View Full Version : Emergency blanket as ground cloth
Joker4ink
10-24-2010, 21:55
Just curious as to how many people use emergency blankets as ground cloths in cold weather.
Trailbender
10-24-2010, 22:37
I used one with a sleeping bag insert for a few hundred miles on my thru, instead of a bag. I suffered, but I am glad I experimented. It wasn't comfortable below maybe mid 50's. As for the groundcloth idea, it wouldn't really make much of a difference vs a plastic sheet or tarp.
awful noisy, and I wouldn't think that durable. Only way to know for sure is to try.
Here is another thread at backpacker.com discussing this:
http://www.backpacker.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=973107219;t=9991140029
Joker4ink
10-24-2010, 22:55
I just use an opened up trash bag as my ground cloth under my pad. I never experimented with an emergency blanket under it but have heard of people doing it. I bet it would be noisy.
Wise Old Owl
10-24-2010, 23:44
I used one with a sleeping bag insert for a few hundred miles on my thru, instead of a bag. I suffered, but I am glad I experimented. It wasn't comfortable below maybe mid 50's. As for the groundcloth idea, it wouldn't really make much of a difference vs a plastic sheet or tarp.
I beg to say something different, I camped in a test situation in the Water Gap area and discovered that I pitched a self standing tent in the dead of winter night on what I thought was bare ground, I could not get a stake in, all night I thought I was on ice, the next morning it was true, I had slept on ice. I still wonder if a reflective or evasote pad would make a difference. And the best part - I have slept colder.
Toolshed
10-25-2010, 08:03
I carried one of the heavier duty ones (mylar on one side, OD Green on the other) for about a decade and used it as a ground cloth in all seasons and sometimes as a small tarp. I never noticed a difference if I had the OD side up or the mylar side up.(It was also pretty scuffed up).
I have used simple $2.99 emergency blankets as an extra measure around my sleeping bag deep in the Adirondacks in winter. I never sleep well because they are so damn loud.
I would imagine the effect under a tent is negligible since you already are sleeping on a pad (or two in the winter) which limits the amount of heat lost beneath you, meaning there is much less to be reflected back (especially lost heat going through your tent floor twice - once out and once back. It would then hit your sleeping pad(s) again - and probably never get back to you.
Trailbender
10-25-2010, 12:47
I beg to say something different, I camped in a test situation in the Water Gap area and discovered that I pitched a self standing tent in the dead of winter night on what I thought was bare ground, I could not get a stake in, all night I thought I was on ice, the next morning it was true, I had slept on ice. I still wonder if a reflective or evasote pad would make a difference. And the best part - I have slept colder.
I used the Thermarest blue ridgerest, and slept on the ground when it was about 10 degrees outside. I wouldn't see the point in using a survival blanket as a ground cloth, the cheap ones won't last long, and the good ones weigh 12 oz.
I used one after destroying my Tyvek groundcloth in a commercial dryer in Kent, CT last year (oops!).
The darn thing was difficult to manage being so thin and way too noisy- forget about stealth camping. I ditched it as soon as I could.
BTW, don't buy into all the wacko talk in the other thread about heat reflectivity as a groundcloth.
Danielsen
10-25-2010, 18:54
I use one as a groundcloth all the time. At 1 oz. for a couple bucks, I feel they're hard to beat. They're pretty tough for their weight, and they're not nearly so noisy if you crinkle them up really well before you actually take them out to use. Stealthing in a local nature area last week I had no worries about noise.
But they're honestly not terribly useful as insulation, even when they're wrapped around you. You're not going to experience an increase in heat retention from using one as your groundcloth. That's what your sleeping pad is for, so make sure yours is warm enough.
Just curious as to how many people use emergency blankets as ground cloths in cold weather.
I most definitely use one. They come in handy in shelters as well because they help keep the draft from the floor off of your sleeping bag at night, I have even used them as an extra wind breaker on a real windy cold night....
