# Where can you buy good space blankets?



## mldollins (Jun 21, 2008)

I have never used one before but would like to keep a few in my car for emergency only. They are fairly cheap on ebay. Lastly, do they actually do a good job of keeping you warm as they claim?


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I first used one between a sheet and blanket in St. Pete FL many years ago when it was getting down to freezing and the heat pumps just were not keeping the place warm. It worked.

I keep them around (the approx. $2 versions) from Walmart - I use them on the windows in the summer to block out some of the bright sunlight, especially in rooms that are not used much, or get excessive sun. 

I think they work, and they are inexpensive for the $ outlay. 

Angie


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## barn-apart (Feb 10, 2005)

Foil faced bubble wrap is very effective and water proof. Little more expensive but availible at Lowe's, Home Depot,ect.


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## Dutch 106 (Feb 12, 2008)

Hi,
Uhh the emergency space blankets are very useful and inexpensive. The emergency ones are good for a night or several if your careful with them, not much more they run $2 and pack small I keep a couple in the BOB in the truck.
There is also the normal vertion that run about $10 last time I payed attention. which probably means they are $20 now! The differance is the amount of use they will stand up to the couple I keep with the camping gear. Are backed with heavier backing and I have been using for years ( at least 20) and are still in good shape.
Dutch


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## wogglebug (May 22, 2004)

They work, although they do it by reflecting heat back rather than insulating against heat flow. You can still lose heat by conduction to things you touch or lean against.

HOWEVER, be careful. With anything you wrap around you when you're cold, make sure it won't catch fire if you snuggle up close to a fire. Whether it's a space blanket, or even just a garbage bag or flannelette sheet or pyjamas, make as sure as possible that it is non-flammable. Be aware that burning melting plastic is really nasty.

I know someone who had a really nasty experience in the early days of space blankets, with a campfire, near-explosive flare-up, burning melting plastic, and scarring. Most space-blankets now are labelled non-flammable. Some of them in dollar stores aren't. They work as far as helping your body retain heat. However, make sure it won't turn you into a real-life version of the human torch.


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## longrider (Jun 16, 2005)

Space blankets can be useful....but....

a *space bag *is soooo much more efficient in keeping the wind off of you, keeping the rain off of you, and keeping the bugs off of you. a blanket is good if you are in the sun and need shade. a bag is what you really need in most survival situations and these can be found in a lot of outdoor stores just like blankets.
http://http://www.amazon.com/SPACE-METALLIZED-EMERGENCY-BAG/dp/B000FJED2W/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1278285648&sr=8-8

As for a reasonable shelter/blanket the regular emergency blanket is something that I have used for 30 yrs. : 
http://http://www.amazon.com/MPI-MI18010000-WEATHER-BLANKET-ORANGE/dp/B000CSJWWW/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1278285648&sr=8-11


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I like regular blankets. A good fleece one will keep you just as warm. The loud crinkling of a space blanket can be heard from a half mile away on a clear night and if it's one of the ones with a reflective surface it's hard to conceal during the day.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

I buy my from Walmart. I found them in the camping equipment section of the store. I think I paid like a buck or two last time I got one.

While regular blankets are definitely more comfortable even a thin fleece won't be nearly as portable as a space blanket. Once my friend and I jumped a train for the fun of it. We didn't want to stand out like a sore thumb by wearing a backpack so we limited ourselves to what ever would fit in our pockets. The space blankets easily fit in my pocket (we had two a piece). Another plus is that they are water proof and can be used to make a shelter although as Ernie pointed out space blankets could give you a way if your trying to hide. While bumming around in a noisy urban environment my friend and I found that the noise level isn't that noticeable. Also in a heavily wooded environment sounds don't carry that far. I'd think you would have to be in a very open plains type area for anyone to hear you opening up a space blanket from any sort of great distance.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Heh. Phil, I can tell you from personal experience that Army rangers looking for you in the middle of winter in the Couer d'Alene National Forest CAN hear you both opening up the space blanket and then moving around underneath it from almost a mile away. That was in a wooded area with a foot of snow on the ground.

