I hear many here mention that they carry these. Are we talking about the little foil looking blankets that fold up to about the size of a wallet? What is the deal on these? If wrapped in one, do they really keep in heat?

From what I have read around the forum they seem to be a great investment, but can somebody break it down for me what they can really do?

Thank you.

You can use them to put your clean butchered elk meat on as you bone out your beast.

There are two products commonly called space blankets.

One is the foil sheet that you mentioned. Everyone should carry one of them in their survival gear. They fold into a package about the size of a deck of playing cards and they are inexpensive. They will keep in some body heat and they can mean the difference between simple misery and hypothermia. If I have only those two options to choose from, I will choose misery. Realistically, they are single-use items.

The other product is a 5'x 7' lightweight ripstop polyester tarp that's colored on one side and silver/reflective on the other. They are a few $ more expensive than the foil type and they are a little heavier, but they are more durable so they can probably be used several times before being discarded. I usually carry one of them in my day pack.

I prefer a Siltarp for backpacking because they are lighter and more durable but they are very expensive for a simple tarp.

KC

Yes they can be a life saver. I prefer to carry one that is constructed like a bivy sack. They don't weigh or take up much space, but will protect from rain and wind and will reflect some radiant heat back.

Never had to use one, thank god. But i carry the little tinfoil type blanket, and a the little tinfoil type bag. I figure, no more than they weigh, why not.


Jay

I carry 'em in my "survival kit" right next to the butt-out tool.

Is the bag type big enough for a guy to crawl into and completely cover up?

The "5'x 7' lightweight ripstop polyester tarp" mentioned by KC is the right thing to carry. It can be used as a tarp over a tent; to cover gear outside the tent; as a tarp for boning meat -- and for survival when conditions turn nasty. I have half a dozen; carry a couple all the time in my pack; and have used them for bunches of things, except survival .

They cost about $15 here in Southeast Alaska and are worth more.

Dennis

tis evident to me Dennis' brain is still functioning just fine.


ime if the SHTF and you need one of those


the first example ain't worth .50 (yep I've used them and they are slightly tougher than toilet tissue but not by much)

in a SHTF scenario the other one is easily worth more than $1000


sure I'm a weight fanatic when bp hunting I have to be for the type I do.

I "wish" the first example due to weight and compactness could do what the other type does, but it can't and won't so if you're gonna carry one ime you're best served by the 2nd one.

with a little stub candle and one of those you can certainly fend off some hypothermia in some ugly weather.


and mine serves double duty so I can justify it's weight. I use it a as a groundcloth under my bag and pad in the tent, it helps insulate from the cold ground we have up here. I've tried it with and without and found it made a noticeable difference ime. YMMV

When i was in the ARMY back in the day, we would sit on our rucks with a poncho thrown over you and a candle between your legs. It amazed me how much difference that little candle made.

While I do carry the cheap foil varieties, my primary emergency over night setup is a combination of a poncho, a short 5/16ths ensolite pad and four tear open, 7 hr. chemical hand warmers.
What it takes to survive, let alone get any real rest, depends alot on the weather and you tolerences. What I would suggest is that you actually try out whatever you are considering.
I carry the above because I know from experience how well it works. E

Are you guys talking about basic blue tarps?

OK so I'm gathering there is nothing special about these space blankets, they really do nothing that my siltarp I carry for cover can't do?

I think the best thing to do with the thin plastic aluminum ones is to throw them away so you dont bet on them when your life may be in the balance.

Im as bad as anyone when it comes to shaving an ounce off of everything you can but I have my limits. I much prefer the heatsheets or the little bivy bagss, both of which are still only a few ounces. I have spent a 30degree night with chem warmers in the bag and although it was not fun I suffered no damage. I would not have wanted to do it in a sheet of alum space blanket that would be ripped within the first hour. The only thing I like those cheap ones for is to use as a reflector for a fire or to try to signal someone.

