Most of the heat the body loses is radiant heat, so reflective insulation makes sense from a heat loss perspective. Obviously, low temperatures can cause hypothermia if a person is exposed for too long, but some of the real dangers occur when water and blood loss are involved.
Water conducts heat much faster than air, and if the person is wet out of the water, evaporative cooling can suck up even more heat, especially if it is windy. Although many people do not associate blood loss with heat loss as often as cold water or winter temperatures, it is one of the most dangerous causes of hypothermia.
Your body uses blood to control the heat distribution in your body. By dilating and constricting blood vessels near your skin, your body regulates its core temperature. When you lose a lot of blood your body cannot regulate temperature as effectively, and all of that warm, lost blood is lost heat as well. Hypothermia is an all too common secondary problem. It keeps you warm in an emergency when it is cold, but what makes it different from a regular mylar blanket?
As I mentioned before, if your skin is touching the blanket, it won't work because the blanket will conduct your body heat instead of reflecting it back at you. The Blizzard EMS Blanket uses 2 layers of mylar glued into tubes that trap heated air and prevent it from escaping.
It also has elastic lines wrapped in horizontal bands, threaded through the tubes that keep the tube sides from collapsing and touching each other. This means that even if your skin is touching the inner layer of the blanket, the reflective insulation is still working.
The one caveat to this is lying on the ground. In space it is a vital tool in maintaining the inside temperature of the space crafts because of the ever-changing atmospheric temperatures. In survival situations they can be life-saving if used properly, but the opposite is also true if used improperly.
There are several types of emergency blankets but essentially they work the same. They shiny part of the blanket is vital in reflecting heat off of the object its facing, whether it be a body, a fire, or the sun. It works not only to keep heat out but also to insulate and keep heat in, thereby stabilizing body temperatures. This is a multipurpose item that can be used in a variety of ways. The following options are the most clever ways to use an emergency blanket.
The shiny side reflects heat. Note that your clothes need to be as dry as possible because in order for you to reflect warmth inside the blanket, your body will need to be generating some heat. Most people expect that the blanket will magically warm them up, but in reality, it works to slow down the process of heat loss. Some people use emergency sleeping bags in place of emergency blankets.
Keep in mind the potential risk of hypothermia and asphyxiation when doing this. Never put your head inside the sleeping bag!! For one, you can become asphyxiated by having your head covered, but also your breathing will cause condensation and may lead to hypothermia.
Many people use emergency blankets as a lining of insulation for their boots, gloves, pants, jackets, and even sleeping bags. This works as a very effective way to keep you warm so long that there is a layer of clothing between your skin and the metallic blanket. With four sticks, a few feet of paracord, and a little creativity, you can set up a basic shelter or create shade from sun protection. You can also purchase tents made from the same material as emergency blankets.
These are great for temporary shelter but are especially practical for using inside your home to create a warm space when the power is out. Emergency blankets are waterproof and can help keep you and your gear stay dry.
Cutting a slit in the center of the blanket large enough for your head to fit through and use it as a poncho. Rainwater can easily be gathered by attaching two ends of the blanket length-wise to sticks about 2 or 3 feet above the ground.
The other two ends can be tied to sticks about one foot above the ground. Keep tension on all sides and create a valley in the middle to catch the water as it rains. Pour this water inside a bucket or container that can easily be used to transport it into water bottles. Another option is to create a lip at the edge of the blanket where water can directly be poured into the container.
If you need to set up camp and the ground is wet or cold, use your emergency blanket as a base layer between the ground and your tent. It will keep your tent and sleeping bag dry while reflecting your body heat back to you from the ground up.
There are two ways you can use a blanket to start a fire. One way is to create a parabolic mirror with the blanket. A parabolic reflector is a concave mirror that reflects light, sound, and radio waves and has the capacity to concentrate light in one spot- it works almost like a magnifying glass but is much more powerful.
This is a great video if you want guidance on how to make your own. All you need to do is dig a hole in a place where there is direct sunlight, put the blanket on top of the hole with the shiny side facing up, and put dry leaves or pine needles on top to create some tinder that the flame can eventually ignite. Try to stretch the blanket so there are as few creases as possible and leave a little air pocket between the blanket and the tinder.
You will need to be patient for a while but if you get it right, it will be worth the wait. Another way to use an emergency blanket as a fire starter is to crumble it up, put it under your tinder, and light it. Space blankets are extremely flammable and will catch in flames in a matter of seconds…all it takes is a small flame.
Use this as a last resort because it will produce black noxious fumes and it can be potentially toxic! If you have set up a bonfire, you can reflect the heat from the fire by making an emergency blanket backdrop around a section of the fire shiny side facing the fire. If a hiker or accident victim gets wet in an extremely cold environment, evaporation can become a big problem, causing hypothermia or even death. A thermal blanket forms a barrier between its user and the surrounding air, preventing moisture from escaping and carrying heat away.
The biggest weakness the thermal blanket has is in stopping conduction. When a warmer object comes in contact with a colder object, heat slowly flows from the warmer object to the colder one in a process called conduction.
The best way to stop conduction is with a thick insulating layer, such as a winter jacket, which can slow the flow of heat. Because a thermal blanket is so thin, it only has a limited ability to prevent heat conduction. Given its other useful thermal properties, it can still help keep someone warm in an emergency. Isaiah David is a freelance writer and musician living in Portland, Ore. He has over five years experience as a professional writer and has been published on various online outlets.
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