Reflective emergency blankets of all sorts have been around for quite some time. Their advantage over a conventional blanket is that they are small and lightweight, easily tossed into a glovebox or a grab-and-go bag. Emergency blankets will only keep you warm if they are large enough to fully wrap yourself up in them, preventing cold air from getting in and heat from escaping. The bag types (like this one) are definitely better than conventional tarp-like emergency blankets.
Here are a few suggestions regarding their use:
First, don't lay directly on the cold ground. Believe me when I say that the mylar bag won't be enough to keep you warm. It is much better to lay on top of an insulative material or structure - anything can help, from old clothes to a bed of pine needles. Second, if you're clothing is damp, take it off before getting in the bag. Some people prefer to lay in these bags nude (or in their underwear), but I find that a light layer of clothing is preferrable since it acts to insulate you from the cold surface of the bag. Third, if possible, use this bag in conjunction with regular blankets or a sleeping bag. This will make a huge difference, because once again, they insulate you from the outside world. Fourth, you need to figure out a way to secure the bag up around your head. Many people tape them up to leave a small face hole to peek through. Any hole is a leak path for your heat, so you ideally want it quite small. If you leave the top of the bag open, you will lose a great deal of heat. There are products similar to these that are designed with a drawstring to close up the top except for a small face hole. They are more expensive, but also easier to use.
Hope this helps!
Please be kind enough to indicate if reviews are helpful.
Written by Arthur Bradley, author of the "Handbook to Practical Disaster Preparedness for the Family." Emergency Sleeping Bag, Survival Bag, Emergency Zone® Brand, Reflective Blanket
Bought several of these to hand out to friends. While they look flimsy they are quite difficult to puncture. The conductive metalized surface is on the inside. In bright light you can see through one. These are so much warmer than a blanket made of the same material (I have both). The bag is about the size of a 'big hand' and can easily fit in the car, tackle box, even a coat pocket. They are very reflective and would be easy to spot from the air, just 'crunch them up' so there are many different reflecting angles. When they arrived, I unpacked one and tried it at 70 degrees F and became too warm in about 2 min... Once you unfold this thing, you will never get it back in the bag so I use a 'vacuum seal' food bag for used ones. Highly recommend everyone have one for each person. Keep a couple in the car, boat, camper, house, etc.
2010 FOLLOW UP:My lightweight sleeping bag was getting cold so I put my 'normal sleeping bag' INSIDE one of these, it made quite a difference...
If you're not familiar with these things, you're missing out. They are great at keeping you warm, fold up into a very compact size(about the size of a wallet) and can be used in many situations, mostly of an emergency/survival nature. In addition to being used as a blanket, it's intended use, it can also be used as a way of signaling for help.
All in all, with as cheap as these things are and as much help they can provide to you in an emergency(not to mention how little room they take to store), everyone should have a handful of them in storage "just in case" they ever need them for anything.
The item is not very tear prone, and really does work. What I would really recommend it for is an outer layer on a light-weight sleeping bag; for those traveling ultra-lite. In this case it does provide a modest amount of extra heat (which you will feel very quickly) to your sleeping bag--certainly enough to make the difference between a comfortable or uncomfortable night of modest cold. There is not a slit or zipper down the side, so once inside you are wrapped around in it, and that is that. You will also have to get use to the "crinkle" sound as you move around in it. The item is fairly roomy, and is quite a bit larger than many sleeping bags--certainly the "mummy" type. Again, a nice item to place on the outside of your normal sleeping bag. Also, if your sleeping bag is not waterproof, this item will certainly help with that.
Unlike the other reviews posted here, I actually used this product in a real survival situation. I almost died of hypothermia. The product is nothing more than a cheap, thin, plastic bag with the silver reflective surface SPRAY PAINTED ON! After a long, cold, wet night, when the sun finally came up, I realized I had this silver paint all over me and my gear. The bag had ripped in several places. I was freezing. If you rely on this product to save your life, IT WON'T! Consider yourself warned: DO NOT BUY THIS GARBAGE!
There are so many of these reflective mylar blankets/bags out there, there's nothing new to report here. It does fine for the intended purpose. I just wanted to add a slightly different perspective. Rather than wait for the end of the world, or getting lost in the woods I plan to carry one of these in my luggage from now on. Due to weather I got stranded ... not even sure where it was ... maybe Phoenix airport last year. Got in after midnight. No flights out. All the hotels were full with similarly stranded people. So along with a thousand other people I slept in the airport. By the time I got my checked bag all the good spots in the terminal were taken, so I slept on the floor under an exhibit of the art of Chuck Jones. Would have loved to have and one of these blankets with me then.
Kept me warm when I needed it most in freezing temperatures(wraps around the entire sleeping bag)...makes a krinkling noise which might annoy fellow campers...the sleeping bag gets damp because the tube keeps all the moisture inside, so you hang it up to dry out the next day. I would recommend this product. - Emergency Blankets - Camping - Survival - Backpacking'
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