Emergency Space Blanket

[ninjapuppet]

they're sold at all outdoor shops and we're often told to carry one.... but do they work?

Has anyone used these in an emergency situation and found it helpful? or are we all just carrying it in our kits just because we havnt questioned its utility....?
Kai Larson figured out it was useless when he came to need it http://www.larsonweb.com/shelter/id7.html

[whiskeylover]

Space blankets are used to reflect heat, and so are used in medicine as a way of avoiding further heat loss in a hypothermic patient. The best use is actually close to the body, which makes it a little weird and crackly. Of course the hypothermic person still needs another source of heat such as a warm person to get in their sleeping bag with them to transfer heat to them.
They are also useful as a waterproof wrap around the outside, because although they are thin they don't tear easily. I have been hypothermic with a broken leg in the snow, and I lay on a thicker reflective small tarp to insulate a little from the ground, but had the space blanket wrapped over the top of me to protect from wind, snow and falling tree debris.
They are very light and they work - recommendations to carry certain things in case of emergencies are not made to make your pack heavier, they are made to hopefully save lives (just can't save them all!), and if you carry a first aid kit you should know how each item works.

[ninjapuppet]

yes, everyone knows how a space blanket works in theory. I dont question the value of a reflective layer. In that above link, Kai was questioning the utility of a blanket vs a bivy.
But as he found out, any small amount of wind and the blanket flapped around too much, unable to keep him warm.

I feel that an emergency space bivy might be more helpful in your situation. Just looking for people's experience where they felt that the blanket was rather preferred over an emergency bivy. As far as I can see in local shops, space blankets are still more common than space bivies. The only situation I can think of, is if the unfortunate person in needing of help has sustained a injury whereby they can not be moved or able to crawl into the bivy. But in that situation, you can always cut the bivy into a blanket to wrap them around.

I'm interested to hear how your evacuation with the broken leg was carried out? by chopper? and how long did you lay in the snow for?

[hikingoz]

I have used a space blanket in SA in winter but it didn't help. In most cases I have camping gear with me and so don't bother with them. They just don't work that well...I agree that the bivies might retain a bit more heat but I havn't tried one.

[Birdie Claws]

They are very light and they work - recommendations to carry certain things in case of emergencies are not made to make your pack heavier, they are made to hopefully save lives (just can't save them all!), and if you carry a first aid kit you should know how each item works.

Mate, ease up on the tone there. I'm sure he knows how a space blanket/first aid kit works, seeing the profession he works in.
Ninjapuppet was comparing the theoretical practicality of a space blanket vs. its true practicality out in the field, compared to the space bivy. If you'd bothered to read the link at all you'll see why he posted this thread in the first place.

[mattmacman]

+1 Birdie Claw, if everyone was so worried about safety they'd have two knives, three filters, two tents, a bivy, two packs, three hard shells, my point... there's always a happy medium and you have to really look at an item and consider, 'is the protection it's going to give me worth the weight and pack size penalty?' and remember as you carry more you increase other risks such as falls, exhaustion, rolling an ankle and you *&^%$#! of the other guys you're walking with cause you're slower than a snail! IMO I don't ever carry a space blanket just because I think my Macpac Prophet XPD (AKA the fortress) would serve me better than a piece of flapping aluminium foil! Just my opinion.

[ILUVSWTAS]

I used one once. 17hrs into a 7 hr walk... DEAD tired and needed a catnap as i was flaking fast. In winter, cold night... curled up on the side of a road. Woke up 45 minutes later and the amount of moisture inside the space blanket was disturbing. They DO NOT breathe....

useless!!

[mattmacman]

To be fair I don't think their meant to ILUVSWTAS =D But again another negative!

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yes if I was gong to die, i'd rather die dry... or wet from rain rather than my own body filth..

[corvus]

Interesting topic are we looking at a 55g Thermal Accident Blanket primarily designed to maintain body heat in an emergency/accident situation not as a substitute sleeping system or what??
corvus

[gorby]

I pulled mine out of the first aid kit I have carried for years (20) and most of the silver stuff had flaked off........glad I found it at home and not with a broken leg in a snowstorm

[mattmacman]

Lucky find ^

[corvus]

Good reason to check first aid kits as their products have a use by date like most things
corvus

[tastrekker]

From the Cradle Mountain Run 2012 gear list:
Survival bag (not blanket) - this must be sturdy enough to resist tearing in strong winds eg ‘Space’ emergency bag.

[MJD]

Recently, I got to spend several hours lying on a dirt road after breaking an ankle and having to wait for help to arrive while the sun disappeared. Being winter, it got dark and cold. What clothing I had was good but I didn't have that much given that the walk was only meant to take a few hours. One of the other walkers gave me a space blanket that he had carried for sixteen years. It did make a difference and I was noticeably warmer with it than without it.

[mattmacman]

So the other bushwalker carried it for 15 years without using it? And were you very uncomfortable without it, were you going to die?

[MJD]

As I said: I was better off with it (especially seeing that someone else carried it ).

