How An EMERGENCY Blanket Almost KILLED me! | Winter Camping FAIL!
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
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*NOTE*: What I describe in this video was NOT an emergency survival situation! The advice given is my own PERSONAL experience for trying to stay COMFORTABLE in the backcountry. In an emergency situation ensure you have the skills and knowledge of what to do and how to properly use your gear (including when to get an emergency blanket RIGHT NEXT TO A PERSON'S SKIN) and listen to experts (which I am NOT).
*BONUS TIP on Vapour Barriers Below!*
Emergency blankets. You know all about them right? WRONG! Using one of these in the wrong ways at the wrong time could prove fatal... BELIEVE ME!
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PLAYLIST - Winter Camping TIPS : • How To START Winter Ca...
EXTREME Winter Camping Sleep System: • EXTREME Winter Sleep S...
My FIRST Winter Backpacking Trip: • First Winter Backpacki...
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Vapour barriers can actually be incredibly effective to keep a person both warm AND dry. By limiting the amount of evaporation, you can limit the amount of heat loss, while allowing for more conscious nuanced decisions about personal thermoregulation. My favourite backpacking RUclipsr (Jason THEBestBackpacker) talks about this concept at 3:52 in this video: • Video . For MORE information on Vapour Barriers Read Andrew Skurka's write up here: andrewskurka.c...
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Proper title for this episode :
"How I nearly committed suicide by not knowing how to use an emergency blanket properly".
Yep
He said legit at the one minute mark that it was because he didn’t know how to use it
@@sir.benzerlot4571 Which is why RTFM is importing.
I was taught by a military winter survival instructor, he said to use the 3/1 rule for every layer of insulation you place above you place 3 under you. The cold not coming from the air but the block of ice your laying on and the frozen ground is like a block of ice
You are completely right! It's the ground that'll really kill you!
Keep Moving Forward!
I remember seeing a survivor episode, we're they broke the ice and dug up the dirt then layer there tent. They also said after digging out the dirt the floor was warmer.
Great video. I agree with the comments about the ground temperature being the issue. The best use of the space blanket in the situation described here would have been to fold it up for placement under your sleep system. In fact, every piece of gear you have laying around you should be flattened out and placed under you too including your empty flattened backpack. That is your best bang for the buck -- isolation from the ground.
This is why I hammock in the winter time, throw an insulated air pad (R- rating: 4.2) in your hammock and a 0 degree sleeping bag and you'll be comfy
@@gimmedahhcookies4341 I'm taking it one step further this weekend when the temps will drop to 12 F; combining the down underquilt with a 2" inflatable pad in my hammock. My only concern is keeping "inside" the underquilt - not having the pad raise me too much out of it.
The title was intriguing, but it's not the blanket that nearly killed you, it's your lack of winter experience and readiness (including gear selection). I'm glad you were close to home. Had you been 10 k from the trailhead you would have been in serious trouble. Thanks for sharing your experience, but I think you need to reconsider your idea about hosting a workshop. I've been hiking in winter for 30+ years, and I still wouldn't consider myself expert enough to put on a winter clinic. It's one thing to do a free video on RUclips, but from a legal perspective, if you charge people for a lesson, you place yourself in a position of liability. Cheers.
Hey Marty, thanks so much for your feedback, as you know I always value and appreciate your perspective. That being said, I should clarify that this is a story from my first ever foray into winter camping, and NOT a recent mistake. I will be the first to admit that I was totally naive, unprepared, ignorant, and even reckless. THIS is only one part of a series of unfortunate mistakes I made on that little "trip". My only saving grace was that I chose to "try" winter backpacking a few blocks from home. Up to this point, I hadn't even tried sleeping in the winter in my backyard! Like I said, many foolish mistakes. I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment.
That being said, that night taught me one thing: I knew next to nothing about winter camping and needed to learn! The following year (even during summer months) was spent focused on learning about winter camping. I did many more winter backpacking tests, first in my backyard then further from home till finally heading into the backcountry. And I've loved winter backpacking ever since! But I'll also admit, I'm. no expert! There's still so much to learn.
The Backcountry Forward Winter Workshop is a very introductory session, designed to help get people taking their FIRST steps towards winter camping. It'll give them the basic knowledge they need to start preparing for winter trips, not getting into serious winter expeditions (and that will be made plainly and abundantly clear)! The goal really is to give people the courage and motivation to get learning, start getting the right gear, and start safely testing and training themselves LONG before they head out into the backcountry. My biggest hope, and the reason I'm doing it, is exactly because of what I shared in this video: I want to help other well-meaning but ill-equipped individuals who are ready to try winter camping to start doing so in a safe and wise manner, rather than making the mistakes I did.
I hope my mistakes will help teach others. But more than that, I hope that by making myself available I will be able to offer sound advice, advice that may not get people ready to head up to Eagle Lake, but may encourage and motivate them to try something new, push their limits, and get into the backyard to start testing some gear! And, as always, Keep Moving Forward (even in the winter)!
Thanks again for your advice and for being such an inspiration to so many! Happy New Year man!
@@BackcountryForward that's smart.
Yeah, we see these types all the time in trouble outside. All details, wasting time and having no common sense. You can't tell them anything. In love with his own voice obviously...
What’s 10k? Asking for a country that made it to the moon without metric system.
Unfortunately everyone is told have one of these blankets but are given no training or information. This is probably true of the majority of people that take them out on their adventure. Generally speaking they are rubbish unless you are using one in perfect, windless conditions. Yeah that sounds likely!
They work as a reflector for fire 🔥 heat or in a super shelter but for much else I wouldn’t bother!
More dangerous than they are worth
I was a wilderness survival instructor for the Alaska State Troopers and we tested several types of these "survival blankets." The word "blanket" is a misnomer. It causes people to believe they should wrap the thing around them like a blanket or a shawl. Not good! By themselves, these have ZERO insulative value. You need AIR trapped in between clothing, blankets, sleeping bag, etc, to have insulative value. These work best if you put them on top of your sleeping bag, not in your sleeping bag. As you mentioned, they are great at trapping condensation rising from your body. Anything that makes you wet also makes you colder. We found their best use, although even this is marginal given the flimsy nature of the material, is to use it as an emergency tarp to keep rain off you. If set up as a small lean-to shelter, it can also reflect some heat from a campfire down on to you.
Thank you SO much for this comment! It's excellent to finally have some authority on the matter speak up! I in no way am an expert on this. Would you mind emailing me at backcountryforward@gmail.com? No pressure, but I'd love to pick your brain and understand the best use-case for these a little more and perhaps do a more informative and authoritative video on the topic.