Kerosene
10-26-2010, 09:23
Just go with a Polycryo Ground Cloth (http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/polycryo_ground_cloth.html) ($8, 1.5 oz).
mweinstone
10-26-2010, 10:49
i never used a groundcloth. i sleep on the ground in a waterproof eq coated marmot down bag on a peice of shorty ridgerest foam in my floorless mid. never been wet and soaked and cold and mireble in my adult life. as kids on the trail in cottonn coleman bags we were wet and froze all the time, regaurdless of groundcloths, witch were in fact cheep e blanks . but sometimes when i knock on the flap of my friends tents , and feel the dry heat pumping out of their, i understand they sleep a little diferently than me. but they mostly got women in their with em. my need to be chilly and goosebump covered and have a windy tarp on wet ground goes way back. i like the challange of being comfy below normal compfy levels. i can tolorate chill way better what with haveing not used heat for this long. my apt is 54 at its coolest before ill burn some heat for the landlords sake. i live for the hike. all year. every moment. if something in my citylife can be done without in order to match my hike life more closely, then i make changes to that effect. so when i step out into the night to hike , its all the same as a walk to the corner cafe.
Just go with a Polycryo Ground Cloth (http://www.gossamergear.com/cgi-bin/gossamergear/polycryo_ground_cloth.html) ($8, 1.5 oz).
Interesting. I understand polycryo will shrink by up to 1- 2" when exposed to the sun and it's the same material as the "window treatment" film sold at home improvement stores.
Window treatment film comes in two thicknesses (outside and inside). The GG polycryo seems to resemble the thickness of the inside film version.
Any experience with that?
Kerosene
10-26-2010, 13:53
Interesting. I understand polycryo will shrink by up to 1- 2" when exposed to the sun and it's the same material as the "window treatment" film sold at home improvement stores.
Window treatment film comes in two thicknesses (outside and inside). The GG polycryo seems to resemble the thickness of the inside film version.
Any experience with that?I've used mine over a series of section hikes, both as a groundcloth in a shelter and as a footprint under my Lunar Solo. Consequently, it hasn't received all that much sunlight, so I haven't seen any shrinkage. This version is pretty darn thin and light, so I'm pretty sure it would be intended for interior usage.
That's what your sleeping pad is for, so make sure yours is warm enough.
Do you have any suggestions for sleeping pads for cold weather camping? I love hiking in the winter, but am not warm enough at night. I'm in the market for a warmer pad. Thoughts anyone?
Do you have any suggestions for sleeping pads for cold weather camping? I love hiking in the winter, but am not warm enough at night. I'm in the market for a warmer pad. Thoughts anyone?
Other than using multiple pads, the best bargain is the Pacific Outdoor Hyper Elite. For roughly the same warmth and weight with much more comfort is a custom Kookabay down air mat. You can also trade some weight and longevity for savings by getting Kookabay to build your insulated pad with synthetic insulation. I recommend getting this custom pad built with bigger outer tubes to help you stay on. If you don't mind spending much more and carrying more weight, there's the Exped down air mats. Thermarest also has a couple very warm pads, but they're also very heavy.
Finally, if you have multiple pads you may be able to combine them for extra warmth, although I'm not crazy with the hassle and bulk of this option.
Rain Man
11-05-2010, 16:54
If you don't mind spending much more and carrying more weight, there's the Exped down air mats.
I bought a used Exped down air mat cheap (might have been on here) a few years ago. That thing is much warmer than any other sleeping pad I've got. Though it is heavier, of course, it is well worth it in the winter.
Rain:sunMan
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Trailbender
11-06-2010, 08:16
Do you have any suggestions for sleeping pads for cold weather camping? I love hiking in the winter, but am not warm enough at night. I'm in the market for a warmer pad. Thoughts anyone?
I used the blue Thermarest Ridgerest. It is the 4 season version, and weighs 24 oz for the long. I cut it down to fit me, so I am not sure how much it weighs though. Used it down to around 10 degrees with no issues.