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CARINTHIA SLEEPING BAG

As you see, that bag is very large.
If you are small, it will not fit to you.

That bag is used in the German and Austrian Army, and most German bushcrafters think, that it isn't the best choice.

If you can get it nearly unused very cheap, you can buy it of course, but instead of buying it new, the Snugoack SF 2 for example surely would be the better choice.
The Snugpack SF System is younger and better thought through.

Carinthia Tropen belongs in Defence 4.
Both don't have a warmth collar!

Snughpack SF 2 is tighter around the body and has the warmth collar. It can be zipped into the SF1 three seasons sleeping bag, that fits perfectly in the very light SF bivvy bag.
To zip them together an adapter is used, that makes them both wider. You have to open only one zipper to go out of the bags.

Both systems are very similar, but the snugpack system is better.

But of course: Nearly new for a good price I would have bought the Carinthia Defence 4 too.

Congratulations!
 
I Used to have a Carinthia Defence 4 myself.
Condensation is a pain but you can help to manage it.
Good ventilation if in a tent...... Don't have a tarp over a hammock too low..... Leave adequate space to allow air to circulate.

In the colder months wear a nice soft fleece Buff or Balaclave that covers your mouth and nose...... This will capture your breath and help with condensation.

If weather permits.... Air your bag in the mornings while cooking breakfast or when conditions allow.

I found the bag to be warm and roomy...... Plenty of shoulder and leg room..... Not at all restrictive.
The bag is well made and the zip works faultlessly.

If a user is a little claustrophobic then the snorkel design could take some getting used to...... Personally I found it O. K.

All in all an excellent bag...... Hope you enjoy using it @Ark79 .
 
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1 shot willie said:
I Used to have a Carinthia Dehence 4 myself.
Condensation is a pain but you can help to manage it.
Good ventilation if in a tent...... Don't have a tarp over a hammock too low..... Leave adequate space to allow air to circulate.

In the colder months wear a nice soft fleece Buff or Balaclave that covers your mouth and nose...... This will capture your breath and help with condensation.

If weather permits.... Air your bag in the mornings while cooking breakfast or when conditions allow.

I found the bag to be warm and roomy...... Plenty of shoulder and leg room..... Not at all restrictive.
The bag is well made and the zip works faultlessly.

If a user is a little claustrophobic then the snorkel design could take some getting used to...... Personally I found it O. K.

All in all an excellent bag...... Hope you enjoy using it @Ark79 .
Click to expand...




Am looking forward to trying it out :D and it’s good to get the feedback from yourself and @Matt

Wasn’t going to buy one of these. A was going for the snugpak . But I couldn’t pass on the price lol. And the condition of the bag. A can live with a little condensation. So no worries there:D if it’s good enough for yous lads then is good enough for me lol
 
Do you often have condensation problems in sleeping bags in Britain?

I never had this problem in a lot of contries with a lot of different sleeping bags.
 
@Ark79

Before I purchased the Defence 4............. I did a lot of searching around for information about the "Carinthia Defence 4"....pros and cons.

I have managed to find again the one particular article I read before I chose the Defence 4..........this article.......... is in my humble opinion is one of the best reviews out there.
It offers in-depth information and detailed specifications..........materials........how they work for you............ and the job they do to help make this the bag that it is..........and why it has earned its following and popularity in its price range.


Modular Sleeping Bag 3: Best 4 Season (Sub Zero) Bag and Extreme Outer - Scramble Kit - Tested, Rated, Recommended — Scramble Kit UK

Scramble Kit UK - lightweight, tough, functional gear for mountain trekkers, scramblers, climbers and outdoor enthusiasts
scramblekit.uk scramblekit.uk

You have the 200 bag.........which is a good thing ( Given your size and build ) for the reasons explained in the article.

Hope you find it an interesting read mate.
 
1 shot willie said:
@Ark79

Before I purchased the Defence 4............. I did a lot of searching around for information about the "Carinthia Defence 4"....pros and cons.

I have managed to find again the one particular article I read before I chose the Defence 4..........this article.......... is in my humble opinion is one of the best reviews out there.
It offers in-depth information and detailed specifications..........materials........how they work for you............ and the job they do to help make this the bag that it is..........and why it has earned its following and popularity in its price range.


Modular Sleeping Bag 3: Best 4 Season (Sub Zero) Bag and Extreme Outer - Scramble Kit - Tested, Rated, Recommended — Scramble Kit UK

Scramble Kit UK - lightweight, tough, functional gear for mountain trekkers, scramblers, climbers and outdoor enthusiasts
scramblekit.uk scramblekit.uk

You have the 200 bag.........which is a good thing ( Given your size and build ) for the reasons explained in the article.

Hope you find it an interesting read mate.
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Very interesting. A great review buddy thanks :thumbsup: am happy with the choice now lol. Out of all that the one thing that appeals to me more is the fact I can start of sleeping on my back and end up on my side without much fuss.. this is how I sleep on a norm... as you said.. a very honest and clear view. Cracking read :D
 
The bag is so large, that most people can start the night on the back with the nose at the hole and usually end upside down with the feet looking out of the breathing hole...