Would love to hear from you!
Thanks for the comment!
I was thinking putting it on the roof of my tent, between the rain tarp and the tent. Would you advise that? My idea is that it will still allow condensation to vent but also reflect heat back to me
Heat sheets or mylar blankets are a very good option for extending the temp rating of your sleep system. First I must say I have done long range multi-week hiking trips and been involved in army survival training but I am not an expert.
Some hints to help:
When you make up your tent if possible put pine needles or other material under your tent to insulate from the snow. Have a pad or air mattress under bag. Under this pad put the mylar blanket so it is acting as a reflector between your pad and bag. Then if you get cold you can drape the remaining mylar over your bag.
Trapping heat under you will make a difference and the insulation of the needle bed you make under your tent will help a lot.
Great tips! And I appreciate them! I certainly am no expert myself!
I actually use a mylar blanket underneath me all the time (all season long)! It's a great tip!
Important point - needs an infinite amount of emphasis - temp ratings on bags are ALWAYS survival ratings unless otherwise specified as comfort ratings. This is the lowest temperature at which the sleeping bag's manufacturer believes you will survive the night without additional insulation. NEVER, regardless of whether you are a "cold" or "hot" sleeper take a bag out into anything close to its rated survival temperature. Nightly low temperatures are:
1) predictions ONLY and they can be quite wrong
2) are based on the location and elevation of the nearest weather station, not YOUR location/elevation
3) do not take into account your conditions - are you bone dry when climbing into bed? (probably not)
I found myself in Little Yosemite Valley about 30 years ago. My bag was rated for survival at about 2 degrees above what the expected nightly low temp was supposed to be. I was young, stupid, and a "hot" sleeper so I thought I was good to go. I nearly died. The low temp prediction was fairly accurate (within 5 degrees or so), but for the elevation on the main Yosemite valley floor, hundreds of feet below my elevation. I shivered uncontrollably for several hours, and then I stopped shivering, panicked, and got out of my tent did a bunch of jumping jacks and started walking around and didn't stop until dawn. Had I not forced myself to get up and start moving I probably would have died that night. Instead, I spent the rest of the night, from about 1 am until dawn, walking ~1 mile up trail, then back to my tent, then ~1 m down trail, then back to my tent... lather rinse repeat. It was one of the most miserable nights of my life. As soon as I got home, I purchased a true winter sleeping bag and a good base layer, vowing never to be that dumb again.
Yes! Absolutely! I had NO clue what sleeping bag temps really meant when I made this mistake a number of years ago! Since then I've learnt a LOT!
You are completely spot on, never take it close to it's temp rating (even the comfort ratings are very deceiving (unless you think "comfort" is being an average warm sleeping male, in a base layer curled up in the fetal position all night...)
Great points... I'm glad I learnt my lesson close to home, otherwise I imagine my night would have been similar to yours!
Keep Moving Forward!
I probably wasn't In anywhere the real danger that you were, however; it was a exceedingly uncomfortable night.
Mine was in opposite conditions in the Painted Desert. It was over 100° during the day, we were in shorts and shirts.
Once the sun went down the temperature plummeted to ??° .
We had fleece sleeping bags, fleece throws and fleece vests, long sleeve nylon hiking shirts, long hiking pants and fresh wool hiking sox.
I even covered with my pack.
We had every stitch of clothing in our packs on; even covered with the packs.
@@rudygeorgiamulesandcountry1594 I’m not familiar at all with the desert myself. But I’ve heard stories of how cold it can get at night.
@@BackcountryForward At any rate you found yourself in frigid temperatures with insufficient bag rating, whereas; I was anticipating warmer temperatures with insufficient bag rating.
In contrast we stayed @"Desert View", Watch Tower campgrounds on the rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ sleeping under a polycotton sheet and a fleece throw at 28° and my feet weren't even cold. I have N0 explanation other than the possibility of a lower humidity.
Again in this situation we over estimated the anticipated temperature with exact opposite effect. In this case the car was only 25 feet away and IF we would have gotten cold we would have had all our gear at our disposal. We had no idea the temperature had dropped as low as it did unless the over night low temperature hadn't been posted at the office.
We were comfortable that night. Possibly the air temp dropped, but the sun heated ground remained warm underneath us. I dunno !
We also got stranded at the visitor center on top of "Going to the Sun Rd." In Glacier National Park durring an unexpected blizzard on the 4th of July, .... that was cold !
@@rudygeorgiamulesandcountry1594 crazy! Humidity can definitely make a big difference! So can sleeping in a “cold sink” (a lower part of the ground where the cool air runs to). Maybe that was it 🤷♂️
Having grown up in Western Montana, I too learned what worked and what would kill me. First off, wool is your best friend. Should it get wet, let it freeze then whack it several times against a tree or large rock (Pants, socks, shirt or trench) which will break the ice crystals free--leaving you with warm dry clothing. Wet wool will keep you warm enough if it's 100% wool.
The second huge lesson I learned is to strip naked once in the sleeping bag. Despite having cheap temp Forest Service 'white bags' to sleep in, I remained toasty warm in one at -35f. If your body is covered in a thermal layer, the heat does escape but cannot cannot make it back to your body very well. Lastly, I fully agree that the more layers in your sleeping pallet, the less the cold ground/ice/snow can't get to you easily.
Great video full of solid info!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate your valuable insight!
I'm from Alberta Canada myself, so we're pretty close in similar climates!
I both want to ... and also never want to ...try your wool drying method! great insights there!
Good do know in an emergency situation!
Keep Moving Forward!
I heard about that sleeping naked for the sleep system to keep one warm from a forestry buddy who camped a lot. I haven't ever tested it though.
7:13 but you seem to also be making the mistake of turning gold inside. Those silver/gold blankets are diods! They transmit heat gold to silver! If you wan to keep heat inside, you must turn it silver inside, gold outside! Of course, if you're in a hot desert and want to be cold and protect from the sun, you would do the opposite, that is what you seem to be doing here in the winter, with the gold outside. Mistakes over mistake. What's so hard reading the user manual! It contains basically a single line! "To maintain heat, please turn the silver side towards the person".
Exactly....... the idiot should stay indoors . the GOLD side does NOT face you in the cold .
