It really is tragic.

It is also a cautionary tale -- a good reminder to us all to go over our gear lists one more time.

When people tease me about carrying the 10,000 essentials,


I should hand them a copy of the article in the original post of this thread.

HJ

HJ - Could I ask why you decided to pack a small child? I've been camping quite a bit and have never needed one, nor seen the need to bring one along. I'm sure if you really needed one it could be improvised in camp - a simple effigy, small animals, etc. Maybe there is such a thing as bringing too much stuff.

(For the satire impaired - the above was a joke.)

"HJ - Could I ask why you decided to pack a small child?"

My theory is that he's testing his ability to do extreme hiking while being in a totally sleep-deprived state. That method also worked for me in the past :-)

Pete2

The Heatsheets Bivvy and Blanket look great. These are the ones from Adventure Medical, yes? The price is right. Are they reasonably durable?

I wonder if a poncho made of this reflective material would be a great do-everything combination. It would probably get too hot for moving around in, but I think it might be very useful when just sitting around. I did a quick search and saw one on Amazon, but have no idea about the size or quality.

Any other recommendations appreciated!

David

Yes to both. Durability is much higher than a thin Mylar "space" blanket but somewhat less than the sportsmans "space" blanket that I use as a small tarp.

I wouldn't care to carry a poncho made of this material -- I'd think the bivvy would be better for resting still, and a poncho would undoubtedly be pretty warm for moving around. You can improvise a poncho from a blanket at need.

Shown this thread, my wife scoffs at all of us. HJ carries his daughter to balance the load.

Some learn it from something like the Scouts. Some are just wired that way. Some survive when events say "Oh yeah? Watch this!" and decide never again will I be caught standing flat footed with my mouth hanging open.

For me, it was a combination of all three. Scouts & general attitude got a wake-up call from it taking 2 1/2 hours to get home one winter (normally 20min. drive).

"Shown this thread, my wife scoffs at all of us"

Hahahahaha!!!
Too true :-)

Pete2

Yeah, I think this makes sense. I was trying to multi-purpose the thing.

So although I know this has been covered elsewhere, since we're on the subject: which emergency poncho?

Criteria: 1. Reasonably durable 2. Small and light 3. Cheap 4. Large

I have seen some high-tech ones, but procrastinate getting them because of the high price. I have used the super-cheapy (like $1) ones, but basically a single time each. So just as the survival blanket we are talking about above is a good quality item at a very reasonable price, what sort of emergency poncho would be its equivalent?

David

I'd be interested in such a thing as well. I either carry the $1 throwaways, a contractor bag, or my expensive, durable, breathable rain shell. It packs down reasonably well but would never fit in a cargo pocket.