It is desirable to minimize the weight of the backpack load for the hiker to achieve maximum comfort and efficiency, however it is essential that sufficient apparel and equipment are provided for survival and comfort. Various devices have been developed to provide the hiker an item capable of achieving two or more functions. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,103,377 and 4,125,910. While the articles disclosed in these patents achieve the objective of reducing the number of items to be carried, they are of complex construction and are obviously expensive to fabricate.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a garment, sleeping bag, and tote bag combination that is simple in construction and relatively inexpensive to fabricate because it is formed of a plurality of identical sections made from flexible material that can be cut simultaneously in large quantities.
A further objective of the present invention is to provide a combination item which is adjustable in size thus enabling the production of a single unit to serve a large variety of users.
The objectives of this invention are obtained by joining a plurality of symmetrical sections to form a bag with a closable opening, providing sleeves which may be removable, and incorporating means to adjust the size of the bag by enveloping portions of or one or more of the sections and thereby effectively removing all or portions thereof from the bag to reduce its size. The bag is foldable upon itself to form a jacket or vest, depending upon whether or not the sleeves are removed, of a predetermined size. The zippers effectively function as adjusting means in the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The jacket or vest formed from the bag may be reversible so that, for example, it may have a brightly colored side for the deer hunter and a camouflaged side for the hunter who wishes to remain concealed. It is also provided with removable straps so that it can be conveniently carried and used as a tote bag when not functioning as a sleeping bag or a garment.