Then once they're there in the vicinity and you can hear THEM, you can't move at all without crinkling and crunching the stupid thing and both sides of the one I was issued were reflective. So a flashlight beam shining into the tree well where you're hiding reflects right back at them. 

That was a military exercise where my only job was to stay hidden for 2 days. If it had been a real situation I would have been dead or captured. As it was I got hot coffee and a whole lot of teasing.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

Ernie said:


> Heh. Phil, I can tell you from personal experience that Army rangers looking for you in the middle of winter in the Couer d'Alene National Forest CAN hear you both opening up the space blanket and then moving around underneath it from almost a mile away. That was in a wooded area with a foot of snow on the ground.
> 
> Then once they're there in the vicinity and you can hear THEM, you can't move at all without crinkling and crunching the stupid thing and both sides of the one I was issued were reflective. So a flashlight beam shining into the tree well where you're hiding reflects right back at them.
> 
> That was a military exercise where my only job was to stay hidden for 2 days. If it had been a real situation I would have been dead or captured. As it was I got hot coffee and a whole lot of teasing.


Yeah sounds carry a lot farther in the middle of winter although in the middle of winter I'd hope I would have something more substantial than a space blanket to keep me warm especially in the middle of January during a 20 below cold spell. Right now I don't think it would be a problem of being heard although keeping a shiny reflective blanket effectively hidden would be tough.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

Yeah, it's all in what you want it for.

All of my outdoors gear has the requirement of being able to keep me alive if I'm hiding out in the hills for some reason. If you don't subscribe to that particular mindset then a space blanket is probably suitable for most purposes.

And heck, some folks might like the shiny side to signal for help.


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

If the intent of the space blankee is to stay warm in a stalled car-truck . . To me that would be a poor choice.

But combined with a *real* blanket . . .thats another story.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 26, 2008)

longrider said:


> Space blankets can be useful....but....
> 
> a *space bag *is soooo much more efficient in keeping the wind off of you, keeping the rain off of you, and keeping the bugs off of you. a blanket is good if you are in the sun and need shade. a bag is what you really need in most survival situations and these can be found in a lot of outdoor stores just like blankets. And of course on amazon. just google it.


I couldn't agree more. I took a ROTC Survival course once and I used a blanket. It worked OK, but the BAG is MUCH better. It keeps the ground from freezing you up. Actually what surprised me the most, was when I built a lean to. I faced the underside of the lean to (facing the fire) and it almost made it too warm. the blankets are good for that. I now carry a bag, and a couple of blankets with a small amount of duct tape in my kit. If needed, you make a bag out of the blankets or just use them as a heat reflector.

SC


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## longrider (Jun 16, 2005)

remember that the use of a space blanket/bag is NOT to stay warm. It is to stay alive in the woods. You would still need to use it properly to be alive in the morning. You would have to put 6 to 12 inches of leaves and such under you to keep the ground cold from you. And you would still need a couple of feet of leaves on top of you sandwiching you in your blanky to keep you from being hypothermic through the night. under such preperation you could ride out any storm in your bag. You will wake soaked in body moisture and miserably tired but alive and kicking.

Because the blanket is aluminized plastic and thus fragile I would opt for a bivi bag shell. Never the less, I carry one of these SpaceBags in my personal survival kit that goes with me everywhere.

If you are in a car or truck- carry a simple cheap sleeping bag.


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## ozarkcat (Sep 8, 2004)

We used one when we camped in the SC MO Ozarks and it was getting towards fall (I think we tried to make things more heat efficient around early October, and we stayed out until mid-November). We had a tent that had a bit of roof support on the inside, so we put curtains around the bed and put the space blanket to cover the hole at the top of them - it reflected the heat very nicely! We weren't completely comfortable, but a whole lot closer than we would have been otherwise.


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