Sry but this is kind of right but also wrong the silver side reflects 99%of ir radiation and the gold side reflects 97% so its realy not relevant which side is used. You cant wrap someone in those blankets to cool them they need to be used as a tarp for cooling
Another trick for extreme cold weather camping is a hot water bottle. This is what mountaineers do in the Himalayas (or California in my case). Just take your CamelBack (which will not freeze in your backpack because your body heat will keep it warm) or big-mouthed Nalgene bottle and fill it with a few liters of boiling water right before you go to bed. Inside of a down sleeping bag this will keep you extra warm for several hours. Just be aware of where the bag or bottle is at. And obviously don't spill any on the bag. But this is a real treat on those bitter cold nights. I've used this trick down to 5 degrees in a 15 degree down bad and I was completely warm. It would work to even colder temps I'm sure.
Good one.
I am planning some boatcamping in the San Francisco Bay..... the hot water bottle is on top of my list 🙂
I experimented with the aluminized mylar "space" blankets in German winters 45 and more years ago. Have a good layer of insulation to lay on. That is very important. Use your space blanket on top to radiate heat back towards you. It is best for water and wind resistance, otherwise. If you built a long term bunker for cold weather, I bet it would be good as a water barrier as part of the roof while radiating some of the heat back onto you. I haven't experimented with that.
I wonder if the aluminize layer could be secured to the tent inner walls, so as not to have them shift around and out of position during the night.
@@billsemenoff Duck tape, maybe? Or something similar.
This is how you become a Missing 411 case.
Definitely! Fortunately I was playing it safe and not far from home! Could have been much worse!
Keep Moving Forward!
Yet this moron is the one giving others advice on backpacking. That’s the scary part
@@RViscara If you're expecting to get advice from someone who never made a mistake you'll be waiting a long, long time.
You were smart enough to test your equipment close to home before heading out into the wild. Always a good idea. Another good idea is to read the manual before you test the gear. Here is an exercise for you: Which side of your emergency foil should be directed towards your body when it's cold and why?
One wool blanket folded in thirds is 3 layers of insulation
Definitely would be warmer!
Keep Moving Forward!
I put it on the floor of the tent, shiny side up and it helped, plus it's a moisture barrier and protects my matrass from sharp things.
Luckily my father taught me how to use the emergency blanket the proper way. He learned it, when he was a member of the Red Cross.
Most important thing to know: The silver side is facing to you, the gold side is facing away from you. The silver side reflects the heat back to you, the gold side absorbs the heat from you or any other heat source and transfers it to the silver side due to tiny little holes on the gold side. And yes, there has to be a distance between your body and the blanket
That is some VERY valuable knowledge he passed on to you!
That's a strongly persisting wrong information. There is almost no difference in heat reflection wether you use the golden or silver side - and high reflection means no heat absorbtion. The difference in color is for different environments regarding the signaling function of this blanket: It reflects not only heat but also light, so it can serve as a mirror. In winter environment, it might be difficult to discriminate a silverish reflection of such a blanket from snow and ice, so you turn the golden layer outside. It reflects (heat and light), but is still a strong visual signal from air and ground.
Would you advise throwing it over a tent to keep it warmer?
Your sleeping pad is always a vapor barrier. Unless you sleep on wool blanket absorbing moisture, or on lot of clothes the same process happens. If you sweat so much that you can see the condensation then you are too warm for that layer. It's a good tool. I slept once at -10°C under this and it kept the freezing wind outside. When the fire went off, it worked like a bivi or tent. I was breathing through a tiny hole and I was able to sleep. All of that without a sleeping bag. I was not soaked in the morning. Maybe a little moist but my clothes would be frozen without this layer and the wind felt like it would kill me in couple of hours.
Wool is still warm if wet aswell.
@@hurstshiftin9873 It's an impossible myth. If you soak it in 4°C water it will be exactly 4°C. It may retain some insulating properties because it absorbs "only" some 20% or even less while it's still on the sheep because of the natural fat but I think man made hollow fiber fabric can do this even better
People that sleep out in extreme cold, actually sometimes use VBL's as a second layer over their baselayers to keep moisture from going into their insulation layers above and freezing. This is particularly helpful on longer trips where much ice tends to accumulate in thicker bags. This has been mentioned in Arctic and Antarctica exploration accounts multiple times.
Meanwhile, the colder it is, the drier it is, and the more comfortable it becomes to get and stay a bit moist. You will stay warm as long as the insulation above you is still doing its job. For me, it has to be minimum 10*F before I use a VBL and preferably colder, like in the negative F temps.
But IR reflectors need some air space between them and the source of heat to actually reflect thermal energy. So if it is plastered onto you because of the above layers, it won't work well for the IR aspect. Adhering foam bumps on it at strategic points can help with that.
Btw, chances are that your pad may not have been insulated enough. That is a mistake that a lot of newbies make. People tend to think mostly of the insulation above and not below so much. Cold ground is quite a conductive heat sink, compared to cold air. Another mistake that newbies tend to make, is that if they bring both a foam and air pad (always good to have both), is that they put the foam below the air pad. While that can be good for protection of the air pad, the foam pad on top is better for insulation because foam doesn't allow much, if any, convective heat loss through it whereas an air pad is much more prone to that (especially when placed between two temp extremes i.e. your body and the cold ground, this stirs up convective currents more--think of a cold front mixing with a warm front and how this mixing of different pressures and energy potential tends to facilitate storms, stronger winds, and the like. That is like a macro expression vs the micro).
I like to use a vbl sack (waterproof nylon) with drawstring top, snugged around armpits, so arms are free. That's inside a down bag.
As has been said,, lots of insulation beneath is key to a warm night
This emergency blanket even has 2 sides. One for cooling and other for keeping cold out. If your outdoor in the cold always make sure you put silver inwards
Why not use is between the sleeping pad and the tent floor? what do you think, I believe that should race the R value 1 or 2, what do you think?
you got it! In fact in my other cold sleeping videos I explain to do exactly that!
Thank you for posting this! That moisture has to have a way to escape and not be part of the problem. I am glad you got out of that one, but what an unpleasant experience!
This was actually really informative. Honestly, i may have made that same mistake.
Thanks so much! Glad I was able to help!
Keep Moving Forward!
I would have too. Glad i could learn from his mistake.
I always keep a fire bundle built and ready before the start of a super cold night. Always nice and ready to go for the morning and if I start freezing my butt off I can strike it in the dark and get warm asap, put clothes on, warm up, gather more wood, not die. I’ve taken a bag to 12 Fahrenheit under the survival rating, (bag rating 30, night cold got to 18) and it was miserable. And I was in a hammock with no under-quilt. Next morning was heavy rain and no change of fire, 10 miles deep into the Kentucky backwoods. The temperature was 20 under forecast. All of my problems would have been solved if I just set up a fire bundle when I got to the site.
