Well, my package of goodies from Sportsman’s Guide arrived today. A couple months back the guys at SpecOps were having a sale on their SOB buttpacks for around $12 or something like that. I wound up buying a half dozen of them but they did not come with shoulder straps. Fortunately, I knew that eventually I’d find some on sale somewhere. Thus, I got these from SG. Brand new, pack of five for $15. Good for he several buttpacks/musette bags I have sitting around.
After that, I picked up a couple of these sleep system carriers to try and stuff my military three-piece bag into. A little compression might(!) be necessary but I think they’ll fit. They’d also make excellent bags to store blankets and the like. Wish they were OD but, hey, you can t have everything.
And, finally, the might-be-zelts. well….they definitely have been around a while. Lotsa patches, small holes, etc. I compared them against the German specs from the manual I have and while they follow the pattern, their dimensions are smaller than what the German ones were. Still, they’ll be interesting to play with and I’m sure they’ll take my mind in other creative directions.
Man, I was kind of afraid of that. The picture of the SG zelt looked a bit ragged, and the stress of VET sort of clued me in that the condition might be a little rough.
Years back, the same outfit sold some brown lightweight canvas poncho by (I think) Czech military. Had the same silver ‘buttons’ shown on the zelts above, and came with a peaked removeable hood. I bought one, used it a while and then forgot about it (droughts will do that to you, lol). I need to find that thing, it was very lightweight and did a pretty good job of covering you up if you weren’t caught in a monsoon. The length reached to my thighs, not knee height which can be a hassle if you are trying to do some sneaking about.
I picked up a couple. One was perfect and the second was faded and patched. I don’t think that took anything away from it. I’ve considered ordering another 2 to get a complete shelter.
I am a 75 year old woman who has minor physical handicaps. I am always looking for ways to increase my income,especially as I question how long Social Security or insurance company based annuities will last with our present problems. So your Zelts looked interesting. I have sewing skills and am currently trying to decide how my two wannabees fit together and make a pattern. I was immediately struck by the weight. I’m going to try to make a lighter version.