well don't have the coughlans model, but i have one from another brand which is diffrent. Mine has a ripstop pattern, but no grommets. The volume of mine is aboout 9 times bigger than the emergency ones.

Which or what is beter depends on you. The strong reusable ones are considerable more expensive. Check out this one from a dutch source: http://www.countrystore.nl/main.php?id=UNIFACT_7e3826ceb1c4fe6d1323b8649b6d4085 Not what i would call cheap. You could buy a simple tarp and a emergency nylon bivy for that price. Or something else...