I put a mylar blanket under my sleeping bag between the mat and the ground, and then another on top of my sleeping bag with a light blanket on the top to keep the cold air off the mylar blanket. I keep toasty warm! No condensation issues.
Great tip!
Ok, I'm 2:51 into the video and I want to take a guess as to what happened.
Mylar blankets are very good at reflecting heat, but they're also conductive, so I'd imagine you wouldn't want your body to be in direct contact with it. My theory is that if the blanket is directly on you, it's absorbing heat from your body and radiating it outward, away from you.
If you put the emergency blanket inside of your sleeping bag, it'll pull heat away from your body and into the space between the Mylar blanket and the sleeping bag. Then, it'll reflect the heat AWAY from your body, ultimately making you colder. I'm guessing you probably want to put the emergency blanket over your sleeping bag, not on top of it.
Ok, time to see if I'm right...
Well, I was half right. I didn't consider the moisture issue.
Same thing happened to me and a friend when the scout master assistant gave us one of those...it was my sweat that made it hell, right next to my skin. Shivering and all that jazz. Never again.
Oh man! I’m glad to hear I’m not alone. But as someone whose “been there done that” I’m sorry you had to experience that!
The title should be “How I failed to read the instructions that are literally printed on the blanket bag and complain about it for 7 minutes.”
Great point! I’ll change the title to that right now! Although, somehow I don’t think the instructions would have helped me… considering everyone ive asked about how to use an emergency blanket gives me different instructions (and there’s no instructions on the packaging)… but keep being an expert! We need more people like you.
and also, this double sided blanket is made for 2 purposes .. if you had the golden side towards you, that actually takes the heat away from you😅 purpose is for burn injuries for example... if you wanna retain heat, you have to get it over you the silver side in
Metallized BOPET (Mylar is a brand name) also conducts heat very well, so you shouldn't have it touch your body at all. Put one in your hammock in the summer time for excellent cooling. Stay in the shade or watch for sunburns though.
Good idea! I hunt in central Texas, it's often 90 F and very high humidity during bow season (October). Even in the shade is hot. To date, most hammocks seem to act like mini suanas, except for the cheap and uncomfortable fishnet types.
I wonder what would have happened if you just left the blanket where you put it first. I heard that you are actually supposed to put the blanket close to your skin in a survival situation and that you will stay warm even though you're wet, because the water can't evaporate to cool you and the layers outside can stay dry. Basically that it would be very uncomfortable but warm. Does anyone know if that is true?
As well as reflecting heat back to you, they also reflect the cold back to you.
Should of got up and run around (mini work out ) to start pumping blood around you and raise your own temperature. + make a hot water bottle to put in bag with you after the running around. The pad and thermal barrier between you and the frozen ground will have a massive effect on you being able to self generate heat and keep hold of the heat your generating.
cold cannot be reflected as its just the lack of heat.
@TendieAssassin true. So the idea of wrapping yourself in one if you are very cold is pointless.
You need to generate the body heat first for the foil blanket to work.
@trailtocamp your body is always producing heat
@@TendieAssassin and its main survival instinct is the core. Giving up on feet and hands first.
But if you body can't produce enough heat fast enough and your loosing heat, hyperthermia is not far away and all the associated early problems it'll bring.
@trailtocamp you were misunderstanding the principals of thermo dynamics. That's all I was pointing out.
one thing i do as a safety in winter camping even if im gona have a cold camp. i still gather some firewood even just enuff to build a little cooking fire out of pine branches and stage it so if an emergency like what you had or the hot water bottle i made leaked on me again. i can get out and quickly build a fire to at least warm back up if ya get cold ya cant just go back to sleep and hope to tuff it out. thares a hole in the boat gota plug it and if you cant plug it start baleing. your not gona make the night warmer. so best warm yourself till daylight and hope it gets warmer then
We used to camp year round. Went on a weekender for a comfortable fall camp once and woke up in a frozen wasteland. We stayed both nights.
OK so... over the top of your layers. Question..? do you put the silver facing towards you or facing away from you..? does it matter. what direction you put the survival blanket over all your layers.?
YES! Great question!
Silver side always facing towards you!
Great advice, we all only learn from mistakes, or others mistakes, so thanks for sharing yours!
I really appreciate this comment, you’d be surprised of how many negative ones I’ve gotten ridiculing me for my mistake. The crazy thing is this was literally years ago when I was FIRST learning how to backpack/winter camp.
But I’m happy to share my life lessons! Regardless of what the haters say!
Back when I was a kid, I got an idea of placing a light bread sack in between a layer of socks to keep my feet warm when out slay riding. Worked good for about 45 minutes and then my feet would get really cold from the sweat being trapped around my feet.
I did I already tested it in Alaska camping in -38 weather naked. I was doing perfect, until wrapped un the E blanket to see how long I would last while not moving around. Dude I went from running to frozen and I took half inch steps back to camp to build my fire and almost died during my test. The only way to use these blankets to line structures with them. Keep cold air from blowing through and let your heat reflect back. Now that being said if you line a small tent with these, I can keep it 50F inside off my body heat alone during 7F weather.
A mylar emergency sleeping bag I tried at home had me damp in only 10 or 15 min.
Better to use mylar as an open blanket or reflective windbreak.
An important note about radiant insulation (like emergency blankets); it can do two things a) reflect heat and b) stop heat radiating. It will only do this is there is an air gap on one of the sides.
In the case of putting it on top of your sleeping bag, it works because there is an air gap above the blanket so it acts as a bad radiator. If it was in a situation like roof insulation (shiny side down), it works by reflecting heat energy back down in winter, but also *not radiating* heat from the roof in summer.
Doesn't really matter which side the air gap is on, but it has to be there to work.
Thanks for this video. It pays to know your gear. When I was young I made this same mistake at a week long scout camp in the mountains before they closed for the winter. The leaders hadn't prepared us for how cold it could be. That first night was the worst and coldest night I've ever spent outside. I still keep one in my kit, but in my humble opinion, it's better utilized as a last ditch rain barrier in an improvised shelter, water catch or signaling device. The noise the mylar generates from movement alone is enough for me to skip it in favor of a bulkier and more resilient tarp.
I just came back from a camping week end, and I wanted to try my bug out bag during, especially for the night. I am very thin, so was my bug out bag (I can't carry a very heavy bag), and my sleeping system was basically an emergency sleeping bag and a sleeping pad. Well, it was a very warm weather (25 ° C/ 77°F at day, and around 13°C/55°F during the night). This, is when I discovered what cold sleeper means, I was not freezing, but very cold. I tought that the emergency sleeping bag will keep me really warm, but I was soon soaking wet. Hopefully I had brought a real sleeping bag (but it was not in my bug out bag, just an "extra" thing), wich was much more efficient. I am glad that I discovered the moisture retention during a 'warm' night, now, a sleeping bag and an efficient sleeping pad have made their place in my bug out bag.
