space blanket to the rescue...i think

H

HamAve

Joined
Jul 16, 2005
Messages
17
just this weekend i was able to put a space blanket to work; it was during a trip to a local theme park when a person of the group i was accompanying started shivering uncontrollably after being doused with sub-body temperature theme park water. we were riding in one of those oversized innertube rides that travel through simulated rapids waterfalls, garden hoses, and dripping buckets. although i too recieved a thorough soaking at the time(6:oopm) it didn't bother me as much as colleague and she began shivering immediately after the soaking.

luckily, i came prepared and out comes the space blankie. still tightly folded in its orignal shape i handed it to her and she began unfolding in a panicked fashion.

Later on well after the ride i noticed that the silver plating on the plastic, er mylar had come off three quarters of the blanket. I don't think thats the way its supposed to look :confused: it was really weird, i thought.

now, i have never unfolded a space blanket nor had the experience to use one before, but i always like being prepared. My question is... do these metallized blankets have an expiration date or require that they be only deployed in cool dry areas? I have never unfolded this particular blanket before(2 years old), and besides the damp fingers my colleauge used to unfold the thing there was alot of humidity in the air. Could this have caused the plating to stick together and rip themselves off the mylear?

sorry for the long post.

Larry

oh btw: the blanket was stored in a water pruf rubber banded shut bag
 
I have had cause to let others use the blankets I've carried on about half a dozen occasions and have never known this to happen to any of them (various makes). In my opinion you would do well to get in touch with the manufacturer and point out just how ineffective their product is. If this were to happen in a really bad environment like a mountaintop with an injured person needing all the protection possible, it could cost a life if the blanket were to fail like this. The loss of the silvering would dramatically reduce the thermal insulation property of the blanket to no more than that of a normal thin plastic sheet i.e. Not much at all!
 
This was relatively common in the early days of space blankets. Definately a defective blanket.
Enjoy!
 
what brand was it. I bought some from big lots that cost a 1.00ea I got them to play with but I'm not sure if I would rely on them in an emergency. On the other hand I bought an Adventure Medical Kit's two person heatsheet that looks like it would hold up but it was 5 bux and I have a two person bivy sack coming in that was 25 that even has it's own stuff sack. I'm gonna start pulling diffrent space bags/blankets out this winter and see how they hold up.
 
There is actually an expired by date with these blankets I read somewhere.

I heard about 2 years or else the foil part sticks to itself.

I have had this happen many times myself thus I replace the blankets every year to two.

Skam
 
This thread makes a very good point about PSK's and BOB's (AND first aid kits): check contents frequently.
 
Longstrider said:
. . . The loss of the silvering would dramatically reduce the thermal insulation property of the blanket to no more than that of a normal thin plastic sheet i.e. Not much at all!
Click to expand...

The primary effect of "pocket" blankets in hypothermia cases is to block wind.
 
I read on equipped.com that space blankets are not as reliable as some say. Dough said that a tarp was just as good. So got a silnylon tarp. as of this week, I have moved on to an OR goretex bivy sack. It fits perfectly into my lumbar pack with everything else and weighs a little more than a pound.
 
My mother uses a space blanket in conjunction with a soft ice chest when transporting cold/hot food items in the car. She's been using it for years and has no sign of falling apart.
 
Cyblade said:
what brand was it.
Click to expand...

Cy - i forgot exactly the brand name but i do remember vividly it was in a bright orange box with a large white plus sign on it. took it out of box cuz it was disintegrating my bob like crazy and leaving orange shreds everywhere. its the brand commonly seen in your local sporting goods.


forgot to add - as i was looking for a new SB, I came upon this larger durable looking blanket. metalized inside, thin foam insulation and outside looked like a tarp. it reminded me of the acordian folding sunshade for my car(looked and felt like it). it would take up quite some space in the bag, plus its about 20x heavier than the previous blanket i've been carriying. anyone know what i'm talking about? anyone carry it? or should i just stick to carrying more of the reglar stuff.

TOMBSTONE, thats the stuff :) im pretty sure its the same kind i saw at the store, but it was much heavier as far as space blankies go. i now realize after the initial blankie failure that i need some redundancy. maybe one of the heavy duty ones and 2 of the mylars.
 
Have a link to what you found?

I was goin thru some stuff the other day and found a British "blanket" called "BLANKET COVER(tm) - EMERGENCY BLANKET" I'd picked up a few years ago. Measures 1200mm x 2000mm (47.25" x 78.75").

I haven't opened them up yet.

Anyone else have experience with the British Blanket Covers???
 
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