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This edition of my Bug Out Bag Essentials Series will be a focus on compact calories. One of the most important aspects of any Bug Out Bag (BOB), Get Home Bag (GHB) or whatever you want to call your survival kit. In every kit, you have a very limited amount of space in which to get all of your necessary supplies in. This edition, Compact Calories, will hopefully give you a few ideas as to how to fit enough life sustaining calories into your survival gear to survive when the zombies attack.

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Meals Ready to Eat are the military’s version of combat food. These meals are relatively inexpensive, very calorie dense and have a shelf life that will outlive you according to some sources.

The MRE’s components look like the picture below:

And contain:

The military makes a few changes to the menus every year so you will find a different menu listing for each year. In general, though, each MRE contains the following:
• Entree - the main course, such as Spaghetti or Beef Stew
• Side dish - rice, corn, fruit, or mashed potatoes, etc.
• Cracker or Bread
• Spread - peanut butter, jelly, or cheese spread
• Dessert - cookies or pound cakes
• Candy - M&Ms, Skittles, or Tootsie Rolls
• Beverages - Gatorade-like drink mixes, cocoa, dairy shakes, coffee, tea
• Hot sauce or seasoning - in some MREs
• Flameless Ration Heater - to heat up the entree
• Accessories - spoon, matches, creamer, sugar, salt, chewing gum, toilet paper, etc.
Each MRE provides an average of 1,250 calories (13% protein, 36% fat, and 51% carbohydrates) and 1/3 of the Military Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins and minerals. A full day’s worth of meals would consist of three MREs.

As you can see, MRE’s are an excellent option for any survivalist. That being said, they’re laden with lots of wasted space. Read below to figure out how to make this calorie rich food more compact.

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The below post was written by MisterFluffy and originally posted on the Zombie Squad Forums. This is an excellent example of how to reduce wasted space that comes from traditional packaging that conventional survival foods typically have. MisterFluffy wrote the below information, I’m simply the editor.

After reading through the Bugout gear posts, I’ve noticed that like me, a lot of you carry MREs. But I’ve noticed that an awful lot of people will just toss in a few of the big brown plastic packs and call it good.

Well, I don’t mean to talk down on anyone, but doing it that way is a waste of space (bulky), weight (trash), and time (opening up all the friggin’ layers of packaging). Not to mention it leaves an awful lot of trash to deal with, no good if you’re trying not to leave a trace. Why pack around or have to dispose of extra trash?

I thought that, since I was field stripping some fresh MREs today to replace the ones eaten on my last bugout exercise, I would take a few pictures to illustrate my point, as well as give some folks who’ve never seen inside an MRE an idea of what delicious wonders they hold.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Do not field-strip your MREs for long term storage. I neglected to mention this the first time through and forgot to realize that most people may not have received the same boring lecture and crappy handouts. The average shelf-life of a current generation MRE is 3-5 years when in its original packaging. When field stripped the shelf life decreases by approximately 50%. So DO NOT just let them sit around forever like this!

Here we have three MREs in their from-the-factory glory. I wish I’d taken a picture of them on their sides, as the Chicken and Salsa is a particularly bulky one.

This is the aforementioned Chicken and Salsa out of the brown plastic outer bag as well as the inner semi-shrinkwrap bag. Notice the brown boxes? Yeah, those have gotta go. Ditto the extra plastic all over everything. Also, since when were Reese’s Pieces ever included!? Freakin sweet, I hate M&Ms.

Note: If you need to know the ingredients of your food, now is a good time to write them down. The only place they’re listed is on the brown cardboard, so if food allergies for you or a partner are an issue, make note now.

Here are the rest of the MREs (three total) taken out of the two sets of outer wrapping and brown cardboard sleeves. The drink mixes, crap pouches (Tabasco, TP, salt, etc) and spoons have been separated at the bottom. The top row is all of the food items, to include BBQ sauce. Calories are calories.

This is what’s left of all the crap in the bottom row of the last picture. I took two spoons, the toilet paper, a couple matchbooks, a Tabasco, and the salt. Threw out everything else (the drink mixes are crap, ditto everything else). Threw out the water-activated MRE heaters, too. They taste the same hot or cold, and the water necessary to heat your meal would be better used to stay hydrated. Then I put the “keepers” into one of the drink mixing pouches.