In addition, if the mylar blanket is touching a cold surface, it will conduct that cold to you. If it's on a warm surface, then it will retain some of that heat. So keep it on top of you or at least not underneath (if it's a cold surface) expecting it to block out the cold.
That is a really good point and something I should have clarified in the video.
The mylar does not breathe, so you start accumulating your perspiration under it. The humidity will make you freeze. There, now you don't have to watch it, because he does go on a bit.
I'm planning to test my gear in my backyard in one of the coming weekends. I first has to get cold enough so I can really test my 20F bag... But I'll keep away from the emergency blancket! 😁 Thanks for the tip! All the best and stay safe out in winter! 😀
Awesome! The best way to test gear is first in your backyard then close to home! and NEVER get yourself into a situation where you expect you may need to use an emergency blanket in the first place (stay as far away from "emergency" as possible! I was stupid! Glad my stupidity can help others though!
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@@BackcountryForward You're so right about that! 😁 You see people giving out those blanckets when they're cold or in shock, it does seem to work then...
Have a great day! Kaat
@@StepsbyKaatje they definitely do work! And I swear by using one as a groundsheet to reflect heat back up into my tent. The key is using them well, and in the right situation! Which I did not. Using them as a proper vapor barrier in an emergency is a very effective way to trap heat... I should do a follow up video of where and when to use these best in a bit more detail maybe 🤔😄
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@@BackcountryForward Sounds like a good idea for a video! Diffrent ways to use your emergency blanckets! 😁
These blankets are not made to insulate. They are made to reflect heat. They prevent exterior heat from coming in, and reflect your own heat back too you. If you stick it on something cold or hot, it will heat up or get cold and will just transfer the heat to you. It will also get cooled down by the wind. As a Canadian who goes jogging in -30c for 30 mins a day I can tell you nothing beats having layers. Layers that trap air. When I go do my jogging in winter and its about -10c I wear a shirt under my hoody which is tucked into my pants to create 2 separate air pockets. when It gets colder I use a scarf to block the air from escaping at the top of the hoody and a scarf as a belt to stop it getting out from the bottom. If I'm feeling cold I might double my under shirt. This allows me to sweat and have some form of heat exchange so I dont over heat but keeps me warm enough to get back after 30 min with out having frostbites. And I'm just wearing wool socks and and running shoes. As someone who made their own wool coat, I can tell you to even double wool up. It might be warm but its too breedable with just one layer at -30.
This is why even if its heavier, I camp with a cotton hammock. and use wool and cotton blankets. Mind you I haven't done winter camping but Organic materials are way better for controlling heat and insulating you. Syntetic have a tendency of blocking out air exchange and leaving you wet if you get too warm which is awfull in the cold. The only thing you think about when just wet from sweat in winter is to get into a warm bath too defrost your bones.
When you demostrated how to use it in the right way, you did have it upside down, reflective coating facing out, that way it reflects any heat radiation comig towards you so you can stay cooler. Or what is the correct otientation gold or silver side inside?
Is it me or did Jessie put the facing of the blanket the wrong way for winter (heat retention). say at 7:00 it should be gold outwards and silver inwards. In a summer / desert situation it would be gold inwards and silver outwards. Very good point tho for the vapor barrier. Also useful as a waterproof shelter.
Great point! This is something a few people have noted. To be 100% honest all my Mylar blankets are silver on both sides. I was given this one as a gift and figured the gold would show up better in pictures and video. But it’s not the one I used in the story.
I had no idea that the different sides meant or did different things!
But for me and my purposes, I only ever use the silver (on both sides) ones… except for this video… which has caused a lot more controversy than I expected 😂😅
How about using it as an extra insulation layer for the sleeping mat? Either under the sleeping mat or between the mat and the sleeping bag. Wouldn't that work by insulating you from the cold ground?
This is EXACTLY what I do!! You nailed it! Keeps you super warm from below.
yep, using it as a groundsheet insulation is also my primary use for it, i use it with a tarp above
Different experience here. I've tried using Mylar blankets in every possible way I can think of. The only way I've found to use Mylar blankets that seriously retains my body heat is to wrap them around my body directly next to my skin under my clothing. None of my outer layers are waterproof. I've never gotten wet, just warm. I think they would be life saving in seriously cold temperatures.
During just frost and poor quality sleeping bags try silk long johns. They are so thin they seem to be worthless but allow a full night of sleep when everyone else is awake all night from the cold.
I really need to study silk... I don't understand it. But everyone says they same thing its like magic!
Take it from someone who's been homeless in Maine your first mistake was putting your blanket in the sleeping bag. Sleeping bags hold your heat in so putting the blanket inside your bag did nothing for you. You put the blanket on top of the sleeping bag as an extra layer against to hold in any heat from escaping from your sleeping bag.
I hope this video helps someone from making the same mistake. I don't do a lot of winter camping in the back country because I'm usually with someone who has never winter camped before, for that reason I stay within a mile from the car. I only use space blankets for under my sleeping pad to help keep a thermal barrier between my sleeping set up and the ground. Any time I camp in winter I keep a lighter on my person while sleeping, a small fire set up and extra kindling/wood in case I need to start a fire right away. Fire will be your best friend during winter. Stay safe. I'll be making a cross-country from the East Coast to Denali, Alaska during the month of march using a roof top tent each night. Maybe I'll make a few videos (never tried that yet).
That would be an awesome road trip and series to watch! Go for it!
And yes, a good *reliable* lighter and fire material prepped and ready is always key! I too, always use the mylar blanket under my sleep system (even in summer). Great suggestions!
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I’ve tried sleeping in my trailer without heat. Could never keep warm under 50 degrees. It is amazing trying to figure this out.
Would it make a difference which side?
I'm pretty sure you also put it underneath your sleeping pad.
On the tent floor to reflect the heat back up at your sleeping pad - and also reflect the cold down
No. You can’t reflect cold, and laying on mylar stops reflectivity and allows body heat to conduct straight through instead. It needs an air gap to work.
