emergency blankets.

[RickD]

Don't get the crinkly throw-away mylar emergency blankets, get the Adventure Medical Kits 2-man emergency blanket. I love it and have used it for everything:

- as a tarp
- as a ground sheet
- as an emergency blanket
- as a sun shield

As a previous poster said, you should wrap your body in it wearing only a layer of thermals, with everything else outside of the blanket. Faced reflective layer out, it is a superb sun screan. It's durable enough as a ground sheet to last 50-100 days on the trail. As a minimalist tarp (sheet bend knots on the corners for tie-outs) it works fine, if you're not faint of heart. Best multi-purpose item ever.

[fraufrack]

We bring a heatsheets blanket on our trips and have used it and definitely slept better because of it. There is nothing that will keep me awake more than being freezing cold. It is noisy when you toss and turn, but if you have earplugs anyway, as we do, you can ignore it more easily.

I would NOT recommend the hand and foot warmers for an UL pack. They do work great, but only heat up a small part of your body, serve no other uses (to my knowledge), and only last 8 hours at best. Maybe if you're re-supplying just every other day it would be ok, but carrying, say, 5 nights' worth of these things would add noticeable heft to your pack.

If you're a football fan, you may find, as we have, that the heatsheets blanket is also perfect for taking into games later in the season. Its much easier to carry than normal blankets and is very effective against cold as well as wind & rain, and you don't have to worry so much if folks spill their beer on it and step on it.

[Dances with Mice]

If you're a football fan, you may find, as we have, that the heatsheets blanket is also perfect for taking into games later in the season. Its much easier to carry than normal blankets and is very effective against cold as well as wind & rain, and you don't have to worry so much if folks spill their beer on it and step on it.

Heatsheet Snuggies! I can see the TV ad now.

[Turtlehiker]

I've carried a space blanket on a number of winter trips, never have used it for its intended purpose but it is in the bag. I have pushed my sleeping bags to 20-30* below their ratings by using extra clothes.
The hand warmer packs work great as everyone has said but do add a bit of weight. I think boiling water in a couple of Nalgenes is a better way. When it is really cold you are going to be sleeping with your water anyway why not make a bed warmer out of them.
I also carry a Vapor Barrier Liner for my sleeping bag, works by trapping in the warm vapors that you sweat off during the night. You will wake up clammy, sleep in just your base layer. I don't like using it, since it is very restrictive, I tend to get all wrapped up inside liners. But if i need it!

IMHO space blankets are emergency items to keep you from freezing to death, not something to use as regular gear.

[Colter]

are emergency blankets of any help in ultralight? paired with a light blanket or something for non-winter hiking? has anyone tried this?

I would recommend staying away from them as an ultralight item.

The thin, lightweight "space blankets" are highly over-rated, and I would argue they are potentially dangerous with misleading statements like "reflect 90% of your body heat." Fact is they tend to rip to pieces in short order and will not keep you warm in cold weather.

The reinforced type of space blanket (weighing 10 oz or so) are pretty tough, much warmer and can be very useful as a shelter, too. Still not needed in a properly chosen ultralight pack list, however.

[JAK]

I used one many years ago on a spring hike into the ADKs where we were hit on the second day with a freak snowstorm and 5d temps (20 d bag). I wrapped mine around mmy sleeping bag and used Duck tape to make it a tube with my friends help.
I stayed warm, but it was a long and uncomfortable night since the damncrnkling kept waking me up every time I moved.
Oh yeah. Open it up and repack it now while your fingers are warm and dry.

Sometimes I'll open one up in a store and try it on just for fun, but I would never buy one.

[scrivner]

I have found them to be very useful, both the 2oz “emergency blanket” and the 10oz “sportsman’s” blanket. Their utility depends on how you use them.

A friend and I got hit by an unforeseen snowstorm in the Colorado Mountains some years ago. I don’t know the elevation, but we were in the “quakies,” Aspen trees. Each of us had one of the sportsman’s blankets in our daypacks, no sleeping bags, just daypack gear. We rigged them as tarps, each facing the other about four feet apart, and built a small trench fire about a foot wide and five feet long in the center using only thin branches we could gather by hand. The heat from the small fire reflected from the blankets kept us warm all night. At one point, with snow falling heavily, and beautifully, we were warm enough to take off our heavy wool shirts.

I’m sure we would made it OK with just ponchos as tarps, but I’m also sure we were MUCH more comfortable than we would have been with ponchos. I’ve had much experience of “traveling light and freezing at night,” with only a poncho, courtesy of the U.S. Army. No question the sportsman’s blankets make good reflective tarps.

I have used the 2oz “space blankets” in the Mohave Desert many times. They make excellent sunshades. One of them rigged properly will provide a shady spot about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than if you are exposed to the sun, that’s according to my zipper pull thermometer. If you rig two of them, one about a foot above the other, it will make the shady spot MUCH cooler.

