Hello everyone,
I'm looking for some advice on a surplus sleeping bag and was hoping you all could help.
I've been looking at too many sleeping bags, from too many countries and too many websites and ebay listings, and would like a recommendation. I'll be trying tarp camping for the first time, after 30 years of 4-wheel drive camping back in the States. My gear is all back there, so I figured that I would pick up a DD Tarp 4x4 and a surplus bag, and try out primitive camping, perhaps at one of the Suffolk or Cambridgeshire meets. But I need a bag,
My sense is that I'll get wet, so is are any of the surplus bags better suited to wet weather than others, or must I get a bivy bag to stay dry (even under a tarp?) Is there any reason to think that a particular country's bags are more water resistant than others?
I'm a big guy, 5'8' 200lbs and don't like mummy bags. I see some British bags listed as Large, but they are typically on ebay, and I don't really trust strangers to tell me that the bag is in good condition. I'd rather deal with a surplus vendor that the forum likes, with a good reputation for selling solid gear. Can anyone recommend a vendor?
The British bags I see are either older down bags, or newer poly-filled bags. Have I got that right? Are these the only two versions? Does anyone find that the older down bags have pointy feathers that stick through and scratch?
I also see liners and bivys, some goretex (which I typically like if I can afford it.) Having never camped outside a tent before, I figure that dealing with cold and wet is the norm in the UK. Should I consider a bivy? If I get a bivy, would a summer-weight bag work well, assuming that I'm wearing some wool when I climb in? Nothing is worse than a hot, sweaty sleep. An arctic bag in a bivy with some clothes on sounds like a sweat-box to me. That's not good.
For price, I suppose that I wouldn't mind spending under £30 for a bag. I can afford a mistake at that price.
any ideas?
I'm looking for some advice on a surplus sleeping bag and was hoping you all could help.
I've been looking at too many sleeping bags, from too many countries and too many websites and ebay listings, and would like a recommendation. I'll be trying tarp camping for the first time, after 30 years of 4-wheel drive camping back in the States. My gear is all back there, so I figured that I would pick up a DD Tarp 4x4 and a surplus bag, and try out primitive camping, perhaps at one of the Suffolk or Cambridgeshire meets. But I need a bag,
My sense is that I'll get wet, so is are any of the surplus bags better suited to wet weather than others, or must I get a bivy bag to stay dry (even under a tarp?) Is there any reason to think that a particular country's bags are more water resistant than others?
I'm a big guy, 5'8' 200lbs and don't like mummy bags. I see some British bags listed as Large, but they are typically on ebay, and I don't really trust strangers to tell me that the bag is in good condition. I'd rather deal with a surplus vendor that the forum likes, with a good reputation for selling solid gear. Can anyone recommend a vendor?
The British bags I see are either older down bags, or newer poly-filled bags. Have I got that right? Are these the only two versions? Does anyone find that the older down bags have pointy feathers that stick through and scratch?
I also see liners and bivys, some goretex (which I typically like if I can afford it.) Having never camped outside a tent before, I figure that dealing with cold and wet is the norm in the UK. Should I consider a bivy? If I get a bivy, would a summer-weight bag work well, assuming that I'm wearing some wool when I climb in? Nothing is worse than a hot, sweaty sleep. An arctic bag in a bivy with some clothes on sounds like a sweat-box to me. That's not good.
For price, I suppose that I wouldn't mind spending under £30 for a bag. I can afford a mistake at that price.
any ideas?