Note: Never, ever try to actually mix the drink powders in that stupid bag. You will not be able to drink without spilling it, it will probably leak while you’re shaking it, and you will look like a dumbass during the whole process. They’re useful as little plastic baggies, otherwise.

This is the final pile - just about everything edible. The best part of doing this is that you can easily separate out the types of food. If you’re the type that likes an LBV, throwing the candy and crackers/cheese/jelly into your vest, or even an easy outside pouch on your pack, makes a decent way to access a quick bite without digging out the whole pack. And it makes things a hell of a lot easier to deal with in the dark. The various pouches and types of food have very, very distinctive feels to them.

And now, the money shot. On the left is the entire useful contents of three MREs, packed into ONE outer bag, just for reference on the space savings we’re talking here. And on the right is all of the crap you don’t have to deal with anymore:

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Here are some more food options that I’ve written about in the past that are great ways to get compact calories in your survival systems.

Mainstay Emergency Rations

Mainstay rations are what I consider to be one of the ‘perfect’ bug out foods. These rations are impervious to heat and cold, have a 5 year shelf life and don’t make you thirsty while eating them. Each bar, which is roughly the size of a standard paperback book, contains 3600 calories which is enough to sustain an adult at a moderate level of activity for 3 days.

Mainstay’s Website Writes:
• 5 year Shelf Life
• Non-Thirst Provoking
• Withstands Temperatures of -40°F to 300°F (-40°C to 149°C)
• Ready to Eat: Each package contains 9 pre-measured 400 calorie meals.
• Individualized Portions eliminate the messy breaking-up that occurs with other bars.
• Allows for on-land emergency consumption in a high-stress active situation.
• Contains no cholesterol or tropical oils.
• Meets the US Coast Guard standards (160.046/23/0). It’s new modern packaging even meets the stringent guidelines set by the Department of Defense (SOLAS 74/83).
• Enriched with vitamins and minerals exceeding the RDA requirements.
• Pleasant lemon flavor which appeals to old and young alike.

I personally carry 4 mainstay bricks in my main bug out bag and tend to stash one or two away in every Bug Out Bag/Get Home Bag/Truck Bag I own.
An excellent review on the Mainstay Rations of JRod
Discussion of Mainstay vs Mayday Ration Bars
Iridellamas’s BOB containing mainstay rations

WHERE TO BUY

SURVIVAL UNLIMITED
EBAY
AMAZON
BRIGADE QUARTERMASTERS
SURVIVOR INDUSTRIES

Datrex Emergency Food Rations

Some individuals don’t like the lemony flavor of the Mainstay rations and would prefer something more palatable. For them, a good option might be the Datrex Emergency Food Ration.

Datrex Food Ration Bar Specs:

* Provides 3600 Calories (18 - 200 calories per bar)
* High Energy Value
* Made to be Non-Thirst provoking
* Pleasant cookie taste
* Small and lightweight
* Non affected by high heat or freezing cold (think,
car trunk emergency kit or cruise ship lifeboat in Alaska)
* All natural ingredients
* Vacuume sealed packaging locks in flavor
* Tabletized bars make for
easier rationing and dispersing
* No cooking or heating needed
Eat straight from the package
* Minimum 5 year shelf-life
* U.S. Coast Guard Approved
* Canadian Coat Guard Approved
* EC World Coast Guard Lifeboat Approved

Nutritional Information: Each bar contains 200 calories, 3gm of protein, 21gm of carbohydrate, and .75mg of sodium. Total fat is 10gm, saturated fat is 2gm, mono-unsaturated fat is 7gm, and poly-unsaturated fat is 1gm. Cholesterol is .378mg. Additionally, each bar contains Vitamin A and C, plus Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin. [/quote]

Red Cross/Home Depot Pre-Made BOB featuring Datrex rations

General Food Bar Discussion

WHERE TO BUY

Nitro-pak.com
CampingSurvival.com
Preptek.com
Google Product Search

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Here are a few other calorie dense foods that pack up small in your BOB.

