Thanks this is exactly what I was hoping for. However, since it is a mummy style back I wonder if it would be big enough to cover 2 people up like a blanket. Perhaps I would be better off just packing a sheet to go on top of the air mattress and packing my poncho liner to cover up with. Thoughts?
It's not about the miles, its about the smiles!
Black Chrome
How hard for those of you that have this bag think it would be to add down to each of the "chambers"? I have a neighbor how duck and goose hunts and I picked a walmart bag full of down last year from one of his hunts wondering how hard it would be to boost this bag?
Psalm 50:1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Old Dominion Hangers: Secretary
First Annual Powhatan Hang and Work - April 17-19, 2015
I picked one of these up yesterday. My son used it last night. Temp got down to 45 degrees. He got too cold at about 2 AM and came in the house. Took a closer look at the bag this afternoon--held it up to the light and it was easy to see why he got cold. There was almost no down in the baffles around the torso area. It seemed that the majority of the down was in the hood, footbox, draft collar and zipper draft tube. But all was not lost; I remembered the couple of leftover $10KMart down pillows in the garage that I picked up about a year ago whenever I did a DIY UQ.
I turned the sleeping bag inside out and found the seam (opposite the zipper) that joined the top and bottom of the bag together. Got the seam ripper out and went to work. I used a Shop Vac to transfer down from the pillow into the sleeping bag baffles. Used an old knee high stocking (think pantyhose) to cover the end of the vacuum's flex hose to keep the down from going into the vacuum, then put the rigid extension onto the flex hose. It took about 1.5 hours to transfer the down and another half hour to sew the seam back up. It was actually a very simple process. It now looks like a high-end down bag--about 4 inches of loft!!! I would estimate I added about 10 ozs of down to it. Haven't had a chance to weigh it yet. Will do that tomorrow and post the final weight.
One last thing... The bag would no longer fit into the compression sack it came with. Not to worry though--I used some leftover ripstop from an IX UQ I did a few months back to make a larger sack. I used the original lid and straps that came with the bag but made the new sack 4" longer and 3" larger in diameter. The new compression sack was actually the most difficult part of everything; but it turned out well.
Finally, before you ask, our camera is on the fritz so I am unable to post any photos. But, my son is out in it again tonight for another test drive. Hopefully adding the down from the pillow did the trick. Hope this helps answer the question about down to it.
I picked one up as well, and hesitated to use it last trip because of the light thing several of us noticed.
It since occurred to me that the clumps I was seeing in the dark areas were in fact the 10% duck feathers, and the voids where the light passes better are where there is only down. Down is very translucent.
For those chopping one apart to modify, could you confirm my theory?
mattblick,
I am unable to confirm your theory. What I can say though is after having chopped one of these up, there was, in fact, some down in each of the baffles. However there was not a sufficient amount to give it any appreciable loft (which would also equate to insulation value).
My son used the modified bag the past two nights and said it worked great with the added down!
I found a few of these in a local walmart today, has anyone that has one of these experienced their hands feeling "dirty" after handling the bags? I took one out and noticed that my hands felt like they had something on them, a film or something.
Anyone notice this? If so did a wash resolve this?
For the $ I would take it every time. Just got it and have 6 nights and would feel very cozy into the 30s.
Bookmarks