Army Sleeping Bags

[Gleams]

I want a new sleeping bag primarily for use in my hammock.
I would prefer it to include a central full length zip and of course the warmer the better.
But weight and size is a factor as i generally have to lug my bergen across a few fields and up a hill to my woodland.


Also i dont have a lot of money to spend so i was hoping to pick up a bargain.
I am looking at Army Surplus Sleeping Bags and the more i look the more consuded i am.


So i need someone with the knowledge to answer these questions for me.


Whats the difference between Army Acrtic and Army Cold Weather sleeping bags.


Is the filling Down or Synthetic in these bags? Sometimes on Fleabay they never say what the filling is.


If anyone has either of these bags, then do they recommend them? How much do they weight?

 

[Teepee]

To reduce weight, I'd discount the army bag and use a lighter 3 season mummy bag as a quilt, and team it with a foam mat underneath, with some "wings" stuck on with gaffer tape to avoid cold shoulders. (Segmented Pad Extender with "wings" link) They work really well used like this (watch out for sharp zip pulls though, they may cut the hammock fabric)

A 3 season bag use like this is much warmer, as the insulation isn't stretched or compressed and it contours to your shape much more easily.

I generally use my 2/3 season down bag all year round down to about -5, after which I use a warmer dedicated top quilt if I'm carrying any distance.

For dossing about, I've recently been using a cheapie square bottom bag with no hood, which also works very well as a top quilt. No hood, no dribble catcher

Nothing will be lighter or cheaper for what you want to do.

Making or buying a hammock underquilt will increase your comfort and dryness, compared to the foam pad and you may want to look at this in the near future, or if you have to buy a foam mat to make the SPE I linked to.

Hope this helps

 

[Swallow]

@Gleams

I've been considering one of these which seems to fit your bill, though all the synthetic 4 season bags I've seen are about 2kg and down 1.7kg or so upwards.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Challenger-...BM/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1347352970&sr=8-34

@Teepee
very interesting post.