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This edition the BOB Essentials Series was just a brief glimpse into how to properly prepare your BOB’s food supplies. For a more in depth view of BOB foods, feel free to visit the Zombie Squad Forum’s Bug Out Bag section by Clicking This Link Thanks for reading.

Welcome to another great Zombie Squad Equipment Review. This one was submitted by AlphaMMA for his debut article. I am simply the editor of the article, so be sure to direct all credit, kudos or death threats to AlphaMMA. I’m also editing this one personally as I carry the knife under review and think it’s a fantastic survival knife (see picture below).

On with the review:

Gerber LMFII ASEK Survival Knife: Great BOB knife for a chump change price.

Manufacturer’s Link

Instructions:

I like documentation. Out of the box it came with [i]two[/i] sets of instructions, but perhaps LAPoliceGear just slipped in two sets for me. The instructions came in the form of a 8×5″ piece of paper printed in Black and White. Scan up in the morning. Gerber’s instructions claim that it is a “HIGHLY ADAPTABLE 10″ SURVIVAL KNIFE”. I agree. The instructions give detailed step by step, AMERICAN ENGLISH (sorry you limey ZS Brits) directions on how to attach to PALS webbing, the calf strap, or Belt/Thigh attachment. Check the images below for the mounting options. It also provides 4 cool images on how to smash Plexiglass, use as a hammer, convert to a spear, and use the integrated sharpener on the sheath. Scans of both sides are below

Sheath

This sheath is almost worth the $70 alone. It comes in two parts: the Kydex sheath that houses the knife, and a ballistic nylon backing to attach it using the methods described in the previous section.

The sheath has two small Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) straps with snap buttons. The snap buttons on this sheath, despite being made by commie Vietnamese, seem very strong. All of the stitching on the “ballistic nylon” (which I believe is 1000 Denier) is redundantly supported by two or three rows of threads. The two MOLLE straps are, if you haven’t figured out already, used to affix the sheath to the Pouch Attachment Ladder System (PALS) webbing.

It also comes with two thick, nylon straps for attachment to the calf. They have strong buckles (I heard from someone that they were Fastex, but I can not verify). The straps are impregnated with elastic in order to better grip your pants, although you’re going to need to tighten it just perfectly if you don’t want it to move around while sheathing/unsheathing your knife.

The MOLLE attachment strap also made it easy for me to affix the sheath to the shoulder strap of my back (Camelbak BFM). There is a little bit of movement, but I attribute this to my pack. I’m going to have to sew down the strap on my backpack so it can’t move. In the meantime I held it down with a safety pin.

One of the plethora of sweet features on this sheath is the fact that it is ambidextrous; you can position the sharp edge of the blade to your left or right. Good news for you leftys. Good news if you want to mount it upside-down, as well.

Another considerate feature is the built-in sharpener. To use this, you need to remove the sheath from the 1000 Denier backing. Simply stick the (non-serrated portion) of the blade into the hole in the Kydex sheath, and draw consistently through the hole. It came razor sharp out of the box (I cut myself shaving hairs off my arm). Just the way I like it.

The nylon backing for the sheath has two straps with snap-buttons that secure the hilt of the blade, although this is just another example of redundancy in this tool.

There is a strong plastic spring clip that clips onto the Guard. It holds the blade so tight that some weeny on Youtube actually complained that he got a boo boo from the clip when he bought it at the mall. Despite this guy’s classification of this feature as a con, all you have to do to remove the blade from its sheath is grasp it by the hilt, and push with your thumb, as you pull with your index finger. Your thumb should be on the clip, and it comes right out. Make no mistake, this blade will stay in its sheath until you want it to come out. Very well designed. +1

The Business End

This 10″ Drop-point blade is made of 12C27 Stainless Steel (which I believe is a specialty of Finland); this knife is sharp. As mentioned, I was able to shave a small patch of arm hair quite easily out of the box. That is, after I wiped the cosmoline off with an isopropanol soaked cotton ball. There was a bit of oil inside the sheath too, because after I cleaned it off, sheathed, then unsheathed it, there was a bit more on the tip. We’ll see how long it holds an edge with use, although I plan on keeping this on the hiking backpack.

