The generous length is countered by a close fit. Anyone who uses a mummy style bag will be used to this, and for thermal efficiency small is beautifull. The horizontal elastic works well to maintain 'drape.' No, we are not on Saville Row. Drape is a material's ability to naturally cling to and move with the wearer. This is one of the major advantages of Down and Lamilite. Space blankets have a reputation for being noisy affairs.This is only of concern if the user is trying to get vital sleep. The Blizzard bag was significantly quieter, no doubt in part to the construction.The air cells were easily pulled to capacity. This is a mechanical effort on the user's part, no passive regaining of % loft in x minutes as with a lightly shaken down bag. At this point I repaired the tear with duct tape. The website claims it's wind and waterproof. I would assume this means rain,sleet and melting snow. I went one step further, and with worried looks from my nieghbors slipped into the swimming pool @ the 4' level. 15 minutes later I was still dry. I allowed the bag to air dry in our hot summer sun. Instructions for repacking bag are to again pull lengthwise to reform the pleats and at home a towel and vacuume cleaner.I was skeptical, seeing more pleats than a Highland kilt. Following the instructions, one can indeed repack almost as perfectly as the vacuumed unit at home.It's a matter of deliberate effort, and even a sloppy field repack reduces the bag to easy stowage and carry.

On one occasion I was out in a fishing boat most of a chilly spring night due to wind and a cantankerous outboard of a now-discontinued line that I and others called the Curse 'N Carry. I had a space blanket in the tackle box, and I agree with Leigh - it was much more comfortable with it than it would have been without it. It blocked the wind, shed the spray (when the motor occasionally decided to work and I pounded into a chop for a few minutes at a time), and reflected some body heat. I did have a foul weather jacket on, and there's no doubt that helped. But so did the space blanket. So, I have one in the car bag and two in the BOB, as backups to my backups, if you will.

Frank2135

There is a story of some Inuit suddenly trapped on a breaking iceflow seperated from their dogsleds and supplies. Survival depended on the chance of currents either pushing the flow back to shore or out to sea and death. What did the Inuit do? They went to sleep, reserving their strength. They woke up to the flow hitting the shore, using their guarded reserves of energy to recover the sleds. Ever look at the advertising for space blankets? I think the same consultants for mattress companies are responsible. Conversely,most illustrations for survivors are somebody huddled fetal like and bug eyed in anticipation of Bart the Bear to come charging out of the darkness into a charge dropping hit from a .22 survival rifle. We have 3 digit temps here, hardly optimal testing conditions. But I went to my cooperative butcher shop's walk in freezer today and climbed into the blizzard bag wearing smartwool, woolen pants,shirt, mittens and a balaclava. I almost died of sunstroke making the 10 minute drive I spent @ 20 minutes getting slightly chilled and then climbed into the bag.I was comfortable enough to fall asleep for 2 hours. I only woke up when an employee, unaware of my presence thought I was a wierd deerbag and tried to move me. After he calmed down, I remained in comfort for another 3 hours. My test ended when the shop had to close.I'll report my observations in the next post.

This brief assessment was hardly laboratory or even in the true conditions I'd like to test. But for what it's worth here are my anecdotal observations. Obviously this is no arctic rated sleeping bag and in a blizzard as named I'd love to have a vacuume packed down or Lamilite bag. But for many good reasons apart from performance we can't always have one, or a dozen if needed.The Blizzard Bag takes a material with obvious shortcomings and a mixed reputation with users and with a little thought produced a well made and thought out unit.The simple instructions are common sense not always commonly found with users.In spite of managing to damage it straightaway the bag was deployed and repacked 5 times, kept me dry in a swimming pool and performed in a cold environ well enough to enable comfort and rest.One of the premises of such bags is the vapor barrier startegy. Simply put, your warm sweat stays inside and you remain warm, if soggy. The Achille's heal of this theory is the very rapid cooling once again outside- potentialy dangerous for a casualty. The bag did produce this effect, but suprisingly not as pronounced as my experience with commercial VB products.I'm guessing the active realignment of the air cells helps vent excess moisture out the adjustable top. It's forte is compact and light wieght with a useable performance. The price, at least from our US distributor is easilly competitive against traditional blankets or inexpensive sleeping bags. Again, the compactness is an attractive feature if your restricted by logistics. I would toss in a short length of Duct tape for possible tears a watch cap or balaclava and some dedicated or expedient ground insulation. I used a newspaper and plastic bag for mine. Again, In temporary conclusion until I can play with it this winter, the Blizzard Bag can fill a very usefull function in your strategy and kit. Think of it as part of a SYSTEM you can assemble easilly and depend on for more than one deployment.

How would you rate it against a current U.S. Mil-spec poncho liner and a Rab Vapour-rise bivvy bag? Which is my preferred daysack combo.

Rating one 'system' vs another is tricky. The Blizzard Bag and it's mates are primarily an emergency system with acceptable performance in a very compact unit. If I am a mountain rescue tech racing to a avalanche that injured 12 people obviously 12 Bags in my rucksack have greater potential value than one or two vacuume packed sleeping bags. Or if I am a day hiker with limited kit but unlimited foresight a unit in my daysack is good insurance. Emergency service users will use such a unit once and discard. A civilian can use this in emergencies or simple preference and expect a usefull lifespan. I have deployed mine every afternoon, taken a cat nap and repacked it. I don't know as of yet a reasonable service life vs a poncho, bivi bag etc. If you have a dedicated lightwieght setup stick with it. If you foresee any scenario where a easily packed unit could be handy consider Blizard bags. Performance is vastly improved over a placebo space blanket.

Wow! I thought I would check back and see if anyone had followed up my original Blizzard Bag post. This is a pleasant suprise.

They sound ideal for throwing in the car for those unexpected stuck in a snow or a jam in winter situations and are then likely to get transfered to daypacks etc as necessary.

I look forward to hearing the winter testing feedback in due course.

OIMO

I wonder how would Blizzard bags compare to Heatsheets bivvies and blankets?
One thing I noticed is Blizzard bags and blankets are significantly heavier then Heatsheets.
Blizzard bag (12.3 oz) vs Heatsheets Bivvy (3.9 oz)
Blizard blanket (18.7 oz) vs Heatsheets blanket (2.9 oz)

However, it seems like the Blizzard products are also warmer.

Would this be the general consensus?

How much does a USGI poncho liner weigh? I was thinking that they might be fairly heavy since they're synthetic not down.

They are very light, I don't know the exact weight but I carry one in my bob and have a hard time telling the difference in wight with or without it.