[Orion]

I've used both the blankets and the sack versions on unplanned bivies. They do work to trap some air and keep out the wind. I'm not sure how much the reflective coating adds but it can't hurt. The blankets obviously are harder to use in windy conditions than the sacks but they are smaller/lighter and sometimes that's the difference between carrying something or nothing. Both types are prone to tearing on rough rock surfaces and I found that a great combination was one of those skimpy sacks and a heavy duty 50 gallon plastic garbage bag.

I once squeezed into a single mylar bivy sack with a female friend for several rainy hours. Prior to this I wouldn't have thought that possible.

[Earthling]

I cant help with the are they warm...however, I remember when cruising the Bibbullmun track that I came across an individual and we started talking about emergency plans and what you would do under certain circumstances. With the subject of a bush fire, they said they were advised to get behind a large log and wrap themselves up in their space blanket. Their space blanket is made of plastic (as most are) and after showing them what my lighter can do to it, she scrapped that idea off the list....so be warned.

Do NOT use an Emergency Space Blanket as a fire blanket!

[Earthling]

Interesting topic are we looking at a 55g Thermal Accident Blanket primarily designed to maintain body heat in an emergency/accident situation not as a substitute sleeping system or what??
corvus

What they were showing is that they do not breath. Giving evidence of what they can do.
After all, a blanket that keeps you warm for an hour but leaves you drenched is not much chop in single figure temps after a short time...be wet, cold and shivering = death.
iluvswtas input was very good.

[ollster]

As I said: I was better off with it (especially seeing that someone else carried it ).

I note you didn't give it back, so you must like it!

[ILUVSWTAS]

Interesting topic are we looking at a 55g Thermal Accident Blanket primarily designed to maintain body heat in an emergency/accident situation not as a substitute sleeping system or what??
corvus

What they were showing is that they do not breath. Giving evidence of what they can do.
After all, a blanket that keeps you warm for an hour but leaves you drenched is not much chop in single figure temps after a short time...be wet, cold and shivering = death.
iluvswtas input was very good.

good to see some there ARE some people who can see beyond personal differences and see to the important points.

[mattmacman]

Shivering wont kill you its merely a way for humans to naturally warm themselves (provided you have the energy to supplement it), as for the breathability getting wet in cold climates (where you would need it) WILL KILL YOU, now to be fair i WOULD rather have the blanket/sheet than not but again the effort, weight, packsize and just having to look after it (check that its still works) isn't worth the potential return for me, IMHO.

[tasadam]

We carry a space blanket, (looks like this or this)and use it every trip. It goes in the tent on top of the tent floor, shiny side up, and it does make a difference. In the cold, you can feel your body heat reflected in your face. Being that we could both feel it in the face when we started using it like this and have confirmed it with an experiment since, we feel it's worth carrying. It's an extra layer between the ground too, protecting the tent floor from damage from the inside as the Tyvek does from underneath.

Reality, if an emergency situation required its use to wrap around to stay alive, it would be a pretty desperate situation because it would mean that for some reason we cannot put the tent up or get into a sleeping bag. If things get that desperate to stay alive, well, we have a PLB but don't want to use that unless our lives depend on it (that's what it's for).

We also carry a couple of St Johns Emergency Accident blanket. The weight is negligible, they were given to us as a gift, and it's likely they will wear out by packing and unpacking into our kit each trip than through use. And when they are looking tattered enough, we will be unfolding them to check on their status, but for now they are still near new.

As for the effectiveness of them? Surely better to have them than not, it's like a first aid kit - you hope you never need it so really it's dead weight (like spare camera batteries that you don't end up using). Just that the accident blanket takes up next to no space or weight, and the space blanket has other uses - we've also used it for an undercover shelter at camp, for outdoor cooking in the rain - just make sure you carry plenty of builders line.

Multiple use for space blanket, with builders line

spaceblanket-buildersline.JPG (124.31 KiB) Viewed 30705 times

[corvus]

Interesting topic are we looking at a 55g Thermal Accident Blanket primarily designed to maintain body heat in an emergency/accident situation not as a substitute sleeping system or what??
corvus

What they were showing is that they do not breath. Giving evidence of what they can do.
After all, a blanket that keeps you warm for an hour but leaves you drenched is not much chop in single figure temps after a short time...be wet, cold and shivering = death.
iluvswtas input was very good.

good to see some there ARE some people who can see beyond personal differences and see to the important points.

My question was "which space blankets" are we discussing as the two are chalk and cheese as other posts have noted and nothing to do with perceived or otherwise personal differences .
corvus

The underscoring is not in my original post

[Nuts]

The one Adam has is a 'Space' brand 'All weather blanket. Great, tough (though i use it alone not with a floor And inner floor good for long lunches... ) It would e possible to make a viable shelter from it so you had some chance of getting dry as well as warm. The other ones are much lighter (60 v 360 g's ???) http://www.fusiongear.com.au/survival-g ... 067995b596 and can be had in a bivy bag or blanket style. The main aim is to get you warm, not dry (though i did see a tent made from them )

[ILUVSWTAS]

(though i did see a tent made from them )

A TENT?? you'd have to be Nuts to try that..........

[Nuts]

PS, i'd go the bivy.. you could always slice it open

[Nuts]

(though i did see a tent made from them )

A TENT?? you'd have to be Nuts to try that..........

I'd agree

[mattmacman]

ARe you sure it wasnt aluminiumised cuben ?