SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- USMC THREE-SEASON SLEEPING BAG SYSTEM
- Notice Date
- 2/20/2007
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 314999
— All Other Miscellaneous Textile Product Mills
- Contracting Office
- RDECOM Acquisition Center - Natick, ATTN: AMSRD-ACC-N, Natick Contracting Division (R and BaseOPS), Building 1, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760-5011
- ZIP Code
- 01760-5011
- Solicitation Number
- USA-SNOTE-070220-004
- Archive Date
- 5/21/2007
- Description
- 20 February 2007 REQUEST FOR INFORMATION U.S. Army RDECOM Acquisition Center, Natick, MA on behalf of the United States Marine Corps (U.S.M.C.) is seeking information regarding the availability of fabric that satisfies the Governments requirements as described below and in the attached documents . This notice is constitutes a Request for Information only, THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION, no award will be made for this effort at this time. REQUIREMENTS: US Marine Corps Program Manager-Infantry Combat Equipment (PM-ICE), Quantico, VA is contemplating adopting a three (3) season sleeping bag system to significantly reduce weight and volume while providing environmental protection for 20 deg Fahrenheit and a bove. A three-season sleep system will be modular and consist of; sleeping mat, bivy cover, sleeping bag and simple compression stuff sack, where each component can be used singularly or in various combinations as missions environmental conditions dictat e. USMC is seeking to identify commercial or modified commercial products for one or more of the individual system components or complete system that will offer significant weight, volume, and protection improvements over the current items by 13 Apr 07. US MC prioritizes maximizing weight and volume reductions over increasing insulation beyond the minimum requirement, where applicable. A new 3 season sleep system, or selected components, will replace the current system components which consists of the Modula r Sleep System bivy cover, patrol bag, ISO mat and compression stuff sack. The three-season sleep system objectives for the 4 integrated components follow: New System Weight: 6.0 lbs max required, 5.0 lbs desired. The current system component weights in pounds are; patrol bag @ 2.3, bivy @2.2, mat at 1.2, and compression stuff sack @ 0.8 lbs. New System Total Volume: 720 cu in required, 640 cu in desired. Current system component volume for the patrol bag, bivy in stuff sack is 800 cu in and the ISO ma t is 780 cu in. At a minimum, the system total volume can be spilt between 2 subsystems; sleeping bag, bivy and compression stuff sack, and the sleeping mat. Note volumes are calculated from cylindrical dimensions. New System Insulation: Manikin clo values of the sleep system requires a minimum 5.3 clo, 6.0 clo desired, while wearing silkweight thermal underwear, fleece cap, socks and glove liners. The current system component system provides a 4.3 clo with compon ent clo ESTIMATED at: 1.5 patrol bag @, 0.4 bivy @, 0.9 mat. The Government has not established correlation with KSU manikin yet expects a 1 clo increase over KSU results on the current patrol bag sleep system will meet this requirement. Wet Weather Protec tion: The bivy cover will be waterproof with maximum breathability from the bivy top as a minimum. The sleeping bag shell shall be water repellent with maximum breathability. The mat and compression stuff sack will not absorb water when placed over stan ding puddled water, exposed to extended rain or stored when damp or wet. Durability: Components shall not degrade to extended periods of heavy military use and repeated stowage. The sleeping mat and bivy performance must not degrade from contact with the ground or when using item while wearing combat boots. Items will not degr ade from repeated stuffing and compression when stowed wet or damp iteratively for several days to temperatures as low as 0 degree Fahrenheit. Cleaning: The sleeping bag and bivy must maintain performance up to 20 machine wash and dry launderings at warm temperatures. The compression stuff sack and mat must be able to be wiped clean and air dried, where machine washing of stuff sack is desired. Size: Two (2) lengths of sleeping bags are permissible where a regular length is suitable for a maximum height of 6 and a long length 6 to 65 . A single length bivy and sleeping mat is required. The sleeping bag must have sufficient ease to accommodate Marines to wear multiple l ayers of clothing to increase insulation for 0 degree Fahrenheit use. For reference, the current patrol bag provides acceptable ease for Large to XLarge marines wearing multiple clothing layers. A cylindrical packed shape provides versatility in placement in the ruck sack, particularly if the length is no longer than 20 inches. Egress: Component closures must enable immediate and reliable opening for quick egress with no chance of trapping the Marine in the sleeping bag or bivy. EVALUATION TIME LINE: USMC will evaluate product offerings and down select the items that prove significant improvement over the current items. The downselect items will be included in a field user evaluation (FUE) to determine operational effectiveness. USMC plans to buy approxim ately 100 of each candidate in Jun 07 for September delivery to enable a 1 Oct to 20 Nov 2007 field user evaluation. The FUE results will be utilized to select the best product for each system component based on what is most highly rated by Marines combin ed and good laboratory results. USMC will pursue any improvements required to optimize the final candidates and procure the improved items during Dec 07 thru Feb 08 for a spring validation test in Mar to Apr 08. If the validation results support adoptin g a 3 season sleep system, USMC would proceed with a solicitation for initial fielding of 200,000 systems or components over 1 to3 years based upon salient characteristics of the successful items and availability of funding. USMCs PM-ICE will share findi ngs from each phase with Army PM-Clothing and Individual Equipment for their awareness and consideration. SUBMISSION: Interested suppliers are invited to submit a sample of their product offerings until 13 Apr 07. Submitted items must include a representa tive sample, technical data quantifying its actual performance against USMC objectives, and estimated unit pricing based upon volume and USA manufacturing. Any item ultimately procured for fielding must be Buy American and Berry compliant. Natick Solider Research, Development and Engineering Center is supporting the development of the 3 season sleep system for PM-ICE, MARCORSYSCOM, Quantico, VA. POINT OF CONTACT: Direct questions and samples to: Dee Townes Tel: 508-233-4296 Email: dee.townes@us.army.mil . Mail samples to:U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center, Attn: D. Townes (D-225), Kansas St, D-225 Natick, Ma 01760
- Web Link
-
RDECOM Natick Acquisition Center
(https://www3.natick.army.mil)
- Record
- SN01235234-W 20070222/070220222717 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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