Down military bag (good for anything?)

**Caveman** · 04-15-2013, 11:26

I got a USMC sleep system this weekend. The label says it's 60% feathers and 40% down. This thing is heavy. Would it be worth messing with? Should I just throw it in the closet for car camping? I don't have anything in particular in mind, I was just curious if the feather/down was good for anything?

**gophin** · 04-15-2013, 11:37

I think you nailed it with the car camp setup. just too heavy to use for any backpack situation. You could lighten it up by making a lighter shell and stealing the feathers, but its still gonna weigh a lot.

**TrailArchitect** · 04-15-2013, 11:47

I think it depends on how much you paid for it, but it seems like car camping is your easiest and best bet.

**Caveman** · 04-15-2013, 21:22

Originally Posted by TrailArchitect

I think it depends on how much you paid for it, but it seems like car camping is your easiest and best bet.

Well, it was gifted to me, so I'm not out anything

**gmcpcs** · 04-16-2013, 04:06

I have that thing, and it is bomb proof, and very warm. I slept mostly comfortable but for tips of toes (more a lay issue than insulation) to *24 this past winter, using it unzipped as a top quilt. Toting it, it weighs a ton. Another issue with deconstructing it, is the large zipper and rivets.

I read somewhere where a Marine tied para cord to the hood section, hung it from a tree angled down a slope, and slept in it on the side of a hill.

Car camping or snow drift sleeping, not hiking, IMHO. Of course I've seen you toting ice chests, and thankful for the Earls

Hey, you could probably take it to a waterfowl feather sorting machine, bust it open, and shoot all the feathers up in the air. The last ones to settle out on the top layer could be skimmed off and used to make something lightweight

(I think I saw that on dirty jobs)

Take it easy,
gmcpcs

**Honey Badger!** · 04-17-2013, 16:44

I have had my M-1949 sleeping bag for about 30 years and no telling how old it was when I ot it for $10 as surplus. It has been a great bag over the years but at 8.5 lbs I can no longer carry it backpacking. But I have taken all the feathers out of it and tossed the ever ripping shell. I plan to use the feathers as fill for a top quilt but there are quite a few large stems that will end up poking through the shell. So the grand plan it to sit and watch some TV and cut the worse stems out with scissors and see what i'm left with. It started out with 3lbs of feathers so who knows what I will end up with usable in the end.

HB