Just had delivered today a new unissued 28 year old 58 Pattern Sleeping bag. Here are some of my initial impressions.



First impressions are that its huge, quite bulky and somewhat heavy compared to the very lightest down bags rated at the same temperature. It has a NSN stock number 8465-99-120-8198 and is manufactured by C.Q.C Ltd.

The specification is similar to the one described here at http://www.cqc.co.uk/militarysleepingbagcqc11.asp but is lighter at 2.3 Kg than the 2.7Kg specification on the manufacturers website (2.1 Kg in the first post was over optimistic) because it uses down/feathers mix instead of synthetic polyester filling now specified.

Considering the age of the bag, it seemed to loft back to a thick insulation layer after a shake out. It really shows just how durable down is and how well it keeps its insulation qualities with age.

The 58 Pattern bag is huge, much wider than conventional bags being at least 5-6 inches wider at the shoulder. It is a semi-rectangular shape rather than being a full mummy shape. Some of the ultalightweight bags can be a little restrictive in terms of comfort because of their shape and sizing. It also appears to be much more robust due to the outer fabrics used. The base of the bag uses a waterproof, impermeable polyurethane coated nylon with the top of the bag being manufactured using a simple Nylon taffeta.

I would have to say that the bag doesn't have the same luxurious silky softness feel to it in terms of the quality of the materials Snugpak uses for their softie range but it is perfectly acceptable. The quality of the down doesn't appear be top notch quality 700 or 800 fill down but would be around the 500-600 fill power in terms of loft i.e. entry level basic down/feather mix.

The base of the bag has a very generous fill of down/feathers. The bag has possibly been designed to be used without a pad (or at least with a lightweight NATO Sleep Mat http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shopscr3028.html ). This would of course reduce the temperature range the bag can be used.
A separate ground sheet wouldn't be required as the bag has already a waterproof base. The bag has the ability to be used in conjunction with a just a Basha or Poncho to keep the rain off. A bivvy would certainly also increase the bags weather protection, but this would have to be a MVP type considering the bags water impermeable base construction.

The bag comes equipped with toggles and loops at the top, middle and bottom of the bag. This helps to allow the bag to folded and therefore helps with packing the bag into its attached waterproof bag at the head. This alows reasonably quick packing. The 58 sleeping bag does not have compression straps and this makes the bag appear quite bulky once packed up. I would say it was about the same size of an equivalent 2 Kg synthetic bag when stuffed. A compression bag would probably reduce the size to about half its current size.

The 58 Pattern sleeping bag should make a good bag to store in the back of a vehicle for emergencies. Its certainly not the lightest or the most compact sleeping bag but then again there are still only a few synthetics which can match its performance in terms of bulk, temperature rating and weight. Oh its really cheap as well so I'm going to use some of that Nikwax Down proof on it as an experiment to see how well it holds up in damp and wet conditions.