Sleep System / Sleeping Bag

[River Song]

I didnt know where to post this so here goes.

Assume dead of winter and I'm either at home and the leccy goes
and I have no heat or I'm outside.

What recommendations do you have for a bag or sleep system?

I do know not to get the czech one !!

[Midnitemo]

I have various weights of sleeping bags right across the spectrum but my absolute favourite is a Snugpak softie 4 season , bought to do winter bike rallies , been out under canvas at -15 and i had to pop the zip half way through the night as i was sweltering. think i paid £85 for it about 3 years ago....awesome

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(5 September 2013, 00:13)Midnitemo Wrote: I have various weights of sleeping bags right across the spectrum but my absolute favourite is a Snugpak softie 4 season , bought to do winter bike rallies , been out under canvas at -15 and i had to pop the zip half way through the night as i was sweltering. think i paid £85 for it about 3 years ago....awesome

Use a thermarest basecamp xl with it ....toastie.....xl cos i is tubby lol

[Binnie]

RS i have a british army surplus arctic sleeping bag, its brilliant.

I've yet to feel the cold in this thing!

overkill in summer though, i normally only zip it up half way, then again, i'd rather be a little too hot and open a zip than be shivering all night.

[I-K-E]

If think of getting a Czech army bed roll system and coupling that with either my 2 season or 3 season sleeping bags that I already own.

not sure why you don't like the system but for me it's about flexibility with out having to buy even more sleeping bags and a it's lot cheaper that buying a quality 4 season bag

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also it is important to have good insulation under any sleeping bag SIMs are good for this but try and get a thick one for home use/car camping

[BeardyMan]

Czech one? I used the Czech army bed roll last friday, worked well, nice and warm. Add a couple of thick wool blankets in there an you're good to go.

Dead of winter, I'd be using my Tennier Industries US army modular sleep system.
Good down to -28 I think, and you can combine the bag with the ECWS clothing to bring figure to -50 (for 4 hours, you need the coat & trousers & underlayer - heavy stuff)

Best sleeping bag I've ever used by far. Big an bulky, but not as big as the UK one.

[Scythe13]

Personally, I am trying to keep my BOB ultra-lite, so please do not read this as a recommendation.

Also, please consider that while testing sleeping gear I have gone as far as used a 4 season in summer, and even then I still manage to pop a shiver that woke me up around 2am...I think it's just me though, not the bags. But at 2am, I wake up from a shiver....yes I'm odd.

I use a flimsy 2 season (as long as those seasons are both mid summer) and just layer up inside. This has worked well for me so far, down to -5 according to my thermometer. Had the 2am shiver, but back to sleep minutes later, waking up as normal in the morning. So please consider that kind of behaviour normal for me and camping.

If I'm looking at maximum cold, this is my layering system, from the outside going in:

Bivvy plastic mummy style wrap.
Space blanket mummy bag (not recommended to pull all the way up, as you'll melt/sweat too much! Waist is normal height, lower chest at most!!!
Flimsy 2 season (flimsy is the adjective, not the make/brand)
Sea2Summit Reactor Extreme (doubles up as a good bag in summer, all on it's own) Hoping to get 2 of these to go to even colder temps).
Micro-Fibre mummy sleeping bag liner.
Clothing - not a fan of anything but boxers and a hat (maybe a pair of short and tshirt if it's a SHTF situation) because I like the feel of the micro-fibre liner on my skin haha.

This system doesn't weigh much at all, and it has worked well for ME. Because it works for me, I am not recommending it to anyone. I wear shorts in the snow, so please don't take my use as being recommendation of the system.

Will be getting another Reactor Extreme, just because I was so impressed with the first. Also, the wife will probably try to steal my one haha.

One thing I highly recommend, spacing yourself off the floor. Best things to use, in my experience (man made equipment, not including plants and logs etc) Vango Self Inflating full body floor matt. The one I use is the bright red one...subtle haha. Prefer to have this INSIDE my Bivvy, because it keeps it dry if it rains, so I don't carry as much weight around the next day. I'm going to be getting a Thermarest matt soon. Yes it's bright reflective metal coloured, but it seems to be very effective.

One interesting word of note, if you build a debris shelter, make the walls 6 feet thick, and you can sleep pretty comfortably (as long as you're insulated from the floor well enough) in minus 10 degrees. Building a shelter with walls that thick will also warm you up enough before you get in there haha.

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To answer the in house one, my mum used to tell me when she was a child they used to get in sleeping bags before getting into bed, to stay extra warm. Sounds too hot for me, but the wife did it last winter (defence against me more than the cold, I think haha) and she gets super cold super quick. I'm happy in boxers sleeping under an open window.

[BeardyMan]

You been on the red bull Scythe?

[Tigs]

take a look at the soldier 95 artic sleeping bag and compression bag they cost about £40 unissued and you can get an olive bivvy for an extra £10 - £15 they are being phased out in favour of Carinthia defence 4 (4season) which according to Arrse are total rubbish compared to the 95 artic

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you cant beat the old bouncing bomb

[Binnie]

(5 September 2013, 10:00)Tigs Wrote: take a look at the soldier 95 artic sleeping bag and compression bag they cost about £40 unissued and you can get an olive bivvy for an extra £10 - £15 they are being phased out in favour of Carinthia defence 4 (4season) which according to Arrse are total rubbish compared to the 95 artic

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you cant beat the old bouncing bomb

same one as i have

[Tigs]

just read that the defence 4 is only part of the modular combat sleep system (mcss) there is an outer bag and an inner liner

http://www.campingworld.co.uk/Models.aspx?ModelID=10211 think I will stick to my soldier 95 artic too binnie the mcss are £400 !