I've often questioned the compressed sleeping bag's ability. If you leave a bag compressed too long, you have a permanent loss of loft, and most military survival items are packed and left alone until they are taken out of inventory unless they have a due date on them (meds, rations, batteries, etc). Something that was vacuum packed and stuck on a shelf or in a pack in the belly of cargo bird or B-52 in the 70s just doesn't inspire my trust.

If you are going out in winter, get a proper sleeping bag, and pack it when you are going out. The rest of the time, leave it unpacked, uncompressed and some place where it can breath. It will cost more, might be a little bigger, but it WILL work as advertised.

Ironraven -- good point. I store mine loosely in big cotton laundry
bags.

t

SURVIVAL OR RESCUE?

You may carry enough survival gear and knowledge to survive until spring. If that is where you want to spend the winter, go for it.

If you "NEED" rescue due to the remoteness, you better address communication. What technology and equipment will you rely on?
A word search on these discussions brings up "CHEAP" a bunch of times. A word search on the technology that will get you out never gets a hit in these discussions.

In the latest rescue on Scott Mtn, Idaho the snowmobilers used the cheap word relative to rescue. They got lucky and made a cell phone call on their last day before death.

Their "CHEAP" trip -

1. Left two $8000 sleds on the mountain
2. Idaho spent thousands on the mobilization.
3. St. Als hospital is up to $150,000 and saving the leg is still in question.

I wonder if they will be billed forthe SAR mission, and future recovery of the sleds??? IMHO, they should be.

I have never owned one, but Wiggy's claims that their vacuum packed survival bags, which are compressed to the "size of first base," will still work when opened. Bring lots of money tho...

For an extra $175, I think I'll just buy a spare $100 bag, a $40 dollar dry bag, and some bungie cords. Store packed in the vehicle and compress as needed. :P

You do have a point there. $175 to vacuum bag anything seems a tad high. But if one got one of their bags and compressed it himself? Might work...