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?

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.

Edited by leaftye on 09/16/2011 13:32:56 MDT.

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

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

Build a collection of vintage military field equipment around it...

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

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. ;) Get some baggy wool pants, an old wool sweater and some wooden skis. Go for the 10th Mtn Division tribute! :)

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

Edited by PaulMags on 09/18/2011 11:19:45 MDT.

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.

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.

+1 on the car/winter emergency option.

Got a dog?

Goodwill?

Garage sale?

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

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!