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/products.php?catname=SURVIVALTOOLS&cat=10

Nope, not regular tarps. The ones we're talking about are in boxes generally in the vicinity of the "survival blankets", but they are heavier and thicker. They work very well for lots of things, along with helping keep you alive in really cold or wet weather.

The one I've bought a fair number of is called the Coghlan All Purpose Thermal Blanket. One side is silver; the other can be red, blue, green or camo. I prefer the green ones, but that's just me.

Dennis

Thanks Dennis. Wonder if there's any TARP money left to help me buy one...bada-bing

This it?

I personally like the AMK Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivvy Sack at 6.9 oz. when I am not carrying a full featured eVent bivy and tarp. It is definitely tougher than just the plain, super-thin Mylar blankets. I have one of the Coghlan's Branded Blankets as well, but prefer being encased by a bivy a little more I guess.





I also like to carry the AMK Heatsheets Emergency Bivvy at 3.5 oz; but merely as a backup to something else like the eVent bivy/tarp combo or a tent.






Mike

[email protected]
http://www.High-Mountain-Outfitters.com

That's it, or at least one of them. They don't weigh so much that I don't take at least two when I go anywhere with a pack. And they stand up well too -- here are some of my uses:

Keeping moisture out of camp gear when you camp in muskeg...



The place to put meat when you bone a deer out...



And the thing to keep rain off the meat when you hang it...



Just a few uses I have put them to, and to which they stand up very well.

Dennis

I suppose the little survival blankets are better than nothing, but any I have tried are too small. I have to decide which part of my body won't be covered. Plus they tear very easily. Pretty much use once and discard. Definitely can't fold it back up as compactly.

The slightly heavier blankets Muledeer andd others have mentioned sound like a better idea. I will have to check them out. Thanks for the tip.

I'm with Dennis on those "space" blankets. I've had one like he shows for 15 years, and it has been through everything. I use it as the ground cover when tarp camping in the mountains, and it helps to keep the heat with me, and not transferring to the ground.

I've also used it an an emergency poncho once when my son started shivering unexpectedly.

It's rugged and worth every penny.

Very interesting thread, and I've learned a lot. I'll be buying one of the heavier models to carry this year.

I wonder though? For those of y'all that have been in situations where you had to spend an unexpected night in the woods, was there no way to start a fire? Seems like the first thing I'd be doing? I've never been in that situation before. So I have to ask?


Jay

Jay,

Speaking to my own experience, I did have a fire all night. The heavier space blanket can make a world a difference though in how warm you are, and potentially keep you dry.

Those thin blankets are WORTHLESS in my opinion. The one night I got caught out and had to depend on it, it failed me. That thing was shredded in the first hour and it made for a VERY long night of alternately freezing and nearly burning myself with the fire.

Dave

I have had one of the original thicker ones since the mid sixties and it is worn but still useful. I do wish it was about 20% larger in both directions as they are just a bit small to burrito wrap my self in. They can make a dandy wind break.

Just so I can speak on this one.. I am a retired Survival Instructor from Special Forces.

The blanket works for containing body heat but as stated above most people use them once things got bad...

A good suggestion is the candle and vaseline cotton balls.. take aluminum foil and put a cotton ball with a glob of vasealine on it.. fold it up and keep it to start damp stuff with ease.. you can dry your gear with a poncho/suvival blanket and candle. Also, keep a pair of dry socks in a plastic bag. Dry your feet, cover your neck with the dry socks as you change them and allow the heat from the candle to build under that blanket. you can put your shirt over your legs above the candle to dry .. this happens fast when you know what to do.. practice it guys.. the back yard is safe and your brain is working.. wet yourself down and try it.. once cold many die due to the lack of brain power not stamina.. few thoughts. good huntin...

Jay, when I was younger and more stupid, I went skiing in the S. Cascades, drove in on a firm crust and during the day we encountered a wet warm front and thaw that high-centered the truck. Not being much of a 4WD type at the time, I did not have a winch or come-along. We tried to start a fire but the W. side of the Cascades are notoriously wet, especially in March. We had all the stuff, good firestarter and several sources of flame but it wasn't going to happen without a lot of effort at splitting down to dry wood. We were 30 mi. from the nearest town so the solution was obvious to just walk out on the road. We made it to town at sunrise. We stayed warm and dry walking in the constant drizzle. It was an easy, if monotonous, hike out.