The first 2.75″ of the blade is unserrated. The next 1.875″ is. The serrations slice through paracord like it was melting butter. I held a piece of 8.5×11″ paper taught and pulled the unserrated portion of the blade across it. There was not a single tear. It sliced through it, again, like a hot knife through melted buttery goodness (which makes me think of lobster…mmmm)

This blade is NOT full tang. It is separated from the butt end (which I’ll get to in a minute) by a Glass-filled nylon with TPV overmolded hilt. It has tiny circles on it, and gives a good grip even when wet (or bloody). The idea behind not being a full tang is that it is electrically insulated. If you click on the LA Police Gear.com link at the top of this review, there is a story by some sniper in Iraq who cut a hot power cord with one. It arced and wielded a piece of the blade, but the soldier is still alive serving his country. The hilt is quite soft and easy to scratch. I’m betting that after a few months of use its going to be missing some chunks- but I think the strong grip characteristics far outweigh this.

Now to my favorite part of the knife: the butt end. It has a plexi-glass punch, although I’m willing to bet that it will punch through all sorts of glass. Perhaps if I find some spare plexiglass in the garage I’ll put it to the test. But for now, you can view this video, again on Youtube.

The hilt has two holes, and the plexi-punch has a hole for lashing to a spear. I tied it up to one of my hiking poles. The holes are quite a convenience; perfectly shaped for paracord and they are positioned perfectly. It is pretty front-heavy, so I’m assuming it would be good for defense. I wouldn’t want to throw this knife in a survival situation. Not a chance that I’d want to be separated from this tool if TSHTF.

I have enormous hands ( size XL gloves ) and it fits just perfectly in my hand. If I put my thumb on the ridges on the guard, the meat of my palm hits part of the plexi-punch, but it’s against one of the tapered sides– not the point. It wouldn’t be a problem during intricate cutting operations.

Blade is 3/16″ thick, or about 5mm. I’d feel safe prying with it, although I’d personally hold it by the blade during prying, since its not a full tang.

The center of gravity is at about 4″; about 1.5″ below the guard. I don’t know much about throwing knives, but I bet you could learn how to do it with this blade with some practice.

Instruction page 1:

Instruction page 2:

The drop-point blade:

The Kydex Fire-Retardant Sheath:

Unsecured:

Secured:

The glass/zombie skull obliterating plex-punch

Showing the built-in sharpener. There’s a Phillips head screw to remove and clean the angled stones inside:

The Kydex sheath has holes for lashing, and 3/4″ slats for strapping:

Mounting options:

From pistol belt (no thigh strap)

Pistol belt with thigh strap (much more secure on the draw)

From shoulder strap:

On PALS webbing:

On calf:

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If you liked this article, feel free to contribute to the Zombie Squad Forum thread on this knife by Clicking Here. Thanks for reading.

Hey Everyone:

This article was originally written by Zombie Squad forum member Jeffery. I’m just the editor, so be sure to direct all comments, praise or death threats his way. This article and the information contained are both simple and easy to follow and constitute a vital resource for protecting your valuable data.

On with the article:

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Use TrueCrypt to encrypt the data on your USB storage device.

This guide will cover the steps taken to create a secure, encrypted container on your removable, USB storage device. The process here is tailored to the Microsoft Windows operating system. This software is available for Linux and Mac OSX. If you are using either of those you will need to refer to the documentation contained on the TrueCrypt homepage. However, many of the the processes here will still apply. Enjoy!

TrueCrypt’s Website Link

1. Download TrueCrypt for your platform of choice.

TrueCrypt’s Download Center

2. Double click the installation file to begin setup

The first screen will be a license agreement you must accept to continue. Read it if you like, I didn’t. This program is 100% free and contains no adware or spyware. After agreeing to the license, it will ask you to install or extract. You will probably want to do both, more on this later but for now, choose Install and click Next.

The default installation path is C:\Program Files\TrueCrypt which can be changed to your liking. I used the default path.

On this screen there are some more options:
Install for all users - This will place shortcuts on the start menu for all users on your system.
Add TrueCrypt to the Start menu - This is up to you but realize it will nullify the previous option if not checked.
Add TrueCrypt icon to desktop - I did this and immediately moved the shortcut to my QuickLaunch, YMMV.
Associate the .tc file extension with TrueCrypt - I recommend this option. It makes it easier to open your encrypted volumes by simply double-clicking.
Create System Restore point - Certainly Windows specific, and I do not use it. TC is not going to break your system.

