How An EMERGENCY Blanket Almost KILLED me! | Winter Camping FAIL!

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!

*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).
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[slothhiker]

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

[Martyupnorth]

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 YouTube, but from a legal perspective, if you charge people for a lesson, you place yourself in a position of liability. Cheers.

[chrisfecteau]

Proper title for this episode :

"How I nearly committed suicide by not knowing how to use an emergency blanket properly".

[backpacker]

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.

[kevinlytle]

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.

[slothhiker]

One wool blanket folded in thirds is 3 layers of insulation

[charleslamica]

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.

[FlyWithMe_]

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.”

[chronosferatu]

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.

[andreashofer]

This is how you become a Missing 411 case.

[jupamoers]

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

[jsullivan]

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!

[shaunsanford]

This was actually really informative. Honestly, i may have made that same mistake.

[StepsbyKaatje]

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! 😀

[Aangel]

Great advice, we all only learn from mistakes, or others mistakes, so thanks for sharing yours!

[davidbenner]

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.

[zd]

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.

[trollmcclure]

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.

[cherylmC]

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!

[informatimago]

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".