Accidentally ended up testing my countycomm sleeping bag (the cheap $40 one) in a cold weather situtation. To make a long story short - I was indoors, but in an unheated place. It was about 9 degrees outside, maybe 20 degrees inside and that's as warm as it was getting. I ended up in an overnight situtation despite all efforts to avoid it.
Fully clothed, in the bag and on a therm-a-rest pad, I slept warm and fine (except my face) - BUT - and this is a BIG BUT - there was no wind or moisture to contend with. I'd say that if this bag got even a little wet, it would be worse than useless.

I stay with my original asessment that for $40 this is a decent little bag. I can't swing the cost of a Wiggy's bag just yet, one day, maybe, I will.

Martin, Pick up a thin poly or silk balaclava for your face. Not every emergency takes place in a Walt Disney forest. The recent winter storms and customers stranded in the airline snafus make your $40 a good investment. Nobody should hesitate to get something decent because 'X' has been annoited the Holy Grail of kit. Id rather wake up alive in a blue tarp and clothesline shelter, smelly army blankets and a kitchen knife stuck in a big old dry italian salami than found frozen with all my dream catalogs crumpled as expedient insulation <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Are you sure youre not a professional writer? That not only makes a very good point about equipment and preparedness but it so darn funny the way you worded it as well! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Although some of those dream catalogs are pretty thick and might just make decent insulation. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Thank you for the idea of a dry salamini as a sheath. In the past I have always used a paper towel tube as a knife sheath. Smush it flat, slide the knife in and fold over the far end. A scrap of tape to keep the folded end closed is helpful but not required.

Chris, where do you find a dry Italian salami which you can actually pierce with a kitchen knife? I use a chain saw.