Determine your appropriate options and click the Install button.

3. Complete Setup

Once installation is complete, you may be prompted to read the tutorial. This is advised although my thread here should get you up and running for the purposes of a secure portion of a USB stick.

Click Finish on the Installation log screen.

4. Run TrueCrypt and create a new volume.

Double-click the desktop icon or click the shortcut on your start menu to run TrueCrypt. It will present a screen with a bunch of free drive letters and many options. Insert your removable drive into a USB slot. Next, click the button labeled Create Volume.

You will now see the TrueCrypt Volume Creation Wizard. You can use this to create an encrypted container for your sensitive data. The first option is what we will use however note the other choices and their descriptions. This program is way more robust than our needs require it to be and you may find it useful for other tasks.

With the first option selected, click Next. The following dialog will let you choose from a standard or hidden volume. A hidden volume may be warranted if someone is holding a gun to your head asking for a password. This is unlikely, considering we are simply securing things like scanned copies of driver license and birth certificates. Choose the standard volume option and press Next.

You will need to specify the location to place your secure container. This will look like a file with the .tc extension. My USB stick shows up as G: in Windows Explorer. You will need to check how yours is referenced. Next you need to decide on a file name. Personally I did two things here. First I created a new folder on my USB stick named Crypt. Then I used this dialog to specify a file name for my encrypted container based on what is inside. You may have more stuff than just personal documents such as field manuals, first aid guides, etc. Long story short, create a folder for your encrypted containers and pick an appropriate file name. Click Next

The following dialog will allow you to choose your desired encryption and hash algorithms. I could write a book about the possibilities but for simplicity and good security, choose AES and SHA-512 then click Next.

You will then need to specify the size for your container. Realize that this is a fixed size. The container will not grow or shrink based on what is inside. A few images may only take a few megabytes. In the interest of scalability, I would go with a few hundred for each container you make. This will obviously depend on the total amount of space available on your USB stick. Enter your desired size and click Next

5. Set a password for your volume and shake your mouse a lot.

Next, create a password that will protect your volume. This needs to be STRONG. It should consist of a mixture of numbers, symbols, lower and uppercase letters. It should be at a minimum, 12 characters long. TrueCrypt will recommend at least 20 characters. Remember, the space bar counts as a symbol so you can use an entire sentence if you like. Again, volumes can be written about password strength and if you need guidance, check Google or Wikipedia. Oh and, don’t write it down or share it, this would defeat the whole process we are undertaking. Don’t worry about the keyfiles option. Choose a good password, verify it, then smash the Next button.

The following dialog is the most fun part. You get to randomly shake your mouse around thus increasing the cryptographic strength of your volume. Don’t sit there all night but do move the mouse randomly for a minute or so. You can select the format and cluster size although the default settings will do just fine. When finished, depress the button labeled Format. Depending on the speed of your computer, this step may take a few moments to complete. Click Exit on the following dialog.

6. Mount your TrueCrypt volume and fill it with porn, I mean, important information.

If you look at your USB stick in Windows Explorer, you will find your newly created, encrypted volume.

Double-click this file. When the TrueCrypt screen pops up, choose a free drive letter from the list (I picked Z) and click Mount. You will be prompted for your password. Enter it and click OK

Your encrypted volume is now mounted as a new drive in Windows and ready to have information added to it. Treat it just like any drive. The stuff you copy to it will be contained and secured inside the .tc file in the location you have specified on your USB stick. When you’re finished accessing the container, click Dismount

7. Daily usage.

Step six is the basic outline for how to use this volume when you need to read or modify the files within. In short, insert your USB stick, browse to the .tc file of your choice, double-click to open in TrueCrypt and mount the file as a drive letter. Dismount when finished.

Appendix A

Otay, otay, at this point you should be able to secure your data but you may still be wondering about the install versus extract thing from step one. The installation file you downloaded will allow you to install TrueCrypt on the computer. This is what we did so far. The other option will allow you to run TrueCrypt from your memory stick directly.