Had to pay some guys with monster trucks and balloon wheels who knew what they were doing to tow out the truck.

I agree the little silver blankets are pretty much worthless. I stay far away from them. I rely on a synthetic parka, an oversized cagoule and a small square of ensolite pad. I'm not above cutting boughs if I want to lay down.

Stoves are so small and light nowadays, it makes sense to have them on a daytrip just in case. Fire is great if you don't have to expend much energy making it.

This is my train of thought on this one. Fire, shelter, water. I dont bother with so called survival equipment. What I carry in my pack is just my equipment. I always have a fire steel and my MLD mini sil tarp. I carry other duel purpose things as well that I could not only use for daily chores but also in a emergency. I use my fire steel for other duties such as lighting my stove, shore lunch, marshmallows, ect. I use my tarp to set meat on, a poncho, pack cover, ect.

In a emergency I could easily use them for survival to get a fire started and wrap up in the tarp. My thoughts are dont just carry stuff to carry it.

The steel was $12 my mini tarp was $45.
Weight of the steel is 1.8oz and tarp 4.4oz.

A guy could get by with a GI poncho and a few matches, and a filter straw, I'd bet.

We had a couple of the sleeping bag heavier emergency bags.

I failed to put down a good layer of branches one night on a night out that was not planned. We didn't start a fire due to elk in the area.... my bad both of them. but it wasn't life threatening. I will say this though, I shivered all night. Finally wrapped the wife and I up in a wool coat I gave her.... And finally doubled the bags and it wasn't good.

Found out that for the same oz of weight we now carry a synthetic bag thats not that great but say 40 degree temps. It has at least some insulation.

Of course the tarp with the silver on one side we carry at least one a piece if not two. Just too many uses. Normally lay one on the bottom of the paratipi to put the mats and bags on. And many other uses including the shown meat butchering...

Now if I wasn't anal about fires and such, the paratipi and mini stove would be about all I'd need and we'd carry it everywhere....

Having 'used' one of the mylar blankets I think they are useless and refuse to carry one. Of the four of us in the party that spent the night out one guy flipped his blanket out and the mylar all fell off and another guy had one of the bag styles and it tore as he got in it. So right off the bat the bags/blankets were batting 0.500. I don�t buy that they reflect any useful amount of heat back at you unless you were naked and then there would be other questions. It was too wet to get a fire going so we endured until the storm passed and light came to walk out. What I learned was �go out the way you went in� from this event.
I carry a giant orange trash bag from Montana DOT for bagging road debris (seen here: http://outdoorsafe.com/cgi-bin/online/storepro.php). They are tougher than the mylar and the bag style allows you to get in the thing. If you need a ground cloth, poncho, lean-to, meat bag, etc they can be versatile and cut open.
I�ve lain out in the rain (comfortably) spotting for game in Alaska under the heavier blanket style but I just haven�t wanted to pack them when not using an atv. Whenever I hunt I also carry vaseline cotton balls, striker, and windproof matches from REI along with my first aid kit. My pack is heavier than most guys� but having been �there� I refuse to be unprepared again.

Not sure if everyone has seen these yet ... just came across them from one of my suppliers so it was news to me ... ordered one in to take a look and really like the idea ...

It is the heavier duty space blanket that many of the guys here have posted and recommended; but it adds a hood to the mix. It is like a combo Space Blanket / Poncho - Hooded All Weather Blanket

They aren't the space blankets but a Kifaru Woobie is a great survival blanket. It's lighter, warmer, and compress smaller than a poncho liner and they now offer them in two different weights.

Its a great idea and I have one I used during several downpours and works great. For a overnite or a survival sitition they are a little short for my height ( 6' ) to wear the hood and wrap something around my feet to catch some sleep. To use as a poncho it doesnot work well walking unless you bunge around you.