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#226637 - 06/25/11 03:16 PM Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag???
DavidEnoch Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 03/04/06
Posts: 74
Loc: Texas
Do any of you have experience with the Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag. I am curious how this compares to other survival bivys. I hike in Colorado in the summer and like to carry something to protect me in case of an emergency. I currently carry a Heatsheet blanket and a foil sleeping bag plus a large trash bag. I have also carried a army poncho and liner but I prefer something less bulky. I would appreciate other suggestions as well.
David Enoch

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#226638 - 06/25/11 05:31 PM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: DavidEnoch]
MDinana Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 03/08/07
Posts: 2208
Loc: Beer&Cheese country
If you search you might find a review - it was done maybe 2-3 years ago. As I recall, they're pretty good, about the size of a VCR cassette, reusable for a limited time. Kind of a pain to open properly.

No personal experience; they're using them in the Middle East though for patients.

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#226652 - 06/26/11 01:28 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: DavidEnoch]
Ironwood Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 05/15/11
Posts: 87
That poncho liner can be good to mid 30's low 40's inside a vapor barrier (for me at least). If your poncho it's self is rubberized, try to find the straight nylon version they are much much lighter and packable. I sewed a zipper onto my poncho liner (onto two sides) and it makes a GREAT bivy and/ or 10-15 degree bolster to any sleeping bag.

Ironwood


Edited by Ironwood (06/26/11 01:29 AM)

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#226827 - 06/28/11 07:57 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: DavidEnoch]
WILD_WEASEL Offline
Member

Registered: 10/11/05
Posts: 105
Loc: Afghanistan
Hello,

I have a Blizzard Survival Bag in my Combat Lifesaver Bag. Even vacuum packed they are bulky and near impossible to repack after use. Perhaps a better choice would be the Emergency Sleeping Bag offered my Adventure Medical Kits, which with a bit of practice can be repacked in its stuff sack.

Cheers,
W-W
_________________________
To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

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#226828 - 06/28/11 07:57 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: DavidEnoch]
WILD_WEASEL Offline
Member

Registered: 10/11/05
Posts: 105
Loc: Afghanistan
Hello,

I have a Blizzard Survival Bag in my Combat Lifesaver Bag. Even vacuum packed they are bulky and near impossible to repack after use. Perhaps a better choice would be the Emergency Sleeping Bag offered my Adventure Medical Kits, which with a bit of practice can be repacked in its stuff sack.

Cheers,
W-W
_________________________
To the last, I grapple with thee; From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee.

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#226833 - 06/28/11 11:53 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: WILD_WEASEL]
gonewiththewind Offline
Veteran

Registered: 10/14/08
Posts: 1517
Originally Posted By: WILD_WEASEL
Hello,

I have a Blizzard Survival Bag in my Combat Lifesaver Bag. Even vacuum packed they are bulky and near impossible to repack after use. Perhaps a better choice would be the Emergency Sleeping Bag offered my Adventure Medical Kits, which with a bit of practice can be repacked in its stuff sack.

Cheers,
W-W


I like the S.O.L. Thermal Bivy sack, sold by AMK. It is more durable and easier to repack. I have the blizzard bag and the optional bag for storage and carrying, which expands for easier repacking. I have not slept in it, but I do intend to when winter rolls around. I have slept in the AMK emergency sleeping bag and will say that it will save your life, but it is not the most comfortable. Like any vapor barrier, you need to let it breath or you will begin to get wet. A poncho liner or other blanket inside of it makes it a great deal more comfortable and warmer.

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#226891 - 06/29/11 05:29 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: gonewiththewind]
Richlacal Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/11/10
Posts: 778
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
Personally,I have transitioned from Mylar bags to heavy duty Trash bags,the trash bags weigh probably twice as much & Can't hold boiling water as the Mylar can,but that's where it stops.The Mylar bags are just too noisy to get any sleep,Just like a Big Bag of Potato Chips,even the rip-stop SOL bags of which are softer/more plyable they are still Mylar,& are still Noisy!

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#227016 - 07/01/11 09:35 AM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: DavidEnoch]
bigreddog Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 07/02/06
Posts: 253
I thought the blizzard bag traps an insulating layer of air in it's cell structure, which should be warmer than a simple bag?

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#227104 - 07/02/11 04:39 PM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: bigreddog]
Basecamp Offline
Member

Registered: 11/08/07
Posts: 107
Loc: PNW
If you are planning for an emergency and not for daily use, I would say two of the heavy duty gargbage bags (4 mil/>) are a minimum (and probably the cheapest solution, especially if you can beg a couple from a road clean-up crew); they have worked for me in a white-out situation...along with animal droppings to act as an insulator against the rock. That is taking into consideration that the clothing on your back is your primary shelter system. Gore-tex bivies are a good minimal type package, too.

Mylar space blankets tear easilly, which would negate their use as an insulator (air-trapper) or windbreak.

The Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag's Reflexcell technology appears to be three layers of mylar with a reinforced baffle system: http://www.blizzardsurvival.com/page.php?xPage=reflexcell-technology.html which should be good at trapping air when the walls are allowed to seperate. If you sit/lay on the bag, it appears the walls would be pressed together and the system would lose the insulative quality at that area, making it simply a 3-layer space blanket.

If someone like thermarest made a bag, that would be better with the positive pressure, but could still compress with body weight enough to negate insulation in that area. An ensolite bag would be even better for uniform insulative qualities, but it's bulk would probably keep it from being carried.

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#227480 - 07/08/11 05:42 PM Re: Blizzard Survival Sleeping Bag??? [Re: Ironwood]
icarus Offline
Stranger

Registered: 06/26/11
Posts: 2
I have a blizzard survival bag in my 3 day kit. It is indeed about the size of a VHS cassette and probably the same weight!

If you look around you can find reviews or blogs about them. I read one review where a guy got into a 7 degree F walk in freezer in short and a T-shirt. He said the temp inside the blizzard bag got down to 67 degrees after 30 minutes or so.

I tried the thermolite bivy, it seems useful, but i promise you, in a 7 degree freezer the temperature inside that thing would fall far below 67 degrees!

Military and rescue units use this thing (or its blanket-style cousin in the case of evacuating wounded).

link to a blog review: https://greenbeetlegear.wordpress.com/2010/08/26/blizzard-bag-review/

icarus

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