Emergency blanket and sleeping bg as pea pod Question

[RockStar]

I tried to use an emergency blanket in the teens with no good results. i bought it at wal-mart and the foil was peeling at the edges. So I am ASSUMING it was b/c its a cheapo one.

My question is what if I use a thin sleeping pad CCF and glue an emergency blanket to it in rectangles. As to not have a LOT of it. Would this help or do I need to just use the whole thing? I saw Blackies pad and the way it folds up and thought about glueing the Reflective stuff to the rectangles the folding makes.

Do you think that using my sleeping bag on the outside as a kind of "pea pod" (as I have seen done before) and using an emergency blanket or pad cutomzed with the reflective mat., will be warm enough into the teens?

I guess my main concern is the effectiveness of the emergency blanket stuff all together. I also saw an Emergency bivy" at Backcountry.com. It was 15 bucks and looked like it was worth a try.

I really dont want to fool with an underquilt and already have a 20 degree marmot mummy bag...Id like to use what I have.

Its just an idea. I was hoping maybe someone here tried thr reflective stuff.

Im reading Ed Speers book (thanks to Blackie for the book!) and saw he suggested trying a windsheild reflective visor as a sleeping pad but, mentioned it wasn't a long term solution unless you bought multiples. Thats why I was thinking glueing the emer. bl. to the rectangles will help maybe? I dunno...:confused:

[Coffee]

Gluing the emergency blankets in pieces may work. My concern would be the weight to benifit ratio. I sleep pretty cold, compared to others. I am fine with a 1/2" ccp on bottom and a sleeping bag as a top quilt down to around 30. Below that I need extra insulation under my hind parts. That may buy me 10 degrees. The weight of the glue needed to hold it might add up to enough for you just to add a second pad. I haven't done much with pads, so I'll let others chime in on this.

I think the emergency bags are pretty much single use items. I haven't used them much, but that is what I hear and think of the bag style ones I have now. I carry one of them and a couple heating pads in the winter incase I need to heat up fast.

The more extensive ones, $15 range, probibly hold up a little better.

I would think this would cause a lot of condensation to form on your back too. I also can't speak for using the bag as a peapod as I have not done this yet.

[RockStar]

I also want to try to use a second pad as mentioned before. Thanks HE!

[Coffee]

No problem, ask away.

I carry a butt sized sit pad anyways that works well for a second pad when I only need a little warmth.

[RockStar]

I thought about trying a smaller pad width wise in the kidney area as mentioned before.

[blackbishop351]

IMO space blankets aren't worth the trouble, but others disagree. I'd try it with nothing additional first - no glue or anything - and see if you benefit from it significantly. That way if it does nothing for you, you're not out any real time or money.

[slowhike]

IMO space blankets aren't worth the trouble, but others disagree. I'd try it with nothing additional first - no glue or anything - and see if you benefit from it significantly. That way if it does nothing for you, you're not out any real time or money.

i have to agree w/ bb on that. i've herd to many people (including the jacks & ed speer) talk about trying reflective materials in real conditions & discarding that idea. ...tim

[RockStar]

hrmm i think I will scrap that idea and focus on other things then. Thanks guys!

[Peter_pan]

IMO space blankets aren't worth the trouble, but others disagree. I'd try it with nothing additional first - no glue or anything - and see if you benefit from it significantly. That way if it does nothing for you, you're not out any real time or money.

Agree w/ BB....Space blankets are hardly worth the trouble....sometimes adding them to a mediocre system gets you to lower temps but it is far better to get an adequately wide pad or some other form of dependable bottom insulation... cutting corners or your sleep/survival system would not be in the plans for most folk on the ground.... therefore, it is a poor plan to start off cutting cornners on the bottom insulation requirement of a hammock..... being cold in the back yard is one thing... freezing with no back up in the out back is unwise....

Pan

[Just Jeff]

Search the archives here...there's an "amateur scientist" discussion about how well space blankets function. My thoughts - they work better than nothing when used alone b/c they block convection and create a vapor barrier. But when used with a quilt/bag/pad that already blocks convection, the reflected radiation isn't worth the extra weight.

[RockStar]

Thanks guys!