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  1. #1
    Senior Member bmwrider's Avatar
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    what is the best way to use a space blanket.

    Is there something else this small that breaths better and provides enough insulation for the summer nights that are just barely too cool to use just the hammock?
    Like perhaps a sheet of some kind, something that takes up less room than a CCF pad or a summer weight UQ.
    Or some sort of under cover.

    I would like to try a space blanket but I figure just throwing it in my hammock will be a real pain in the A$$ to keep in place.
    How do you use them?
    Last edited by bmwrider; 06-28-2013 at 23:59. Reason: I don't think I was clear about being willing/prefering to use an alternitive to the space blanket

  2. #2
    Senior Member oldgringo's Avatar
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    No matter whatever else a space blanket may be, it is, first and foremost, a vapor barrier. Using a vb successfully requires a level of technical sophistication and patience that is beyond most people, including me. If that doesn't scare you off, start doing your homework. The info is out there, along with the rewards.

    Start here:
    https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ead.php?t=6264
    Dave

    "Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self."~~~May Sarton

  3. #3
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
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    Space blankets: All the night-time comfort of the plastic "fluids barrier" at a motel with a numeral in the name; but because it is still in the package, you don't have to think of the previous users of that barrier. <smile>

    Seriously: Thin metalized mylar sheets have their emergency uses. One would be if you arrived at your Columbia River Gorge camp-site, with steady 30mph winds, and discovered your assistant had packed for you your Brazilian cotton mesh hammock, not your nylon one. Then, the wind barrier provided by that mylar will be welcome....if your assistant also packed a number of thick cotton beach towels or wool blankets to provide some wicking and rest between you and the space blanket..

    On "metalized". Protection from hi-level sources of infra-red, yes. Between sitting in the warmth of another person no matter how "hot", inches away, or in bright light from a star 90 million miles away, I'll take the star if I want to be warmed.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
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    I've used one between my hammock and underquilt with good results. One night my quilt was not quite warm enough and I was getting chilled, placed the space blanket inside the quilt and it gave me a few degrees of additional warmth. Worth carrying.

    S

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    A space blanket falls in the catagory of reflective insulation. These work best as such if they are not in direct contact with your body. Using it outside your bottom quilt (or hammock, if you're using a pad) will help to trap warm air and reflect warmth back to you, also help black wind. Likewise, if you use it on top of you.

    It can also be used as a vapor barrier, which is a completely different strategy for different circumstances. DO your research before using it in this manner!

    I carry one with me as a inexpensive, lightweight survival item. I successfully used it once to help prevent hypothermia, when the night turned for the worse. IMO - It's not the most durable material, and not all that easy to manage when storing and deploying, but works well for what it was designed to do.

  6. #6
    Senior Member AaronAlso's Avatar
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    The best use for a space blanket IMO is as it was intended as an emergencey preventative for hypothermia. If you get soaked in 50ºF or below you will be glad you had it in your pack. Otherwise it should probably stay in your pack.

    I have draped them over my ridgeline as a make shift top cover in very high winds, they do work well for that, but generally I consider them an emrrgencey item I hope I never have to use.

    An UQ protector like those from 2QZQ or the dri ducks poncho weather mod from JRB. Also the addition of a top cover should be noted. Either will add a noteable level of warmth, if that's what you are going for.
    "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." -Plato

  7. #7
    Senior Member FLRider's Avatar
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    I've been using a space blanket as part of my FL 3-season (read: "summer anywhere where frozen precipitation occurs during the year") insulation.

    What I'm doing with it is placing it into my poncho/undercover as a semi-Garlington Insulator, without the trash bag. It's not "insulation" in the sense that it creates dead air space the way down or synthetic fill does. It's simply preventing large-scale convection currents under me (read: "breezes") from stealing warmth.

    I've found this to be comfortably warm for me down to ~50* F. However, I'm an human furnace (I've slept at 43* with this, in boxers and with only a poncho liner on top, and not frozen to death), so I'd recommend this for 55* to 60* for a normal human being.

    I show how I use it in photos and video in this thread. The photo is in post #2, and the video in post #3 (the section on the insulation starts around 8:30 or so).

    That being said, space blankets might be best used as a vapor barrier in colder weather. The thread that oldgringo linked to is probably the best place to start for that. Unfortunately, aside from learning that vapor barriers don't really work for me between ~40* and ~50*, I have very little experience with them.

    Hope it helps!
    "Just prepare what you can and enjoy the rest."
    --Floridahanger

  8. #8
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    When I used pads, I used to tape the space blanket onto the pad. That kept it in place.

  9. #9
    Senior Member DemostiX's Avatar
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    A sheet of Tyvek house-wrap will serve all of you better. It will "retain" as much body heat, block as much wind, and has the advantage of being (slightly) vapor-permeable. Much tougher, washable, and multi purpose.

    You might do even better to consider the other, "Soft Structure", Tyvek non-woven fabric, Types 14 and 16, @ 1.15 and 2.1oz per yard. This is the stuff disposable and limited wear protective clothing (and sleeping bag liners) is made of.

    In fact a few layers of Tyvek would have air-gap insulating value, too. 4.5sq yds, the amount from 2 layers,each the size of fractional UQ would weigh 5oz. Find the specs from DuPont to see whether it also wicks moisture.

  10. #10
    Senior Member SkyPainter's Avatar
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    what is the best way to use a space blanket.

    ===> Home improvement stores have several types of insulation for short money. I went looking for an IX-like one, but ran across one that is two pieces of heat reflective insulation with what appears to be some sort of cotton or synthetic filling.

    It is made for wrapping water heater tanks, or pipes. The roll was wide enough to make an UQ, SPE, or just a pad.

    ~ Sky
    Live Purposefully; Dare Greatly; Land Gently

    If you're going to do something wrong, go for it! - Beryl G.

    "Never knock on Death's door - just ring the bell and run. He hates that!"

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