Survival Bivy Bag

So the unexpected benightment the other day made me think about how I could have improved my night out. A spare pair of socks is an obvious one and I will not leave home without them from now on.

The one thing that I really wished for was for my survival blanket to have been in the form of a bag. Like I said, it really did make a difference as it was but a bag would have made an even bigger difference. So I have done some research……

When I bought my survival blanket in my very first season, I put it in my bag and forgot about it. I even forgot about it for the first hour when I got benighted! Needless to say, I hadn’t looked into this a huge amount, thinking a survival blanket would be sufficient and wasn’t aware that there were bivy bags made of space age material out there costing almost next to nothing.

Now I know and I will definitely be upgrading my space blanket to a “space” bag. I’ve got two on my short list. Weight and size are of prime concern for me and it will only serve as an emergency fall back. So, here’s what I’ve come up with:

Medical Adventure Kits:

• Reusable: Yes
• Weight: 196 grams
• Length: 1.85m
• Insulating: No
• Reflective: Yes
• Wind/Water proof: Yes

Blizzard Survival Bag:

• Reusable: Yes
• Weight: 385 grams
• Length: 2.1m
• Insulating: Yes
• Reflective: Yes
• Wind/Water proof: Yes

The Adventure Medical Kits bag seems to be a pretty standard emergency bivy bag and more durable than the standard space material. The Blizzard Survival bag, on the other hand, is supposed to be something quite revolutionary and it comes from Britain too. Wahoo!! According to the blurb, they developed what they call Reflexcell technology. This has “cellular construction to trap warm air, elastication which draws the material to the body, reducing cold spaces and heat loss by convection, and finally, silvered surfaces to block heat loss by radiation.” Their words, not mine. They even claim an 8 tog rating (as good as a 2 season sleeping bag). Even if it’s not that good, a bit of insulation is better than nothing, so this bag has seriously got my attention. It is heavier than the other bag but if it keeps me warm when I need it, 200g extra is not a huge price to pay. And it would completely cover me. I think I’m sold!

It’s a nice feeling to know you have that in your bag when the proverbial hits the fan. I’ll see if I can get my hands on one and follow up.

Let me know if you’ve come across anything better.

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