Who uses the Military Sleep System

**BigDog** · 12-28-2012, 18:47

The main reason I am wanting to see how to use this system is I dont have the money to buy anything else at the moment. I may look into trying to mod the bivy and add a poncho liner for an underquilt. My goal would be to somehow not cut the bivy so that I could use it as a bivy when needed. I'm not sure how to go about it yet.

**Hiknhanger** · 12-28-2012, 19:28

Originally Posted by cmplpwilt

The main reason I am wanting to see how to use this system is I dont have the money to buy anything else at the moment. I may look into trying to mod the bivy and add a poncho liner for an underquilt. My goal would be to somehow not cut the bivy so that I could use it as a bivy when needed. I'm not sure how to go about it yet.

Right there with you. I got the ACU camo set with large stuff sack for about $40 at the local surplus store. Hope to afford downy goodness before too long.

**Hanging Phoenix** · 01-01-2013, 16:15

I use the system in my hammock. I use a pad inside the hammock. I use the bivy and black cold bag as a sleeping bag and use the green patrol bag as a top quilt. I am a larger guy so the mss is a little to narrow when zipped up for me. So I zip up half way and use the patrol bag for a top quilt. I have slept down to 18 with it and stayed very warm.

**BigDog** · 01-01-2013, 19:30

Phoenix great idea I'll have to give that a try.

**dkperdue** · 01-02-2013, 07:59

I've posted pictures in the past of the mods I did where I put holes in the bottom of the bags for the suspension to go though.
My son regularly uses the modified bivy and patrol bag as a "pea pod" type system in the cold weather. He's a skinny teenager, so he can zip it up around him with being in the hammock. With me, I've uses the combo as a UQ with good results.

I modified one of the bivy covers for a wet weather shielf for my Wilderness logics UQ.
Plans in the works to take a patrol bag and mod it to a straight UQ.
Goretex bivy and patrol bag compress up pretty small, but the heavy weight bag for the really cold Wx is too heavy I would think.

I used the whole system with a military CCF ground pad in subzero as a ground dweller in the past, but would not use it for the hammock.

**BigDog** · 01-02-2013, 08:45

Dkperdue I'd love to see the mods you made to use as peapod and underquilt. Sounds like a pretty neat idea.

**surferoib51** · 01-02-2013, 16:26

I use the MSS in my hammock. What has worked for me is to put a thermarest pad inside my bivy sack. The pad fits perfectly in the bivy and does not slide out from under me. The one draw back with the bivy is that it traps moisture from your breath or sweet and will eventually dampen the sleeping bags.

**dkperdue** · 01-02-2013, 22:47

Originally Posted by cmplpwilt

Dkperdue I'd love to see the mods you made to use as peapod and underquilt. Sounds like a pretty neat idea.

Just look in the gallery under my name dkperdue.

**BigDog** · 01-03-2013, 00:02

DKPerdue thanks for the ideas. I also like the idea of using a poncho liner draped across the ridge line... did that seem to help keep things warmer?

**Spartacus19** · 01-03-2013, 06:20

I set my daughter (3 yrs)up the same way just yesterday as surferoib51 mentioned, (with a thermarest pad between the Bivy and the sleeping bag) I did this because she's in the Cub Zip from HH, and I haven't had time to make/find to buy a good uq for the Cub Zip. Seems like everytime I think I have an original idea, I come across someone that has already done it!