Space Blankets?

saturnine138

saturnine138

Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
241
I've always just assumed they were one of those things you just throw in your kit and it'd be there when you need it. But I'm going through my gear since I'm going on a trip soon, and I've noticed mine isnt looking too good. I've never used it before, but for some reason I cant remember it isnt in the original packaging, and I've got it in a ziplock bag. However, now it's looking a bit discolored in spots and it's got quite a few wrinkles. Will this effect it's heating ability? Now that I think about it, Ive never even really looked into how effective they are in the first place. Has anybody ever had used one? If I need a new one, what should I look for or are they all the same?
 
Yeah, that definetly wear out in the kit. Hopefully Skunk will be around to tell about his, not good luck.
 
Never had one of the "pocket" variety as they seemed too thin to hold up to much. I bought the most expensive ones available. They have seen service as tarps and as reflectors to warm hypothermia victims. One (red/silver) is twenty years old and looks used but still very useful.
 
I will say this in defense of the cheap space blankets: they're cheap, they pack up really small and light, and work OK as a temp fix when your kids' tent's rainfly gets torn up. It will be kind of shredded by the end of the weekend though... in all honesty, a garbage bag would have worked as well or maybe better. I would NOT want to rely on one as my only shelter or warmth. I have a couple in my BOB, but I intend to use them to help waterproof a more substantial debris shelter or lean-to. When I wear them out, I don't plan on buying any more. They have roughly the same structural integrity as tracing paper.

I like the one Marc123 posted and others like it, appears to be a lightweight tarp sealed to a mylar liner? That makes a lot more sense to me for a PSK. I think you need some kind of cloth or fiber material to give it strength.
 
Having spent a few nights with a pocket space blanket augmenting my sleeping bag, my experience was even if the cold no longer kept you awake, the noise did. The heavy duty ones with grommet holes are a whole different animal, I never leave home without one.
 
I was speaking to a guy from a colorado SAR team who told me that these were not very effective without some other blanket or something, They stop like 90% of radiated heat loss which accounts for only around 20% of total heat loss.

This is just something one person told me and i havent found any data suppporting or contradicting it, I still carry one and a trash bag and figure its better than nothing.

my own experience with the heavier tarpType one is that i got more condensation than it was worth and was warmer with my nylon poncho as an outer layer.

I have read and heard about the "heat sheet" which seems an improved version of the mylar ones.

Check out www.equippedtosurvive.com
 
When you guys talk about the higher quality more expensive versions, what brand are you talking about? I am looking to get one and don't know exactly which one to buy. I want one that is not going to take up too much more room than the cheap version and is going to be more durable. How about the AMK "heatsheet", does anyone have any experience with one of these? How big is it folded up compared to the cheaper ones? Thanks for your time.
 
The AMK Heatsheet packs into a small package. Folded up dimensions are approxiametely 6.5"L x 4" wide and 1" inch thick. Overall weight is 3.5 oz. They claim that it is big enough to be used by two people.
 
troutfisher13111 said:
When you guys talk about the higher quality more expensive versions, what brand are you talking about? I am looking to get one and don't know exactly which one to buy. I want one that is not going to take up too much more room than the cheap version and is going to be more durable. How about the AMK "heatsheet", does anyone have any experience with one of these? How big is it folded up compared to the cheaper ones? Thanks for your time.
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Probably talking about something like this. I have a few, they work and seem to hold up well. Made by Thermos. Here is a description:
Heavy duty, compact plastic lined foil 84'' x 60'' blanket will reflect and help retain over 80% of radiated body heat, providing warmth and protection, even in sub zero temperatures. Similar to the Army's Casualty Blanket, this is excellent for emergency use, camping, hunting and viewing sporting events. One in the car for winter travel could save a life! Waterproof, light-weight, and durable.
td8002a.jpg
 
I had one still in it's package, and was thinking about folding it into a different shape to fit an interior pocket of a pack. Took it out, and found it was "sticking" to itself, in some spots. Pulled gently, at first, then , when it still wouldn't come aprat the entire way, it started tearing....and you kno what happens once it starts tearing??? Yup, it turns you into a mylar madman ripping and balling it up to throw it as far as you can!

I'm not saying they are worthless, but let's go down the list of pros and cons.


PROS
-It's the last line of defense.
-Compact, only thing avilable to fit in a small PSK.
-Better than nothing.
-Can be used for signalling.
-also acts as a wind barrier. Wind can suck the heat out of you quite aggressively.
-Can shade you from the sun in hot climates.

CONS
-Check the older ones, I am "thinking" 5 years is a good time to rotate, maybe sooner in hotter climates.
( a good secondary use for the old "rotated ones" is to wrap your ice cooler, keeps ice frozen longer.)
-Won't make you comfortable, but may be the difference between freezing and freezing to death. (Slows the the getting cold process, doesn't stop it).
-Noisy
-Fragile, beware of the endless tear.
-Is not a replacement for layered clothing, jacket, shell etc. but as an addition.


I think it's a love/hate relationship. I hear the newer ones, even thethe real thin newer ones are improved over the older ones.
It may pay to add a dollar or two and get a NAME brand, like Heatsheet, Thermo-Lite, etc.

If you have the "space" (pun intended) it would be wise to carry the thicker kind, or bag style, or bivvy, pancho, anything heftier that is gonig to also provide insulation.

Look at them as the last line of defense, the thing you hope you don't have to resort to using, but, the one thing that is compact enough to carry in your PSK.

trick: Get a thin painters tarp and some contact cement*.
Lay space blanket out flat, use contact cement to "glue" space blanket to thin painters tarp. It will be bulkier than just having a the mylar space blanket, but will increase it's durability 10x. Now it can be used under a tent, to sleep on top of, as an over head tarp, etc.

