Surplus m-1949 sleeping bag. What do I do with it?

[Dennis rosloniec]

So I've acquired one of these, because the price was right, actually through a friend – "there's a down sleeping bag for $6!" so of course I bought it. To my dismay, it ended up being one of these:

http://stores.alleghenywholesale.com/-strse-351/US-Military-Mummy-M-dsh-1949/Detail.bok

first thought: well, I can keep it in my car in the winter…

Of course the DIYer in me piped up: Get at the sweet, downy insides and stuff them inside of something else! Underquilt for the hammock! buy a cheap synthetic bag and fill it with down!

So what would an enterprising backpacker do with one of these monstrosities?

[drowning in spam]

If it's like mine, it has lots of feathers in it. I wouldn't bother with myog on mine. I mostly use it for adding extra insulation for my cooler on roadtrips.

[Alex H]

Eugene is right, a lot of feathers, had one years ago. I would just keep it around for car camping type uses.

[Tim Zen]

I have an M1950 stove and a pair of WWII binoculars if you want some more valuable gear.

[John Whynot]

Build a collection of vintage military field equipment around it…

[William Zila]

i have one i lend it out to scouts in my troop
for trips maybe donate it to a local troop

[Paul Magnanti]

I had a well meaning, former military, boss give me one for free before I left for the PCT. I just thanked him politely. Mom gave me too many backhands for being ungrateful growing up. ;)

As with others, I just used it as an emergency/road trip bag stashed in my truck. Worked well for late night trail head truck bivies before starting a backpacking trip. (Hate to unpack my gear late at night just to pack it again in the morning!)

I ended up donating it to Goodwill after a gear purge, though. I also (finally!) got rid of my first 'real' backpacking sleeping bag: a Campmor 20F Holofill mummy bag. (egads!)

An older EMS -20F bag is now an emergency bag/road trip bag….

Personally, I like the idea of using the equipment for historical tributes. :)

FYI, a coolweb site if you want to see the history of military equipment:
http://www.olive-drab.com/od_soldiers_gear_sleeping_bag.php

[Greg Wheelwright]

This thread makes me feel really old since I used one of those during the winter while in the service. We preferred them to the newer models with synthetic fill because the m-1949 packed smaller and could be stuffed into a large ALICE pack.

[M B]

got one too, bought around 1982. still fluffs good, still warm enough to at least 30 degrees. Just HEAVY. Fabric is kind of ..rotten. Tears easily.

[Dale Wambaugh]

+1 on the car/winter emergency option.

Got a dog?

Goodwill?

Garage sale?

[Justin Baker]

7-8 pounds….jeez.
Now you know why everybody used to carry axes in woods during the good old days…

[Dennis rosloniec]

Well thanks for all the ideas, I've resigned myself to keeping it in the trunk. Paul's idea of using it for trailheads makes me regret the $6 I paid for it much less, I agree that unpacking everything (my sleeping bag always sits at the bottom of my pack) is a huge pain. I might even use the idea this weekend, depending on how the weather looks, I definitely wouldn't want to use it unless it's dry. It really is just a heavy bag of feathers!

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