I was stationed outside Ft Wainwright Alaska. The first night in the field it was -25 F. I had an artic sleeping bag rated to -50 and a 1/2 inch foam bed roll. I was cold the whole night and couldn't sleep. I had heard that if you're too cold and can't get warm you should never go to sleep because you'll never wake up. The next morning I went to the mess hall and got so 1/2" cardboard and put it under my bed roll. I was plenty warm the next night and slept like a baby.
What about putting a blanket at the very bottom (not completely covering yourself, just laying underneath) and placing a sleeping bag on top? The clothing should reflect the heat of the bag, and at the same time contain the cold of the earth.
@@Mega_Lord like the emergency blanket underneath you or your sleeping pad? Yeah I think that’s the best idea!
@@BackcountryForward Underneath sleeping pad. At the very bottom is some kind of thermal mat, above it is an emergency blanket, and on top is a sleeping pad. I went hiking and in my experience, during sleep, heat is lost from: the cold of the ground, wind and rain/snow.
Great story. At one time or another, we all have to learn things the hard way. But the important thing is you learned from your mistake and were nice enough to pass it on to the rest of us. Thanks for sharing.
@@outbackeddie I appreciate your kindness! I’ve been surprised by the negativity this video has received… I agree one has to live and learn.
It’s also interesting to me because I shared this story four years after the events took place. Long after I had become a much more experienced winter backpacker. And I felt it was important to share my beginning mistakes so the others wouldn’t make them.
Never used these kind of survival blankets, but got one in my car......:)) always looked at them as a hype. But they are lightweight and easy too take with you and use in emergency. Thanks for the video.
It's meant to reflect the radiant cold or radiant heat
I recently had a winter emergency, I was so thankful for my space blanket.
BTW a jetboil with a large cannister will keep six people warm under an emergency shelter for 11 hours in -4 degrees.
Great point here! Never thought of using a stove like that under a mylar blanket!
I’ve used a 20deg f bag synthetic with reactor liner with a compression hard foam pad and been comfortable in -20f in Alaska and Idaho’s river of no return
The right body type and a GOOD sleeping bag (emphasis on the good) that's rated to COMFORT can go a long ways. Unfortunately my sleeping bag was rated to survival. I've tested it a lot since and would say I wouldn't take it out below anything 40F.
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Putting this kind of blanket on your sleeping bag is also a no go. After a while it will soak the sleeping bag with condensed water. Apparently this device is meant for short term emergency, not as a night long thermal layer. You may use it as a reflection surface e.g. span it behind you and making fire in front of your shelter, this works.
i honestly always overlook moisture. but...... you're right. i think i'll stick to my Carinthia Defence 4 sleeping bag and a wool blanket. no need to get too fancy with winter survival/camping.
Good video. My only add is at the end when mention synthetic bag. That with a down bag it might be different, it would be even worse if the down got wet. Once that happens down has almost No insulation value.
Don't do that; you will wet the insulation in your bag an then you will freeze to death especially is your bag is down. Next to your skin is better; you may get wet but your insulation layer stays dry and you stay warm.Alternatively, get a warmer sleeping bag and ditch the emergency blanket.
Definitely on the warmer sleeping bag!
But most sleeping bags have a water resistant outer layer, while it's true you may risk getting your down a bit more wet, for a single night of survival your more likely to be able to get through the night this way. Trust me, wet and wrapped in an emergency blanket, even if the sleeping bag around you is dry is NOT very comfortable. 😖
@@BackcountryForward Haha; I believe
Its late yes, but dont use it in contact with skin, you NEED an airgap, its ESSENTIAL. Without it you propably just freeze faster. If you are naked without everything..maybe..better then nothing but..yea.
Which side do I use for warmth? I have an orange and silver one. I tried it out at home and felt damp and cold .
Wanna survive cold weather? Start with the physics of thermodynamics:
1) Heat always moves from warm to cold.
2) Heat can only move in 3 ways: Convection, Conduction and Radiation.
Mylar is produced as very thin, structurally modified plastic (polyethlene) sheets. It does little to stop conduction (R-value is effectively 0). It can only slow or block convection and conduction under specific circumstances. It does almost nothing to stop radiant heat transfer unless coated with a thin metallic film like gold or aluminum. Unfortunately, both of these materials are excellent conductors of heat. In real world survival situations mylar "space blankets" must be used very carefully, or they can make things worse - much worse - to the point of killing you.
The biggest danger they present is related to conductive and convective heat loss through evaporative cooling. Plastic doesn't breathe. It traps moisture. Moisture from your body will condense on it and soak your clothing / blankets / sleeping bag unless you are able to vent the moisture your body is always transpiring due to metabolic processes.
(At least while you are alive)
The most thermally efficient approach is to place the radiant/vapor barrier (mylar) between your skin and any insulating layers available to you. This is a dangerous tactic ('cause yer gonna get wet), but it can work, provided you are wearing a base layer that insulates when wet - like merino wool. Once saturated, you're skin's transpiration of moisture will slow large degree - as long as you don't over exert yourself - keeping your outer insulating layers dry - and you warm - provided you have enough insulation with you. You are sacrificing some of the insulating power of your thinnest layer to protect your thicker, more critical layers. The base layer will prevent direct contact between your skin and the metal coating, reducing conductive heat loss, evaporation and potentially, dehydration. It will also slow convective (air based) evaporative cooling. This gets into another complex area of physics known as wet bulb / latent heat of evaporation. Long story short, wet skin is ok as long as no air is allowed to pass over it causing evaporation / phase change of liquid moisture into a gaseous state (think steam). This is because phase changes from solid to liquid or liquid to gas require enormous energy - energy (body heat) that's lost to the environment in this case.
The other option is what is described in the video, put the vapor / radiant barrier on the outside of your system. This is even more dangerous, because you run the risk of trapping and condensing moisture from your body inside of the insulating layer, compromising it's ability to stop both conduction and convection of heat in the process depending on the insulating material's thermal properties when wet. You have also moved the radiant barrier further away from the souce of radiant energy you are trying to protect - YOU.
Gortex on the outer layer below the mylar will not save you in this situation. It will quickly wet-out (become saturated with condensed moisture from your body) blocking it's ability to transpire and evaporate moisture away from the insulation layer it's supposedly protecting. The only way around this is to create an air-gap between your gortex shell and your mylar radiant barrier. This will reduce the effectives of your radiant barrier, because radiant heat diminishes by the inverse square law (exponential loss of effectiveness proportional to distance) that applies to all light (radiant heat is infrared radiation - a form of light energy). The mylar will still provide some radiant benefit, and if used as a wind and/or rain screen, slow convective and conductive heat loss as well.