I am toying with the idea of doing this with a standard mil-style pancho.
Glue a mylar space blanket in the inside, poke head hole in it.

*first, test the contact cement, in a small area, to make sure it is compatable with the tarp and the mylar.
 
I like space blanket threads! I estimate that 67.2% of all my post are somehow related to my 'space'-type emergency blanket. It seems to be a hot topic lately.

I am not an expert on space-type blankets. I haven't used the AMK HeatSheets, but I have read good things about them. Per Doug Ritter's site, it sounds like AMK will be coming out with a new version of their blankets and bivy bags this spring. IUKE12 posted a pic of the multi-layer 'sportsman's blanket.' I have had one of these stowed in my vehicle for at least 10 years. after enduring numerous transfers and a few hard-core picnics, it is still in as-good-as-new shape.

I have had the ultra-compact mylar blankets, and still have a few here and there. I have only deployed one of these types once as a sleeping bag cover during a winter camping expedition (ok, winter car camping trip). It was colder than we had anticipated, and the blanket gave us the little extra edge we needed to retain warmth. But after use, the mylar blanket didn't repack so well, and eventually became tattered and was discarded.

I have since sacrificed 'space' for a heavier-duty version of the 'space' blanket. Here are links to the blanket I am currently carting around and transferring from pack to pack to PFD to pack:

http://www.hartwellmedical.com/blanket.html

And at an online vendor: http://www.buyemp.com/product/1060608.html

I haven't had to use the blanket mentioned above, so I can't attest it's durability in the field. It has easily endured many re-rolling and re-packing adventures. Based on the construct, I am confident it would endure at least several nights use. I used some tarp tape on my blanket to reinforce some spot and added grommets, making it into a super space-emergency-blanket-tarp thingie:
Blanket001.jpg

Blanket002.jpg

Blanket003.jpg

I plan on using the blanket above sometime this year, just to see how it works.

Another alternative I'd like to try this year is one I read about in the March 2005 Field and Stream magazine. The author of the article carried a 7' x 8' 3 mil plastic tarp in his emergency pack that he cut from a roll of plastic sheeting. He had reinforced spots on the edges of the plastic and attached grommets. It seemed like a decent idea, so I plunked down abut $8 and bought a roll of 4 mil 8' x 25' plastic sheeting. I figured I could make at least 3 decent sized tarps from the roll. I have the grommet points reinforced and ready for grommets:
4milTarp002.jpg

4milTarp001.jpg


The Hartwell Isothermal blanket and the 4 mil tarp definitely do take up more space than a compact mylar space blanket. However, I prefer the piece of mind that what I carry is more durable and can by used in more ways than a space blanket.
 
SkunkWerX said:
trick: Get a thin painters tarp and some contact cement*. Lay space blanket out flat, use contact cement to "glue" space blanket to thin painters tarp.
I am toying with the idea of doing this with a standard mil-style pancho.
Glue a mylar space blanket in the inside, poke head hole in it.
Click to expand...

Hmmm that's an interesting idea for guys like me who like to tinker around with stuff. I would try 3M Super77 spray adhesive instead of contact cement though, just because it's easy to apply and I already have some, ho ho. It lists both foils and plastics on the label so it should work.

Also if you're going to laminate something with that big of an area, start at one edge, apply the adhesive to maybe a foot or two at a time across the whole piece, and roll it with a rolling pin or similar to get it nice and flat. You goop up the whole tarp and try to lam it all at once, yer gonna be cussin' :D

Heh it just occurred to me, I wonder if I lightly spray-painted the tarp first would the adhesive/space blanket still stick to it?!? (so the color shows through the plastic but is protected by it) Y'know for camo, baby! Guess there's only one way to find out...

Then you can put grommets in it like hikeeba said, I hadn't thought of that.

Cigar, there's a whole thread about Tyvek... what does it cost for enough for a couple tarps?
 
I just spoke with an ex girlfriend who I had put together a Hiking pack for while we were dating. she told me that she was on a camping trip last year and was in her tent shivering unable to sleep. :(

She remembered the space blanket and added it between layers of her sleeping bag and it made a huge difference, she was able to sleep through the night in relative comfort. :)

It diddnt save her life but it made her trip alot less miserable.
 
Tyvek clothing is available ,used for painters etc. I have no idea of it's insulating properties. The last space blanket I bought was from www.actiongear.com , they have a few different types.
 
EmsRescueGuy said:
I just spoke with an ex girlfriend who I had put together a Hiking pack for while we were dating. she told me that she was on a camping trip last year and was in her tent shivering unable to sleep. :(

She remembered the space blanket and added it between layers of her sleeping bag and it made a huge difference, she was able to sleep through the night in relative comfort. :)
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The first time I added a plastic sheet to the layers of my bedding (40's/no tent/wind came up) was the last. The trapped condensation got the bag damp, and by 4 AM I was even more uncomfortable than before I added the plastic (up and start fire). I would think that one of these "blankets" has the same potential - depending on conditions.

And I feel foolish to have not mentioned using one to keep off the sun. Excellent in that application.
 
Thomas Linton said:
The first time I added a plastic sheet to the layers of my bedding (40's/no tent/wind came up) was the last. The trapped condensation got the bag damp, and by 4 AM I was even more uncomfortable than before I added the plastic (up and start fire). I would think that one of these "blankets" has the same potential - depending on conditions.


I had the same problem with one of the heavier tarp type ones but I just figured I would share a positive one too.
Click to expand...
 
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