Bushwalk Australia

I spend more time bivvying because of over estimating my fitness and health than somebody as experienced as I am should.
So a while ago I started carrying a LW bag as well as my bivvy sack.
It's a great bag for an Op-Shop $8- but I have never been able to do up the zipper if I wear my usual winter spare layer, a Patagonia DAS in XL.
Yesterday I disassembled the bag to start the process of changing it into a centre zip arrangement and to make sure I got it right I got my beloved to measure me when wearing everything I would normally carry in my day pack and my big winter down parka too. Just to make sure I added enough fabric in the sides.
In my normal sleeping position she measured me at 1799mm girth, close enough to a full 72 inches or a full 150mm bigger around than the majority of Expedition sleeping bags on the market.
Very few sleeping bags are big enough for me to be comfortable in but my ski touring days are probable over now so rebuilding this old bag makes sense to me because our snow conditions make my down half bag less than optimum even tho it is warmer and lighter.
Pix of the disassembled bag in the next post
Some damage to the Lite-Loft insulation but fairly minor and probably caused by plastic ski boots. I'll be chasing some insulation soon if anybody has some scraps of APEX left over

This is the size of the panel I am adding
I was thinking about buying new UL insulation in the form of APEX 2.5 from RSBTR but I am going to use the Thinsulate I have. I know it's best used in clothing but this bag will live in the bottom of my ski touring bag and hopefully will never get used so the extra 200 grams isn't going to really make much difference and I'll simply sew a bigger stuff sack. Repaired the gaping holes in the Liteloft with a tiny scrap of APEX I found in the bin so I saved something going to landfill
Adding a layer of the Thinsulate using as little extra as possible and only where it really counts a short bit on the base foot section and 1500mm roll width on the top.
Cecile will sew this for me on her new quilting machine as both my sewing machines need a service

Cecile kindly offered me the loan of her old machine yesterday so i have almost completed the project.
It's a bugger being bigger than average sometimes when you have specific needs in gear and quite low funds.
Added enough room to allow me to wear the parka inside it and added some of the 40GSM Thinsulate to boost the warmth of the degraded bag

The last job will be to add the draw cord to tighten it up, I was going to put a zipper in but leaving it out saves 120 grams

Good news is that it stuffs into a sack that fits in the bottom of the pack just where it should, but it is a compression sack.

Nice job, MD.
Don't forget to smile for the camera!

Tortoise wrote:Nice job, MD.
Don't forget to smile for the camera!

I was smiling; you should see my normal face

Tortoise wrote:Nice job, MD.
Don't forget to smile for the camera!

Blame me. I took the pics!

Cecile wrote:

Tortoise wrote:Nice job, MD.
Don't forget to smile for the camera!

Blame me. I took the pics!

I figured you did, Cecile. But he's in charge of his face.

Moondog55 wrote:

Tortoise wrote:Nice job, MD.
Don't forget to smile for the camera!

I was smiling; you should see my normal face

Your shoulder room in a bag is revolutionary.

It's really a bit too big, I used smaller seam allowances than cut for.
The price was right tho and it really was a learning process.
After the half sack I think a double sized back country blanket for the car is the next project. Then maybe a summer quilt with footbox.
One thing I did find tho is the WonderClips are much better than pins for quilting.
https://www.rubyjam.net/products/pack-o ... a212&_ss=r

Yeah, wonder clips are excellent.

Nice job all up.
Wonder clips are great.