Don't forget compass and torch if you enter it or just attach inside some white arrows, that show you the exit!

A mini LED-Christmas-Chane might be helpful too.

;0)
 
The point is, that if you are a bear, a large sleeping bag is nice to have.

If you don't fill it and use it in cold weather, you carry a lot of weight and volume around, but it's cold inside.

A sleeping bag for cold conditions should fit properly.
 
Erbswurst said:
The point is, that if you are a bear, a large sleeping bag is nice to have.

If you don't fill it and use it in cold weather, you carry a lot of weight and volume around, but it's cold inside.

A sleeping bag for cold conditions should fit properly.
Click to expand...


@Erbswurst

So when you slept in your own Carinthia Defence 4 sleeping bag Erbwusrt.......were you cold?
 
Ark79 said:
Forgot not to mention it’s very roomie :zipped: am like a steel trap...nothing gets past these lips :lol:
Click to expand...

Thank heavens...….otherwise I might have wanted one, but not knowing nuffink has saved me...….
Sometimes it can be really difficult to get info. on stuff..........:snigger::notlistening:
 
I owned and used perhaps 30 different sleeping bags, but I don't own a Defence 4.
I just know it from the surplus shops, but never bought one.

I owned the German and Austrian models that had been in use before with similar cut.

(The old Austrian Goldeck sleeping bag came from the same factory, they just created the international brand carinthia, but it was and stays Goldeck.)

In the German bushcraft forum there was relative long a hype about them until a lot of people owned one and then the common meaning about them changed to a more negative impression and a lot of bushcrafters tried to sell them.

One year ago the Defence 4 thread reached the 1000 comments mark and is still continuing, but I got tired to read it.

The main construction problems of the carinthia Defence 4 are the very wide cut (what of course can be interesting to a few people who are really big) and the missing warmth collar.

That are construction faults, if you look at it as a civil person.

The military uses this bags in very cold conditions in combination with the Tropen inside or carinthia padded suits like the Snugpack Softy or Sleka stuff. They have the Carinthia suits LIG, MIG, and HIG.
And the soldier must fit in this suit, in complete uniform inclusive boots inside the Defence 4 bag. That is the reason for this very wide cut.

If somebody uses it in T-shirt and breefs, cold air circulates around him, and that's of course every thing else than comfortable.
But even in Woolpower underwear people seem to get problems in it.

Of course I don't know theyr body shapes and what they usually are doing.


The last two nights I slept directly behind the dyke on a camping ground on an island in northern Friesland, not far away from the Danish border. It's windy there like on a ship.

It was a very strong wind all the night, my only wind protection was a low wall in one direction, the dike 30 meters away in the other direction.

I used the thin German army folding mat directly on the grass, because I couldn't find any twigs to put them under the mat.

I used the Snugpak SF bivvy bag in the open field.
I used the Snugpack Special Forces 1 sleeping bag, that is recommended to use it in combination with merino underwear until 4*C.
But I used in it hiking socks, breefs, normal polyester-cotton mix trousers, thin cotton T-shirt, thick polyester-cotton mix military shirt and thin fleece jacket.

No cap, no gloves nothing additional.
Every 1 1/2 hours I changed the side I slept on, to get the cold side in the warmth.

( I do that since decades when camping and in the bed in a heated house as well, it's inside me. Earlier I threw every 1 1/2 hours some wood in the fire, but now a days I don't light it so often.)

This both nights I slept in this bags and clothing like a bear.
Only in the morning the neighbours disturbed a bit, when they scratched the ice from their wind screens...

I am running the whole day with posters around, mainly through towns. But with the bike over land too. That's my job. I do it in every weather, it doesn't matter if it's 50*C in the sun or -25*C in the night.

If I recommend insulating stuff like sleeping bags to other people I usually add 5*C to my own feeling. That's usually more or less correct. I use for example this combination from last night comfortable til 0*C.with additional merino underwear till -3*C.

To other people I recommend it for 4*C like snugpack does it, with additional merino suit to 0*C lowest comfort limit if twigs are under the mat and wind protection exists.

I surely could survive with the Carinthia Defence 4 very well. But I bought as you know the better constructed Snugpack Special Forces Sleeping bag System.
But I count in Berlin and eastern Germany with -25*C. That happens in some winters. And we have several wood heated cottages and I sleep in such conditions outside too.
So this professional System was a good idea.
But usually in most winters and in western Germany I just use the SF1 all four seasons, in eastern Germany sometimes SF2 or the whole system.

I think the Snugpack SF Sysrem is better than the Carinthia Tropen/Defence 4 system.

But of course, the Carinthia system works too. The guys who buy stuff for Austrian and German Army aren't stupid!
I just think, it's a good idea to wear the fleece jacket in the Defence 4 or a padded jacket like Snugpack Softy/Sleeka or Carinthia Lig/Mig.
 
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