Found this at the local goodwill. While not an authority by any metric, I’ve always thought I had a decent working knowledge of US surplus gear- at least conversationally. I cannot recall ever laying eyes on this particular item, and info online appears scarce. I bring you:

FOOT SACK, SURVIVAL, ARCTIC.

It is an insulated foot sack.. about half the size of a full sleeping bag. At @42” tall, it is just long enough cover the lower body. It is ripstop and it is filled with down. It has what appears to be a one hand pull cinch (maybe for gross motor functions after injured or exposed to extended cold?)





Anyone familiar with these? I’m assuming that given the diverse sources of knowledge at SF, this won’t take long…

It's part of the 1960s-1980s era USAF arctic sustainment/survival kit for air crew. Came paired with a coat/suit of similar construction, along with a matching set of mittens:

Overcoat, Survival, Arctic, SRU-6P
Mittens, Extreme Cold Weather Survival, SRU-10P
Foot sack, Survival, Arctic, SRU-12P

The coat/suit could be worn as a waist-length coat for the upper half of the body, worn as a long overcoat that covered most of the body and that could be paired with the foot sack to make a sleeping bag, or be split and snapped into itself to form a snow suit with legs.

Short coat configuration: https://basecampvintage.com/wp...1050815.jpg?w=NaN&h=

Long coat configuration: https://basecampvintage.com/wp...1050791.jpg?w=NaN&h=

Suit configuration: https://basecampvintage.com/wp...1050816.jpg?w=NaN&h=

That was quick- why am I not surprised? What’s surprising is how little info was available; I’m assuming they are relatively rare. Sadly, the worthpoint linky says access denied on this end.

I updated it with better links to photos.

Many thanks. I wish one of the parkas had been there too. That would be some really good stuff to keep in the truck in winter.

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