On another occasion my brother-in-law, George, and I came upon a Boy Scout Troop, six kids and a scoutmaster, in the California Sierras. The scoutmaster was suffering from altitude sickness and was disoriented and totally lost. Four of the kids were acutely hypothermic. We offered to guide them down to a lower elevation. The scoutmaster agreed with relief. He was a nice guy but in way over his head.

Before we started George heated some hot soup for everyone. I cut our 2oz emergency blankets into sections and made four small, sort of, serapes, from them. Then I had the kids strip down to their underwear and put the Mylar serapes on, then their other clothing over that. Within a few minutes, even before the hot soup, the kids were in MUCH better shape. I had EMT training in the military, and attended winter survival schools. I am familiar with hypothermia and altitude sickness and have no doubt the kids benefited from their Mylar serapes.

We watched the kids and the scoutmaster closely as we led them to a pass and down about 3,000 feet, where the scoutmaster was able to pull himself together. It was full dark by then and we didn’t want to risk taking the kids down any further. We spent the night with them at the lower elevation and everything turned out OK.

I haven’t yet tried the Adventure Medical version, but I plan to do so. They appear to be superior to the originals.

[superman]

I don't think what I used last year in Sweden is what you are talking about. It was sold to me as an emergency sleeping bag. It wasn't noisy. I didn't have moisture problems. It was super light and very compact. It was colder than I thought it was going to be in the summer so I wore my fleece jacket and hiking pants. I was comfortable but I'm not so sure it was the same product.

[Engine]

I carry one on dayhikes in case it turns into an overnighter, but for a backpacking trip it would be overly redundant. I already have shelter, and sleeping bag and pad with me. As for replacing a sleeping bag or quilt with one, I think a good nights rest is of great importance both for the next days fun and performance. So, no I would not ever carry one other than on a day hike.

[scrivner]

Superman,

I would be very interested is that bag you got in Sweden. What is the name of the product and company?

By the way, talked to some wilderness EMT guys this past weekend. They all carry AM "Heatsheets" to use for hypothermia victims. They say they are very effective.

Scrivner

[erichkopp]

Superman,

I would be very interested is that bag you got in Sweden. What is the name of the product and company?

It sounds like the Adventure Medical Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivy. I bought one of these the other day and was surprised at how quiet it was compared to other emergency blankets, and it also has velcro to keep it closed.

[scrivner]

erichkopp,

Thanks for the suggestion. I have one of the AM Bivies, but have never used it. Now, due to all this discussion, I think I'll give it a try next weekend.

But that aside, I'm thinking that the item superman got in Sweden may be a different product.

A few years ago I fell into a conversation with a young fellow at the Czech border. He was traveling with only a daypack and underneath he had strapped on a bag with a reflective surface that looked similar to the AM bivy, but it was not that. The surface was much more slick. We didn't share a common language, but stumbled along in German. I got that he had been traveling for about two months. He said that bag was the only shelter he had, and that he was not cold at night - best I could understand. He was going to show me the bag, but then he got a ride and we never finished our conversation. Anyway, I sure would like to know what bag that was.

Scrivner

[erichkopp]

Hmm that's intriguing. I'm a bit curious now too.

[scrivner]

erichkopp,

I PM ed superman and he said he would try to find the name of the maker.

This question is possibly of interest to other members, so I'll start a new thread as: European Ultralight

Scrivner

[fraufrack]

heatsheet Snuggies! I Can See The Tv Ad Now.

Lol........

[hikingtime]

Best piece of ultralight gear there is. Weighs just 1.2 oz. I use them for my ground cloth. Have also cut a hole in it and made a poncho. It will work as an emergency blanket as long as it doesn't get too cold. The price is right too. About $1.00 at Walmart.

[robb]

Key word here is "Emergency". The mylar one are really just for that, and are one-time use.

I have gotten some use out of the Adv. Med. Kit re-usable as an underquilt in a pinch. Sweaty, but warm.

[atraildreamer]

I definitely agree with the condensation issue. You can't ventilate those things.

I just had an IDEA!(Yes...it does happen to us old folks. ) If the space blanket had micro-perforations (a lot of little holes), like the way they make those vegetable-saving baggies, theoretically, you could stay warm and still vent away persperation...pirspuration...purspuretion...your sweat, and stay warm and dry (and wake up crispy instead of soggy.).

If anyone can pull this off, PM for my address to send the royalty checks!

[Connie]

re: Adventure Medical Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivy

This one has velcro for ventilation at the feet, as well.

I really like what scrivner said.

I would also like to know about that one from Sweden and of that young fellow near the Czech border. Has anyone heard any more about it?

[Old Grouse]

I keep one in my daypack along with a small tarp and other "possibles." (I wouldn't make it part of my regular kit.) I haven't had to use it and hope not to, but it's better to be prepared.