Austrian stalker's sleeping bag, surplus

Have you always wanted a thermal cloak but been scared off by the price? Military surplus can help you with that. This is an excellent choice for e.g. deer hunting or nature photography when it is Finland cold. Also works as a sleeping bag or when you want to cheat in burlap sack racing. The storage bag isn’t included. So cheap that it hurts.

Materials and care

The outer fabric is 100% polyamide, the lining 80% viscose and 20% polyamide. The insulation is 100% polyester (two kinds). The supplier seems to have washed these. If you feel compelled to perform some sort of a purification rite, wash at 40 degrees Celsius (104 F). However, you shouldn’t wash these unless you really have to because it can decrease their magical ability to repel cold. If you ooze filth and insist on sleeping nekkid, use a sleeping bag liner.

Use

In addition to the regular zipper, these have zippered openings for arms and feet. The ideal use for this poor man’s Jerven is cold weather hunting. Pull this on top of your regular hunting clothes and you can sit still and wait for game no matter how cold it is. You should practice it in advance though so that you can make sure the zippers don't interfere with shooting. If you want to improve usability, sew some sort of loops on the sides so that you can attach the bottom straps to them. This way you can move from one spot to another without tripping on the hem.

These are also suitable for wintery nature photographers or pretty much anything where you need to sit still for extended periods of time in very cold weather. You can of course also use this as a regular sleeping bag, just remember it isn’t a Finnish winter sleeping bag, so better used as a three-season bag.

If you want to protect the inside of the sleeping bag, use a sleeping bag liner. For example, the Austrian one but also others work.

Size information

The sleeping bag is c. 200 cm (6’7") long and the shoulder width is about 72 cm (28.3"). The weight is c. 2 kg (4.4 lbs). If you use it for hunting and your arms and feet are outside, it fits both smaller and fairly large folks. We tested it on a 183 cm (6’) man whose chest is 116 cm (45.7") and who weighs close to 100 kg (220 lbs). He could still turn, aim, and shoot without a problem.

As a regular sleeping bag, we recommend this for smaller and mid-sized people. The afore-mentioned test monkey did fit fully inside the bag but felt a bit confined. If you want your sleeping bag to hug you like a Turkish sailor, then this is pretty nice for a bigger person, too.

Condition

Austrian military surplus. Used but washed and in serviceable condition. These can be patched up, so they aren’t as good as new but very nice for their price.