space blankets

A few space blankets can actually save weight in your pack. I use one as a "footprint" tarp under my tent. A second one can be placed between the tent body and the rainflyfor cold weather conditions.They're cheap, light, and tougher than one would think. For staking , I recommend reinforcing corners with a small tab of duct tape.

Too noisy for most things, at least for me.

I once made a tent from 4 space blankets , paracord , duct tape , tent stakes, and used our 2 telescoping hiking poles . That was noisy but it worked,

I’ve had troubles with space blankets. After a couple of days, the space blankets start leaving silver shavings all over my stuff; messy.

If I must use a space blanket, I use a higher quality type that’s not metalized polyester.

-Barry

What would a high quality brand be? And how much do they cost?

“What would a high quality brand be? And how much do they cost?”

About 4 years ago, I bought about 6 space blankets from Adventure Medical. Good thing because I can’t find them anymore. They were in the $10-$12 range. It seems they quit making it. Their bivy sack is made of the same material http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00055.html

These space blankets weigh about 5 ounces. One side is a white cloth type material and the other is orange. I use it as a ground cloth and place it with the white side up under my 2-man tent. Forest duff doesn’t stick to it like a polypro sheet does. This radiates warmth back up into the tent. They claim it’s a “Four-ply, waterproof, windproof Thermo-Lite® fabric”

So my blanket stash is holding out well. But in a year or 2 I’ll be in the market for a space blanket again. If someone finds a non-metalized-polyester light-weight space blanket, I would like to know!

-Barry