If you don't want to go to the trouble of learning the physics of thermodynamics like I did (I'm a retired architect lol) try to remember the following:
1) Always put the vapor barrier on the WARM SIDE of your insulation. Otherwise, moisture will condense inside your insulation once the dew point is reached, reducing or eliminating it's effectiveness.
2) If you are unable to do #1, do everything you can reduce sweating, and find a way to VENTILATE as much MOISTURE AS POSSIBLE before it condenses inside your insulation. This will come at the cost of convective heat loss, so impermeable radiant / vapor barriers must be used with caution. You need at least a basic understanding of the trade-offs you are making with regards to what insulation materials you are using in the wild, and it's not a simple matter.
* Just in case anyone thinks I'm some egg-head who's never slept rough or been outside, go to my channel and look at some of my content. I know of what i speak... ;-)
So what would you have done specifically in his situation? Pretending he did not have the option to get to a warm shelter.
@@breathe75 Hmm, exactly.... I am glad someone explained the theory. Although I only half understand it without further study.
can our architect friend explain in a few case studies, how this "space blanket" can make sense?
I ran into the topic when looking at the Gansu Ultramarathon tragedy (21 deaths) and wonder if those flimsy mylar sheets actually made a difference or not? and if and how it would be helpful to a runner to bring this item with him/her?
Hi,
I'm planning to go for campaign for the first time, but I have no idea what to pack. Will you make video on what to and how to pack a backpack for camping. PLEASE🙏
And sorry for my Brocken English
I love this idea! I'll definitely work on this for the spring my friend! I have a winter video coming out about this... but it won't be the same if you're going summer camping!
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@@BackcountryForward Thanks bro. You are the best. Good luck for your future ✌️
I haven't tried it yet but because I use 2 mats, a foam and an air mattress, I would put it in between. I saw one guy that did it and said it worked. I just wear my down jacket in my bag if it gets cold. I only camp in the early spring or late fall.
What I was thinking of lining the floor of the tent. Not sure if that would be any different
They are good for 1. signaling, 2. blocking IR visibility and 3. reflecting heat as part of a supershelter. 4. blocking heat as part of a thermal umbrella. Mors Kochanski warned about those being used as blankets.
Great video, both informative and setting up a good example of how to deal with mistakes. Too many people will lie, go on the offense, etc. for far smaller mistakes which I wouldn't even find embarrassing. That's not how to learn from your mistakes or let others learn...
BTW: I guessed it correctly. I was once hiking and it started to rain and I thought, well, this is the time to put my poncho to the test... Guess what: I would have been better off getting soaked in the rain than wearing that damn thing! Again, it was not that cold, it was cold and having wet clothes and hair doesn't really help... Still walking, you sweat and that sweat, and that sweat won't go anywhere if you put a plastic on top... What saved the situation for me was that I had mesh as a base layer which prevented my wet clothes from sticking on my skin and the fact that I had wool and felt as my outer layers, which retain significant isolation even when soaked. I dried my hair with a shemagh (which works really well), which I then unfolded so that it could dry.
I had the same bad experience with metal foil blanket in the sub-alpine base camp. It was a 5 day trip and I was cold every night. I should have put the blanket on top of my sleeping bag ,not around me. Better to test it in a safe location first like near houses.
I’ve literally dried out a sleeping bag and myself by draping a space blanket over the TOP loosely so everything can breath. You need insulation between you and the reflective material because it will conduct heat away from you if it touches you. With insulation and an air gap between you and the space blanket it will reflect tons of heat back to you. There re also reflective Tyvek bivvys that can breath. Look up the 2GoSystems trifecta.
You are using the blanket inside out! Gold side: absorbes heat from the light
Silver side: reflects heat.
So, if you want to increase your temperature you need to have the silver side towards your body and the gold side away from it so that it can absorbe heat from the outside and give it to your body, whilst the silver side is helping to retain the heat inside.
Using it like you did in the video, gives exactly the opposite result, letting escape the heat and avoiding the heat from the light to come inside!
Conclusion: use like you did when you are too hot. When you’re cold, use it with the gold side on the outside!
Great points. This isn't actually the emergency blanket that I used in the story. This isn't even a "true" mylar blanket. I just used it as my example because the "gold" was more visible in the video than silver.
But you are spot on!
Not true. The gold side is also highly reflective, which is why it’s all shiny and...reflective. It would need to be dark and dull to absorb heat, but even so the shiny silver inner side has very low emissivity so won’t radiate heat to you well from the outside.
Independent of how you orient the color, the blanket is a condensation magnet -- period.
@@carlbernsen1290 how do you know it isn't black in infrared spectrum?
@@krkrbbr
If it was, astronauts’ helmet visors wouldn’t have a gold coating. Even if infra red could pass through the gold coloured side, the mylar film is transparent, so the infra red would then hit the reverse side of the silvered side and be reflected. Molten polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is extruded as a thin film onto a chilled surface such as a roller. That makes the Mylar. Then, vapor deposition is used to evaporate aluminum, gold or another metal onto the surface. That makes the foil.
I'm a bit late to the party here.
But I use one of those thicker versions of that blanket on the ground. No issues with moisture and plus it does reflect the heat back.
I got caught in a white out while cross country skiing and made a snow cave and used a mylar shelter in side. Not cold but ridiculously wet. Since then, I have acquired a breathable shelter. Used it once, again in a snow cave. Nice and warm and wasn't wet in the morning. Polypropylene base layer, wool pants, shirt, socks and hat and GoreTex outer pants, jacket, boots and gaiters. Overnight temperature dropped close to zero Fahrenheit during the night but the snow cave was at thirty two degrees. Cool but not cold and very much was dry the second time around.
lol when u said 3 I knew it lol.
I had done same, i used in my truck in April, testing how it feels/ work with no sleeping bag, warm clothes and R value 7 sleeping pad.
I was in my truck, even placed above my clothes then I sweated out ,and cold me up before dawn. I would died or nearly if I didn’t have my sleeping bag.
it was nasty to sleep in it with sweat body, but I did survived .
It was an interesting test and experience, luckily I did it so have more understanding with the material, and won’t make same mistakes in real survival situation
Glad I'm not alone in my wet and clammy experience! haha Glad you survived!
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Do not underestimate the cold. I went barning (sleeping in a barn in England) with some friends and we didn't know how it worked: there was a payment machine for the electricity so we could turn on the heater, but we decided to wait until we had more coins.
The air was so cold I got a trachea inflamation. Set me back 2 weeks with extra asthma drug use and fever in a warm bed.
A single coin was enough for a whole night of warmth...
Why not put the emergency blanket around your tent as a moisture barrier to pile snow up around the tent to make like an igloo?
