I like to check out www.nwwoodsman.com, and I have spent a fair amount of time over at Dave Canterbury's site www.wildernessoutfitters.com (Great info there). I appreciate the teaching and passing on of primitive skills, or as Canterbury puts it "the tribal knowledge". I get that, its cool, its pracitcal, and its fun! Having said that part of being practical is acknowledging when something better comes along.. IMO anyway.
I like ferro rods, but I carry a lighter too, and use it as a first option.
I just never could get my mind around carrying a 4-6 lb wool blanket, when I could carry a sil-tarp, and down bag?? I can still light a fire if I need to... I thank all of you for your comments and thoughts, and for confirming that I am not just being naive on the subject.. Keep your comments coming, this is fun..

A four to six pound blanket.....really? For six pounds these days , you can get a fully enclosed tent and a separate bag that will give you comfortable, if not luxurious, shelter that will be good down to zero degrees or thereabouts.

I have been around long enough to appreciate the advantages that some new technologies give to the outdoors enthusiast. There are times and situations where "the old ways are best," but they are fairly rare and unusual.

Does Canterbury still use hemp rope for climbing, along with alpenstocks and candle lanterns?

No he's making candles out of deer talow & turtle shells... lol

I would not choose a wool blanket over a good sleeping bag for backpacking, but I would never discount the effectiveness of a good wool blanket. When I was a young infantryman (long, long ago) we did not get issued rucksacks. We had our Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) with a butt pack. We did get issued the old, heavy mummy sleeping bag. The problem was that the sleeping bag could not be effectively carried attached to the LBE. What many of us did was construct a modular, layered package for sleeping. If you start from the ground and move toward the body, it consisted of a poncho, Space Blanket, wool blanket and then a poncho liner. This could be rolled and attached much like you see in old WW I movies or even like a Civil War bedroll, draped over one shoulder. You could also roll other things up in it for easier packing. Our commander's concept was that rucksacks get packed full, and that makes it heavy and slows the soldier down. He wanted us moving as light as possible. While not the warmest or most comfortable, it did work for even near zero temperatures. Not a first choice, but an option. Of course, with the newer technologies in sleeping bags, this bedroll would actually be heavier.

Some of us can not get a decent rest in a sleeping bag (too constrainingand limits movement, etc) Depending on weather I use quilt/blankets for sleeping.
I find a wool blanket much more flexible and add layers as necessary to keep warm.

My first experiences with a mummy bag were a bit awkward. I felt constrained, etc., but after just a few nights I got over it. The greater warmth of a mummy, particularly with respect to weight, makes it well worth making the transition. I now sleep like a baby in a mummy bag and have done so for decades. Nothing else comes close when you look at warmth/weight ratios.

I haven't done cold weather survival yet, but I have researched it some, and this is what I have gathered, YMMV. There are trade offs here. The wool blanket is heavy, but if you use it as Canterbury does, it also doubles as a pack and cloak, spreading its weight around. The main advantage of using a wool blanket is that you can use it in conjunction with close proximity to a warming fire. The fire is great, as it will dry you if you are wet, and is relatively quick to set up, but requires alot of work in the form of wood gathering, and maintaining the fire, and some knowledge of firecraft and site selection, also a problem if the wind changes. A passive shelter, is generally more bulky, harder to set up, less comfortable, harder to keep dry in, but more wind resistant, rain resistant, and properly done, can survive colder temps. If I had my way, I would try to do both methinks, first a warming area with fire, and then a nearby insulated shelter in case the weather turned nasty.

Some thoughts,

C. Rowe

I can tell you from personal experience, that if you have a warming fire, you don't need a blanket at all, although a reflector of some sort comes in handy. Above timberline and in similar places, warming fires are hard to come by.

It is quite true that sleeping bags, generally constructed with nylon cloth or similar, don't go well with the sparks and embers generated by a fire.

My personal view is that an open fire, other than for emergencies, is an environmental no-no and all too often an accident waiting to happen. This varies a bit depending upon the location.

I use a wool blanket with my sleeping bag...

When hammock camping in the cooler seasons I put the wool blanket under my sleeping bag to compensate for the compression of the bag's loft.

When winter camping I use the blanket instead of or in addition to my sleeping pad.

Coldest I have been out in is -21F, in a tent.
From the ground up - Thermarest, Wool Blanket, winter mummy bag, summer mummy bag inside, with a fleece liner inside that. I was comfy and did not even melt the snow under my tent.

Don't put the blanket over your sleeping bag though... That was a very uncomfortable night.