First, double click the setup file as previously described. Agree to the license terms and then select the Extract option instead of Install. It will then ask where to extract and you will want to type in or browse to your memory stick. To keep things clean, specify a new folder name and click Extract. This will install a standalone version of TrueCrypt onto your USB stick and prevent you from needing to install it on the PC you are using.

You will need to run TrueCrypt from the memory stick first and then double click your .tc file as usual.

In summary, putting scans of your personal stuff on a portable device is a great way to keep it with you at all times. Of course, if you lose it your information could be compromised. Employing strong encryption will ensure your data will not be read by unauthorized persons. Realize that TrueCrypt is not the only software tool for achieving this goal but after trying many, it is my choice.

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If you liked this article, feel free to comment/contribute on the Zombie Squad Forums by Clicking Here. Thanks for reading.

For this session of my IFAK Essentials Series, I’d like to touch on the Asherman Chest Seal (ACS). Every serious trauma bag should include an ACS, and IMO, every bug out First Aid Kit (FAK) should include at least one instance of the same. The Asherman Chest Seal is a mainstay of the US Armed Forces and after reading this article, you’ll understand why having one or two is vital to your survival FAK.

In the event of an end of the world scenario, the likelihood of suffering a Gun Shot Wound (GSW) or other serious chest trauma is magnified. By adding a $10 Asherman Chest Seal to your FAK, you significantly improve your patient’s odds of survival in the event of a sucking chest wound or deflated lung.

WHY YOU NEED AN ACS:

Open chest trauma often results in a Tension Pneumothorax (collapsed lung). This is due to the introduction of air into the Pleural Cavity which, after only a few breaths, deflates the lung rendering it useless. With only one functional lung, your patient is now in serious trouble as his body fights for a lack of oxygen.

^Xray of a left side Tension Pneumothorax.

^Cross section of a left side tension pneumothorax.

^Illustration highlighting (in blue) the Pleural cavity.

^Illustration highlighting (note the very edge of the lungs) pleural cavity.

The ACS fixes this condition by allowing only blood and air to escape through the flutter valve shown below. With each breath, the patient will force air from the Pleural cavity and in doing so, will re-inflate his lung on his own, allowing more oxygen into his blood system.

Collapsed lungs can also place undue pressure upon the heart and circulatory system thusly putting your patient in further danger.

HOW TO USE THE ACS:

Simply open the package, use the provided 4×4 of Kerlix (see images below for detailed pictures) to cleanse the wound site as much as possible, expose the adhesive on the ACS and place the ACS directly over the wound site.

^The problem.

^The solution. (Shown here is a properly placed ACS which has resulted in expulsion of air from the Pleural cavity allowing the lung to re-inflate)

DETAIL PHOTOS OF THE ACS

ACS removed from one of my medical kits.

Back of the package which is made of a rather sturdy transparent plastic. Some medics have reported using this plastic on occasion to secure another chest bandage, though I haven’t been able to find any evidence of same.

Package opens from a fold/over corner.

Back of the ACS out of the packaging.

The back of the valve is covered with a small 4×4 of Kerlix type gauze which should be removed and used to wipe away any excess blood from the adhesion site in order to help the ACS stick to the patient properly.

Top of the ACS showing the flutter valve which is essentially a large set of rubber lips (no jokes).

To expose the adhesive side of the ACS simply flip it over and grasp the small circular pull tab. The wax backing will peal off entirely and should be discarded.

Wax backing and exposed adhesive.

Closeup of exposed adhesive with patient end of the flutter valve.

Top of the ACS after exposing the adhesive.

ACS’s AS CARRIED BY ZOMBIE SQUAD MEMBERS

zXzGrifterxZx’s Trauma Bag

NFA’s Trauma Bag

SARFool’s Medical Roll

Gunny’s Stretcher Bag

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES:

Army Study Guide

Thoracic Medical Journal Publishing

ICVTS Review of the ACS as used in clinical trials

EXCELLENT US Army PDF on pneumothorax injuries. Must read for any medic

WHERE TO BUY

Expect to pay between $11-$15 for each unit.

SUPPLY CAPTAIN
GOLDEN HOUR MED
PACIFIC RESCUE
GALLS
EBAY

Thanks for the read everyone. As always, if you’d like to comment on this article, please feel free to visit us on Zombie Squad’s First Aid Forum.