Wrap the tent in mylar blankets use Sterno for heat. I've been in tent for last 3 winter's stayed quite comfortable
Sad that you had to discover it hard way, and big thanks for sharing with others!
All the best !
haha AND it was my birthday! Double downer! But... it was a great lesson. Glad others could learn from it!
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@@BackcountryForward Ahh crap ... Just keep up the good work, like the video, looking forward for your new videos, thanks for sharing precious info. And most important stay safe ! All the best !
"I made the hard + humbling decision to...head 'er home for the night-"
TESTIFY. So many outdoorsfolk stubbornly persist when the smartest decision is to quit, & return later. No adventure is worth losing digits or becoming dangerously dehydrated, getting heatstroke or hypothermia, & especially, not worth dying for.
As far as cold nights go, I have personally (to my eternal chagrin) learned that if your teeth are constantly chattering, + that chattering/shaking is keeping you awake, then you're in for a really miserable night, but you'll probably come out the other side more or less unscathed but for sore muscles, a lack of sleep, & a crabby temper.
Probably. (Though best not to risk it, if a fellow camper to curl up against for warm, or an actual exit option, exists.)
_But_ if the shivering is coming in _waves_ , where your entire body seems to convulse painfully into a fetal-curled spasm for perhaps a minute at a time, + then there's a pause of anything from 5 - 10 minutes before it comes again, wracking every muscle so hard that your teeth _can't_ even chatter because your jaw is locked that tight, & despite all that, you're getting sleepier + sleepier...
That's when it officially goes from, "Crap, crap, crap, this was a terrible idea, I hate everything, maybe I should leave," to, the Ralph-Wiggum-giggling-"I'm in danger" meme.
Yes, yes yes! This. It's when you stop shivering that you are REALLY in danger.
ps. love the meme reference! 😂
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@@johnconstantine2639 as a Hellblazer fan, getting to contribute to you eventually not freezing to death has made my day. ;-)
If anyone can answer my question I would be much obliged, I wanted to buy one of these and I’m a sewist, my idea is to see this to a piece of fabric, after the video I’m thinking I need to see a waterproof layer between it and the fabric but I would like to know if anyone has a counter argument for this idea?
Thanks for that tip! I was wondering: did you not have a fire going?
I did earlier in the night. But unfortunately where My tent was positioned there was no flat ground for a fire nearby. So I had my fire for dinner and sat around it about 20 yards from my tent and when it was time for bed I put it out and crawled into my tent. At 3am I could have rekindled a fire, but the amount of effort wouldn't have been worth it.
I made this newbie mistake when I went to Colorado. It was summer and I camped in RMNP with no issues, so when I camped at Molas lake campground, I never thought it would be freezing cold. I was using 20F quilt, so I thought I would be good. Woke up 12mn shivering, so I took out my emergency blanket and that made it worse. But good thing I was just car camping.
Glad I'm not alone! But glad you were safe too!
One thing i have noticed is a couple of crumpled survival blankets under my camping may seems to help.
you camp outside in the winter without a burner of some kind?
I'm cold natured and sleep very uncomfortably even if I am just a little cold. For this reason I camp with a proper insulated mat and a 0 degree down sleeping bag, even in the mildest 30 degree temperatures.
To be honest, I would have probably made the same mistake. Thanks so much for sharing!
haha glad I'm not alone! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Cheers!
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Okay, not to belittle your experience or intelligence, but I was thinking the EXACT same order of how to use the emergency blanket. I really hope this saves someone's life.
Can you test one more time in your backyard?
When you test it, Mylar on top of your waterproof sleeping bag.
Just check if it is no problem or not and if you can keep your body heat or not.
Did you buy it from Temu ? 😏
Thank you for this warning of what to avoid when using an emergency blanket!
I lived in my van for 3 years, as I got my bachelor's degree. One night, it got down to -10F. I was sleeping on 3 couch cushions, as well as on a sleeping bag whose zipper did not work. I was inside of two other cheapo, $40 each Walmart sleeping bags (on inside of the other) and another such bag on top of me (also with a busted zipper) I put a heavy duty mylar "blanket" over the top of everything. When I woke up the next morning, the top sleeing bag was SOAKED in my body moisture. If that bag had been the only insulation I had, I'd have been effed out in the woods, especially if I could not get a fire going on both sides of me.
Thanks for the info! Can you please elaborate on the down sleeping. bag issue? What would you recopy mend if using a down bag or a down comforter? Thanks!
I learned this lesson the hard way also, but not in as extreme environment. In the army, training in western Washington where it's raining more often than not, we were often only allowed a poncho liner and a poncho (not erected into a "poncho hooch") to sleep under. A poncho will eventually leak if it's against your body, so we experimented with a "casualty blanket" which is like a heavy duty space blanket; OD green on one side, silver on the other and...waterproof. Like you, we learned that our body's moisture evaporating would collect under the blanket and on our clothes, making us just as wet as if we'd been without it. So, yeah. It requires some degree of ventilation keep the moisture from collecting on you.
Thanks for the info! That's a tough place to learn this the hard way!
Glad you're alright!
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I’m a little late to this but I’d like to know the sleeping pad you where using by the look of it I’d say a static v?
Isn't that a fire blanket? Used for protection against fire to protect against being baked to death?
I use a quiet SOL Mylar sheet safety pinned to a poncho liner to throw over me and my clothes while resting or when sleeping, on a ground Matt outside, under a poncho tarp.. Because I carry minimal kit with me on most of my excursions. I’d rather bring extra clothes than a big sleeping bag down to 20F. Although I will pack a 2lb duck down bag and drape it over me and my clothes sometimes for temps below 40F down into the 20s. The reflective surface faces out. And not in contact with my body. The liner is next to my clothes and stops conduction and absorbs some of the moisture given off by my body. I have slept with that Mylar liner over me with some extra clothes on a closed cell mat for years. Just like the picture on most packing the Mylar is on the outside of the clothes. Unlike the packaging the shiny side should be facing either toward the cold environment or the Sun if it’s too hot. Not toward the individual. People make that same mistake with sleeping on a space or reflective blankets. The shiny side should face the dirt. The combination of Mylar and poncho liner forms an effective thermal break. Think of it as a tent that creates a microclimate. You don’t put the tent inside your sleeping bag or next to your skin. There is usually enough air creeping in to prevent excess Co2 or asphyxia. But it is better to remove part of the Mylar near where your head will be. Your main problem is your sleeping bag. I’ve had really good success with bags and clothing from Wiggys.com.