American modular sleeping bag system

[Kempa_Westie]

I'm an ebay troll. I have come across a lot of cheap, American army sleeping bag systems. For the price, it seems pretty damn good, and with some of them rated to -40, i'm thinking i may have to buy one. My question is, have any of ya'll had any experiences with these? The issue sleeping bags don't fare well with myself. And i figure if i can find a cheap and effective enough sleeping bag, then what the hell, it's worth a try!

 

[sam305]

i had an american modular, it was good but too hot in the summer and i change it, i got a Australian Recon 5, and so far it's doing a good job and it's smaller too ;D

 

[Kempa_Westie]

I shall look it up!

The patrol bag was hot in the summer??

 

[sam305]

ya too much for me, plus it wasn't reinforced either soo rip easily...

 

[Kempa_Westie]

Alright. Where did you get this recon 5 of yours from?

 

[sam305]

i found it at www.thekitbag.com (australian) that's them who make those.  And ordered it on camstick a canadian gear web site

 

[sam305]

i put the adress in the "kit website" topics

 

[Kempa_Westie]

I've found the recon 5 and the recon 3, pretty decently cheap. (3-$119. 5-$189)
The recon 5 is rated down to -30, which seems pretty damn nice,but its a good amount more expensive than the 3. Is the recon 5 too hot to use year-round?
If so, the recon 3 could likely be used with the bivy and a fleece and work almost as well.

 

[sam305]

you have also the recon 4 a -5 who's a good compremise between the two. Has my 5, i didn't try it yet in the summer

 

[Kempa_Westie]

I have been on the lookout for the elusive recon 4, but have yet to find it.
I try to avoid retail prices, and like to find sweet deals on ebay, craigslist, etc.

 

[1feral1]

i had an american modular, it was good but too hot in the summer and i change it, i got a Australian Recon 5, and so far it's doing a good job and it's smaller too ;D

Aussie recon 5, never heard of it. TheSBs we haev here are crap. i was issued one in iraq, in an AUSCAM carrier, but a US bag, never opened it, so i will look when I get home tonight.

Can you enlighten me on this Aussie recon bag??

Cheers,

Wes

 

[sam305]

good, luck on finding it , has for me i'm too lazy to start looking around, and i got the bas habit that when i find a good webstore i usually go back there ...

as for the auss Halo recon 5 i really like it so far, i was suprised when i bought it how it was made (it's reinforced at the bottom so you can sleep with your boots on) <--i won't recomend it, i don't usually sleep with my clothes on but in case of extreme fatigue... plus it has a muskito net integrated to it and once in the compression bag it's about 6 inch diam (a small ball) i disgarded my old american and canadian one for it (dont tell the warrant tho LOL)

 

[1feral1]

I had never heard of this bag before. Our issue bags are crap.

I'll have to sniff around on google.

 

[sam305]

there is two place i've seen them so far (the 3,4 and 5) you have http://www.thekitbag.com it's the autralian distributor and in canada it's http://www.camstickcanada.com and apparently they are on ebay (enything is). i bought mine on camstick (10% off for military) so i saved a lil.

 

[Matt_Fisher]

I used the US Modular Sleep System for 6 years in a variety of climates and temperature ranges from +47 in Iraq to -40 in Norway. 

I prefered it to the Canadian 2-bag down sleeping bag, primarily because if it got wet, it didn't lose its insulation value, it had a built-in hood, and the lightweight patrol bag was pretty light, and quite compact, and when used together, the snap system kept the bags from twisting inside one another, like I found to be an issue with the CF bags, even when tied together. 
The 'Patrol' outer bag was great for use in Virginia/North Carolina/California climate zones 3 seasons out of the year, whereas I think the Canadian inner and outer are about the same weight/bulk as one another.  The downsides to the bag were its bulk (I believe it uses an older generation of Polarguard, which isn't very compressible) and that over time (we're talking several years) the insulation broke down somewhat and didn't keep me as warm as when it was brand new.

If you can pick a brand new one up from ebay or somewhere else for cheap, then good on you.  Buying used is a bit dodgey though, as you can't be sure what condition it's in and how much life the insulation has got left in it.

FWIW, Extreme Outfitters has got the Recon line of sleeping bags, but having handled the bags and finding them comparable to the thickness of a standard US poncho liner, find that the -5 temperature rating is more than a bit 'ambitious', but comfort is very much a relative thing.  This is not to say that the bag isn't good, as it'd probably make an excellent alternative to a poncho liner for summer/jungle use, but I certainly wouldn't be using it at -5 and expecting to get any sleep, but rather would be waking up every 10 minutes, shivering and shaking uncontrollably.

If you've got a bit more money to spend, have a look at the Integral Designs bags (http://www.cpgear.com/default.asp?mn=1.19.56&f=bp&pcat=37&p=-1).  DHTC/CANSOFCOM have been using these for some time now and given that there's another tender on MERX out for them, don't appear to be too unhappy with their performance.

 

[NL_engineer]

.  This is not to say that the bag isn't good, as it'd probably make an excellent alternative to a poncho liner for summer/jungle use, but I certainly wouldn't be using it at -5 and expecting to get any sleep, but rather would be waking up every 10 minutes, shivering and shaking uncontrollably.

It would be better then just a poncho liner during a -5 night (don't ask), at least it would keep some heat in/wind out  :

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Poncho Liner = Ranger Blanket

;D

 

[Kempa_Westie]

Matt, i'll take what you said into consideration, however, these guys are claiming their bags will work to - temperatures. Most notably is the Recon 5, which apparently stays warm to about -20, and that's a pretty bold thing to say about a bag that's as thin as you say it is. If it didn't work to such temperatures, wouldn't there be a lot of dissatisfied customers skulking about the net with bad reviews? I haven't found a single bad review and wherever i go these bags are sold out. So, i'm thinking there might be something to these bags!!

Although, i agree, a thin bag like that,raises some questions I'm in a bit of a pickle here.

I'd rather spend under $200 for a bag, if possible. Those US modular ones are going for like $60 on ebay, but maybe they are just rip-offs?

 

[daftandbarmy]

How do the Snugpak bags stand up against the Integral Design models?

http://www.meanandgreen.com/army/Snugpak/Snugpak_Softie_6_Kestrel_Sleeping_Bag/1020/564.html?affid=20491

 

[Matt_Fisher]

Snugpak's aren't bad bags, but again, we found that their temperature ratings were somewhat exaggerated.  Also, with Snugpak, they've essentially got 2 product ranges in their 'Code Green' military sleeping bags; the 'Bird' series (i.e. Hawk, Kestrel, Osprey, etc) which are manufactured in the UK, and their 'Elite' series which are manufactured in China.  The main reason we dropped Snugpak was the pricing of their UK manufactured stuff vs. the Chinese and the import duties we were having to pay on both product ranges.  Given that Integral Designs, like us at Wheelers, is another Canadian manufacturer, we decided to support our brethren, rather than continue to 'buy Chinese'.

Regarding the US bags on ebay, ask the seller if they can show you a picture of the manufacturer tag.  On all the Modular Sleep System bags, the tags had the manufacturers name, i.e. Tennier Industries, and NSN.  Also, ask whether the bag is in new or used condition, and whether it was obtained through DRMO auction/sales.  If the bag has been purchased through DRMO, chances are it's damaged/used to the point where it isn't serviceable any longer and as such, has been liquidated from US government stocks.  The new bags come packaged in a clear plastic poly bag, and as such, the retailer has little reason to remove the bag from the plastic.  If the bag is in such  bag, chances are it's new.