I have some travel plans for next year that will see me sleeping from a power nap in a IBA motel through to a mates place with very limited space to elcheapo back block county pubs where they change the sheets every month whether they need it or not.
Didn't wish to spend a fortune but wanted quality, quick to setup and pack up, and reasonable weather protection. I have a swag (actually I have 3, but that's another story) and they wouldn't be suitable for my plans for a few reasons.
So here is my solution:
The Modular Sleep System (MSS) is a modular sleeping bag used by the United States armed forces.
The MSS consists of a camouflaged
but waterproof, breathable Gore-Tex bivy cover, a lightweight patrol sleeping bag, and an intermediate cold weather sleeping bag. Compression sacks are included to store and carry the system. The MSS is available in colors compatible with the universal camouflage pattern. The patrol bag provides cold weather protection from 1 to 10 degrees Celsius. The intermediate bag provides cold weather protection from minus -15 to 1 degree Celsius.....Together, the patrol bag and intermediate bags provide extreme cold weather protection in temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Celsius
The bivy cover can be used with each of three MSS configurations (patrol, intermediate, or combined) to be comparable with the environment in which the system is being used; the bivy cover provides environmental protection from wind and water. Sleeping bags are made of ripstop nylon fabrics and continuous filament polyester insulation; camouflage bivy cover is made with waterproof, breathable, coated or laminated nylon fabric called Gore-Tex; the compression sacks are made with water-resistant, durable nylon fabric. The sleeping bags are both boot friendly and designed for a very quick exit should the need arise.....I won't be sleeping with my AR-15 most nights
Safe to say the Patrol bag and the Intermediate will never be used together in this country on my Motorcycle adventures but at the price I paid, I purchased the entire system
I have a Therarest Pro lite plus 183x51x3.8 self inflating mattress that I have placed inside the Gortex Bivvy bag......the system rolls from the bottom and the self inflating valve is easily located at the top of the bag.
With the Gortex Bivvy, Thermarest, Patrol bag and self inflating pillow I have the entire system rolled up to 55cm wide and 18cm thick, the Intermediate bag if used alone turns this into a 22cm thick roll and stored in a 50 ltr waterproof Caribee expedition gear bag with a little room to spare in just 1 minute.
Only had the one night under the stars for about 3 hours and happy with the purchase so far.....
Paid $166 delivered for the 4 piece MSS from a disposals outlet in the US......new cost of the MSS is over $550USD. Mine was delivered with no marks ANYWHERE and both the sleeping bags were new