Canadian Army Goose Down Sleeping Bag

[David Yung]

Hi all,

I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
-20C. Is this true? Any comments?

David
Edmonton, Alberta
CANADA

[Alfred Falk]

In article <4q4rha$13...@pulp.ucs.ualberta.ca>,

dy...@gpu4.srv.ualberta.ca (David Yung) wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
>store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
>-20C. Is this true? Any comments?

Depends very much on who is inside the bag. Typically for -20C you should
have a total loft of around 20 cm. (Spread the bag out and put a ruler
beside it.) This also assumes you have a decent insulating underpad (such
as Thermarest).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alfred Falk fa...@arc.ab.ca A L B E R T A
Information Systems Dept (403) 450-5185 R E S E A R C H
Box 8330, Station F C O U N C I L
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T6H 5X2
http://saturn.arc.ab.ca/~falk/ http://www.arc.ab.ca/

[Riker]

David Yung wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
> store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
> -20C. Is this true? Any comments?
>

> David
> Edmonton, Alberta
> CANADA
reply: The Canadian army bag rating is not accurate because it has lost
some feathers and its baffling compartments do not distribute down
effectively.Therefore you will be buying a lemon. A brand new army goose
down bag is more reliable but it is unavailable to civilian. It is best
that you purchase a civilian bag from Mountain Equipment Coop store in
Calgary. It costs $140 and is made from sythetic Polarguard
HV.Polarguard HV is the best type of synthetic insulation material for
sleeping bags. A Civilian sleeping bag is lighter and more durable than
military version. I hope my advice will be useful for you.

Ri...@cimtegration.com

[Paul Rimmer]

dy...@gpu4.srv.ualberta.ca (David Yung) wrote:

>Hi all,

>I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
>store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
>-20C. Is this true? Any comments?

>David
>Edmonton, Alberta
>CANADA
David,

I spent a week at Canadian Forces Base Suffield in February with one
of these bags. If it is the real MacKoy then it is good to more than
-20C, more like -35C. The ones we used were three parts. A liner,
main bag, and outer bag for the really cold days. I used all three at
about -15C and was very comfortable. The only problem with these bags
is their bulk and weight. Make sure it's the real thing. It should
come with a compression sack and everything should be khaki in color.

Paul
Paul Rimmer paul....@canada.cdev.com
Communication Systems Division pri...@worldweb.com
Computing Devices Canada

[Don Clarke]

In article <4q4rha$13...@pulp.ucs.ualberta.ca>,
dy...@gpu4.srv.ualberta.ca (David Yung) wrote:

>I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an
army surplus
>store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the
bag is good for
>-20C. Is this true? Any comments?

My son is in the militia and regularly sleeps outside in the
winter, in Northern Ontario. His "army" bag is good for
about -30 when he uses both inner and outer bag. Only
problem is that it has to be dry-cleaned regularly because
of the "terrible" conditions he uses it in.

[Will Flor]

Paul Rimmer wrote:
>
> dy...@gpu4.srv.ualberta.ca (David Yung) wrote:
>
> >Hi all,
>

> >I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
> >store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
> >-20C. Is this true? Any comments?
>

> >David
> >Edmonton, Alberta
> >CANADA
> David,
>
> I spent a week at Canadian Forces Base Suffield in February with one
> of these bags. If it is the real MacKoy then it is good to more than
> -20C, more like -35C.

I'm not sure about Canadian military sleeping bags, but US military
down sleeping bags come in different levels of warmth. The "intermediate
cold weather" bags are good down to -10F or so, the "extreme cold weather"
bags down to about -35F. Perhaps the Canadian bags also come in several
weights, and David is considering buying a lighter-weight bag than the one
you used at Suffield? It's only a guess. The US bags are similar to the
description you gave of the Canadian ones, and $100 Canadian is certainly
a fair price for a US military one here in the US.

-Will Flor wi...@rrgroup.com

[N Winter]

On Monday, June 17, 1996 at 1:00:00 AM UTC-6, David Yung wrote:
> Hi all,
> I am planning to buy a Canadian army sleeping bag from an army surplus
> store. It cost $100 and the guy at the store told me the bag is good for
> -20C. Is this true? Any comments?
> David
> Edmonton, Alberta
> CANADA

The Canadian army sleeping bag is really 2 seperate sleeping bags , both nearly identical . There's an inner ,and an outer . I have slept in 0 C temperature with just one . with the inner bag tucked inside the outer you will be comfortable at -27 C , but you need to be protected from the frozen ground with a good sleeping pad. The feathers get squashed flat and lose the insulating value . These bags are very very durable . not like todays sport bags that need tender love and care . I throw mine in the washer ,then dryer , they take a beating .. Oh yeah they will melt if you smoke and the cig touches them for long . but I sewed a hole I melted in mine .

[nat...@ng-mail.net]

I love that this is reply to an original post that is almost 30 years
old. Usenet is amazing