton liner (guess how i found that out!), the british bag is easier to get into its stuff sack because unlike the Carinthia original, its outer fabric isn't waterproof, so it doesn't 'billow' about as much. The british one has the same mesh pockets inside that the old 90's arctic bags have, and the zip baffle is redesigned so the zip doesn't snag on it as much. slightly darker green too, and made by Fesca - the same spanish contractor that makes the dutch army versions of the carinthia bags for their modular system - which i am lead to believe are identical to the carinthia originals.

So, in summary, for the outer bags they are pretty much the same - the british one does have a few subtle improvements though, but with the expense of not being as water resistant. can't comment on the US system, but from what i have read, its very warm, but also very bulky.

Any bivi bag would fit any of the systems, although i understand the US one poppers to the inner bags so the zip will open all three - not really that worthwhile i would have thought though.

You will find a good reveiw of the Dutch system in a thread on here by Spandit (if memory serves).

It is worth bearing in mind that the british and dutch systems are not really modular unlike the US system - i.e. they dont specifically interact - it is simply a thin summer side opening bag, that goes inside a thick winter centre opening bag, and then slipped inside a bivibag.

The same affect can be had by slipping a thin summer sleeping bag (e.g. the british issue snugpak jungle bag) inside a thick outer bag.

I believe the original trials british modular bags were based on the carinthia ones, but were all equipped with side opening zips, and made under licence by BCB. You can find some examples of these on ebay every now and then.

 

[brambles]

I mix and match - I have a Carinthia Defence 4 and Tropen and combine them with a US MSS Goretex bivvy bag

 

[ozzy1977]

Us modular for me, easily picked up for around £75, yes its big and heavy but to get similar performance and light weight is going to cost alot more.

 

[lauriek]

Awesome info, thanks guys!

Can anyone comment on pack size for either Carinthia or US packs, what sort of percentage of your pack do they take up? (And what pack!?)

(I currently have a 55L sting pack so I suspect I might need to upgrade to a Bergen sized pack of I get one of these)

Ozzy I don't suppose you know offhand where I could get one for that price, I haven't found one for less than about £120 inc postage so far.

 

[santaman2000]

I can comment on the US one. It's going to take up a huge part of your ruck and it weighs about 11 pounds. That said, my current ruck is the CFP-90 which has a separate lower compartment for the sleep system. The entire USMSS will stuff into it with no problem as long as you do just that: stuff it in rather than try to roll it up.

The advantage of the modular systems (I presume it's the same with the British and Dutch ones) is that unless you're going into deep cold, you needn't take the entire bulky, heavy system with you; just take the Summer or the Intermediate bag (whichever matches the season)

 

[Gray]

I use the US system all the time, i have two, ones mine which i bought new for £150 from the states via ebay, the other i got second hand for my daughter ,also from the states via ebay cost me £70. Bulky but fantastic system, it fills a highlander 25 ltr rucksack and combined with my beltkit is very comfy to carry

 

[The Lord Poncho]

When fully compressed the carinthia defence 4 compresses down to a bulgy cylinder about 30-35cm long by about 25 cm diameter. Bivi bags can be pretty small/light - e.g. Alpkit Hunka which will roll smaller than a 500ml bottle of coke on its own, or if you leave it round the bag, to be honest, you wouldn't even notice the size of the stuffsack increasing. I must admit I haven't tried getting a summer weight bag inside the same stuffsack at the defence 4, but they are usually very compact. At most you may have to add about 10cmto the length of the above mentioned cylinder.

 

[Tim_B]

How is the shoulder width for the larger among us?

Thanks
Tim

 

[santaman2000]

I wear a XXL shirt or coat and the width of the US system fits me pretty well. Either bag alone (either the summer bag or the intermediate bag) will give you a looser fit than the two combined will though as the inner one will be confined within the outer one.

 

[luckylee]

i love my us system but at times i feel like a maggot in there if I'm honest but never cold.

 

[ozzy1977]

I got mine off ebay summer last year

 

[rik_uk3]

If your tall, get the long US system.

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

More than happy with the USMSS. Size wise im a 50 chest and broad shoulder and have plenty of room. I pack mine in a LA sting without compression pack and take up little more than half the main compartment.

 

[lauriek]

Perfect, thanks guys!

Johnnyboy that was exactly what I needed to know.

So glad I came here to ask

Now just to locate a USMSS for a good price...

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

No worries. I pack mine into a Bergen liner.
My loadout is both USMSS bags pushed into the bottom then the bivvy bag loosely folded goes next, on top of that is my groundsheet.
On top of that is my tarp and water bottle pouch.
Lastly on top is a pouch that holds my brew kit and other bits I may need around camp inc my stove.

Rest set of my kit incl food and first aid go in a side pouch with and extra water bottle.
Other side I strap my roll mat packed in a second bivvy bag.

 

[The Cumbrian]

When I use the US system (I've never used the British or Dutch so I can't comment), I only fasten the outermost zip, ie if I'm using all three parts, I only fasten the bivvy bag, and if I'm only using the two sleeping bags I only zip up the outermost bag. There are good baffles behind the zips, and I tried zipping all the bags up once and found it very constrictive.

It's a very good system for the money, but because of the weight and bulk, I only ever use it for car or base camping.

Cheers, Michael.