Even if you keep an AMK Heat Sheet in your gear for a survival blanket would you still keep a mylar blanket to use simply as a ground sheet or shelter addition, especially in cold weather?

For shelter addition, maybe, as a backdrop for a fire or something, but I don't think it would make a good ground sheet. I think the cold would come right through and that the things would shred too easily. I used one a couple years ago and it shredded when I looked at it.

I've always wondered why they don't make a huge sealed "bag" of something like the heatsheat - not to sleep in, but to lay on. I think the mylar would never be strong enough, but couldn't you get a very thin and light "air mattress" out of two AMK Heatsheets sealed at the edges with a blow-up valve? Seems like a nice emergency alternative, but the Mylar would do. I can't remember who, but someone here spends a lot of time evaluating these things. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Best use for a mylar blanket is as a waterproofing layer. Put it on the ground and pile branches on top of it to make a bed. If you have a mylar bag, fill it with leaves etc and duct tape the end closed. A little bit noisey to sleep on but a lot better than nothing.

I replaced all my space blankets with Heatsheets. I think that anything the SB can do the HS can do better. At $3.00 more I just think there is no comparison. And I have always been a space blanket fan.

I can't comment on teh heatsheet, but mylar (aka "cheepie space blanket") does not make a good ground sheet, particularily if it's cold - it doesn't block conductive heat transfer.

I took a youth group camping and wound leaving my tent behind (smooth, I know). So, I started with a small tarp for moisture control, then unrolled my GI sleeping pad, then a "cheepie space blanket", then my sleeping bag then my poncho to keep the dew off. That was the most comfortable I had ever been on a cold weather camping trip. How cold did it get? Cold enough to freeze most of the water in a 5 gal jug.

MrJim

My hunting bag has 2 heat sheets, 1 mylar, and 2 heavy duty trash bags.

Trash bags with pine needles, straw,etc for bedding, 1 heat sheet for a shelter and one for my person. The mylar will be used as a heat reflector behind the fire.

Those few items weigh next to nothing in my bag, and would turn a potentially dangerous situation into a meer inconvienent situation.

I know many people here are into teeny-tiny kits, but for a larger pack or vehicle, I use a length of Reflectix insulation.

You know the stuff, the multiple-layers of laminated bubblepak and mylar film. It's a quarter-inch or so thick and you can often buy it by the foot in 18"+ widths.

You can lay on it and it makes a LOT of difference under a sleeping bag. You can sit on it in front of a fire (with something behind your back) and it keeps both sides warm at the same time, unlike the usual fried in front/frozen in back.

If you spiral it loosely around the inside of your pack, it will also help protect other contents from exterior bumps. If it gets a cut in it, no big deal.

Sue

It's already been mentioned, but Mylar SBs don't stop conductive heat loss. Conductively, they are probably worse than just a piece of plastic because the shiny is aluminum. They are radiant barriers that need space between it and you to work.

That said, it is a great moisture barrier, and if you put leaves or some other filler on top before you sit/lay down you'll get the radiant effect working. It's also not any heavier or bulkier than the same sized piece of any other type of plastic, it's great for reflecting the heat of a fire, and pretty easy to spot from the air. . . . so why not?

If you just want a thin, compact piece of plastic for moisture control, plastic drop cloths will be found in the paint section of any large home improvement store. They'll have sizes down to about 5' X 8' and they are folded flat and very compact.