DISCLAIMER: I did not write this article, I merely re-formatted it in WordPress for this article’s original author Dak Kovar. All credit goes to him, I’m just the formatting lackey. Enjoy!

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As some of us have discovered there is no real good way to attach a sleeping bag to most of our smaller packs, especially the something as large as the Army’s Modular Sleep System (MSS) bags. The first set of photos show my small ruck and my MSS/shelter roll. The second set of photos is of a light weight bag and a Gor-Tex bivy.

I am using surplus US Army Sleeping Bag Carrier and a USGI general purpose carry strap (I’ll call it a sling for this article) as used on field phones, 2 qt canteens and field aid bags. These two items are very inexpensive and easy to get if you know where to look, more on that later.

OK, what’s in the big first bag?
The MSS by itself, using the compression sack, packs down fairly tight. It grows in size as you add stuff. In this example I have elected to carry some items instead of putting them in my pack. This saves room in the pack for other things. This combination weighs about 16lbs total.

The MSS bag has in it:
MSS sleeping bag-complete
Air mattress
GI Poncho
Ground Cloth
100’550 Chord
Water shoes
Mosquito Net for my head
Beanie Cap
The next three photos are of the whole unit ready for carry.



The photos are deceiving. My friend, Fabio, who modeled for me is very thin. The bottom picture is most representative of the real size of this load.

Note that on the outside is a USGI shelter half (Item in green). The whole thing comes out to about 15-17lbs. As you can see in the picture this set up has a built in carry handle and there is enough room in the straps for more stuff, like a field Jacket, shovel, ax, etc.

Here is a picture of the same rig using a Mountain Hardware sleeping bag and an MSS bivy cover. This was done without a compression strap. It is very light and carries very well. It would be an easy fix to come up with something like this out of other materials such as 550 chord, belts, webbing strap and many other things.

Mountain Hardwar/MSS bivy (Top) and the MSS/shelter roll.

Here are pictures of the carrier and the sling:

Here is how it goes together:
1. Lay the straps out flat.

2. Put your sleeping bag and/or other items on the carrier.

3. Secure the two main straps and tighten them alternating back and forth until it is tight.

4. Secure the two side straps. If the straps won’t reach you can make a bridge by tying in a section of 550 chord.

5. Once the carrier is secure attach the sling.

Once the sling is in place it can be worn over the shoulder on either side.. If you have a heavy load you can use a t-shirt or something to cushion your neck. I would recommend shifting sides at every rest break.

At the suggestion of another member here, the roll can also be placed loose on top of a small back pack and steadied using the sling straps as shown in the next three photos.

Where to Find:
Here are some sources for the carrier/strap I found by way of Google. These are only examples and I am not affiliated with any of the sellers and I have not done business with them unless noted.

For the carrier:
Google search was done by: Google, images, Army sleeping bag carrier and looking for pictures of the item. I’ve found this save me time when I’m looking for a thing.
US Military Surplus
Army Navy Deals
More Militaria

For the strap/sling:
Sportsmans Guide
Charley’s Surplus
(Scroll down to Universal Gun and Carrying Sling)

New Style:
Go to e-bay, “sleeping bag carrier”, and search. You will find new style bag carriers as well as the old style which is the focus of this article. I have not used one of these but they do look nice. Folks from southern states may do well with one of these. Advantage: enclosed and self contained. Disadvantage: limited by size to what can be carried.

Improvised Carry:
Another method is to place your sleeping bag, packed as tight as you can get it, into a garbage bag, and that in turn into a pillowcase. You can carry it over your shoulder, or using a second pillow case (filled with food or cloths) tied together and hung around the neck or over a sturdy stick, hobo style. Good quality garbage bags could be used as well. Result will vary due to materials and construction.

Summery:
Together, these two items are a very useful piece of inexpensive gear. It can obviously be used as intended, which was hung off of a pack frame, or used as described above using the sling. It is also handy to carry firewood back to camp. Don’t forget to put your items into some type of water proof covering. If you have any questions feel free to contact me by way of this site. I hope you have found this article useful.
Dak Kovar

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