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Atwise
05-29-2006, 08:58
I have 2 of these vacuum packed goose down sleeping bags that I bought several years ago at a yard sale for $10 a piece. I 've been told that they were part of the pilots survival kit. I've never opened them and I'm not sure what to expect if I do. Do any of you have any info on this? I would assume that the bag would weigh around 5 or 6 lbs.

attroll
05-29-2006, 09:29
I have 2 of these vacuum packed goose down sleeping bags that I bought several years ago at a yard sale for $10 a piece. I 've been told that they were part of the pilots survival kit. I've never opened them and I'm not sure what to expect if I do. Do any of you have any info on this? I would assume that the bag would weigh around 5 or 6 lbs.
How much does it weigh now? opening it up should not add anymore weight.

sliderule
05-29-2006, 09:58
Are they vacuum packed in clear plastic or are they in a flat fiberglass box with a bolt through the middle of the box?

Atwise
05-29-2006, 12:05
They are vacuum packed in a fiberglass 13 x 13 x1 inch box with a screw in the middle and a stainless steel pull ring. The casing is light weight so I would assume the bag weighs in the 5 lb. range. Thats alot of feathers.

attroll
05-29-2006, 12:30
They are vacuum packed in a fiberglass 13 x 13 x1 inch box with a screw in the middle and a stainless steel pull ring. The casing is light weight so I would assume the bag weighs in the 5 lb. range. Thats alot of feathers.
Chances are that it is not the feathers that take up the weight it is the fabric.

NICKTHEGREEK
05-29-2006, 12:37
The packaging flies in the face of common practice with down bags, never store them compressed. If that's true the bags should have about zero loft. I'm interested in hearing how that works out in this case.

attroll
05-29-2006, 12:57
The packaging flies in the face of common practice with down bags, never store them compressed. If that's true the bags should have about zero loft. I'm interested in hearing how that works out in this case.
I have been told the opposite. You should never leave fiber bags compressed. I have been told that goose down will always retain its loft. This is what I was told. I don't know how much truth there is to it though.

sliderule
05-29-2006, 13:04
They are vacuum packed in a fiberglass 13 x 13 x1 inch box with a screw in the middle and a stainless steel pull ring. The casing is light weight so I would assume the bag weighs in the 5 lb. range. Thats alot of feathers.
That bag is not intended for repeated use. It is filled with approx 2.5 lbs of down and feathers. It has no zipper. And the real bad news is that the bolt inthe center of the box actually penetrates the bag numerous times. So when you unpack the bag, it will have a dozen or more holes through the shell. The shell fabric is a poor quality nylon or maybe rayon. Olive drab on one side, reverses to white.
Bottom line is that the bag itself is pretty worthless for normal use.

sliderule
05-29-2006, 13:08
The packaging flies in the face of common practice with down bags, never store them compressed. If that's true the bags should have about zero loft. I'm interested in hearing how that works out in this case.
Survival bags are compressed for a reason. I have opened down bags that have been vacuum packed for 25 years. They loft up just fine. Down is a lot more resilient than conventional wisdom might suggest.

NICKTHEGREEK
05-30-2006, 19:53
Survival bags are compressed for a reason. I have opened down bags that have been vacuum packed for 25 years. They loft up just fine. Down is a lot more resilient than conventional wisdom might suggest.
Probably the same reason why we carried 12 man life rafts uninflated on the plane. They made sure to point out that it went out the hatch before you pulled the lanyard.