Czech Winter Sleeping Bag, Surplus

Too often surplus sleeping bags are poorly insulated, heavy, and smell like someone died in there. Makes you wonder what would lead to such events but I digress. However, these Czech sleeping bags are a completely different story: actually a viable alternative to a new bag. How so? Let's find out!

• Good general purpose sleeping bag for 3 seasons
• Sized for small to medium persons
• Thermal collar at the shoulders
• These come with a compression bag but some of these might have a broken/repaired buckle

An oversized bag increases heat losses and the volume of air your body has to warm up. This bag is comfortable for a regular-height and medium-sized person (about 183 cm / 6' tall with a 102 cm / 40" chest) who doesn't toss around too much. The mfg. label says up to 195 cm but we disagree.

Modern features with a couple of tricks

The archetypal 3-season sleeping bag has been virtually unchanged for 3-4 decades and this sleeping bag doesn't differ too much from the norm. The slanted zipper, small personal effects pocket, and hanging loops in the bottom are features you don't see every day.

The slanted non-locking YKK zipper is a well-thought-out feature that allows you to grab the puller with the opposite hand, open it across the top, and finish at the arm's side for maximum reach in one motion.

The bottom and sides are made from a more beefy material compared to the top for durability where it matters most.

Ordinary features include an insulating thermal collar at the shoulders, a tightening drawcord for heat retention or ventilation, and a shaped toe box.

This bag can be layered inside the Czech summer bag to extend the temperature range.

Specifications

The table indicates our fair estimate of suitable temperature ranges. The labels are for lower temperature ratings, which we are very suspicious about. It's possible they refer to the combination of this bag and the summer model but this is not verified.

The bag can be machine-washed with a delicate cycle.

Czech army surplus

These are used but perfectly serviceable: not heavy and stinky like surplus bags often are, but more like something you might buy used from a boy scout. There are some signs of use so you might want to wash these before using, but it's not mandatory. The occasional buckle on a compression sack may be busted or repaired.

Whether you wash the bag or not, we recommend using a sleeping bag liner to extend the service life of your sleeping bag.