Seeking advice on shelters made with metalized, reflective cuben fiber material

[Diana Vann]

Nick,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with using laminated reflective materials on your tent trailer. Based on all of the comments that have been posted about reflective material delaminating, I agree that buying a reflective cuben product might not be the best investment (at least at this point).

Lately I have been wondering if it's possible to use one of those superlight reflective emergency blankets draped over a cuben shelter in warm weather to help cut down the heat. I've been carrying a reflective, emergency poncho for years, and if I switched to a reflective emergency tarp instead, perhaps I'd finally get some use out of it.

I found 4-packs of these weighing 1.75 oz. ea on sale here , so I ordered 2 packages of them. It will be fun to experiment with them.

[Nick Gatel]

The reflective purpose of the mylar blanket works. If you drape it over a shelter, you need to make sure you do not cover up any venting areas or you will be worse off than without it. These blankets are fragile and wind is a problem. But is certain is worth a try, since they are cheap and light. Years ago I tried them as ground sheets and they would last more than a night or two, they are that fragile.

In desert hiking I often take a break in the heat of the day. When temps are over 100F I am only looking for shade, and a tarp excels in this area. I would never consider any kind of tent or tarp tent for this purpose. I only want a roof to block the sun and I want 360 degrees of open air around me.

But give it a try and let everyone know how it works out for you!!

[Diana Vann]

Nick,

Your points are well taken. I probably should clarify a bit. I was thinking that I'd only leave the reflective blanket over the shelter during hot afternoons, and that I'd tie it to my tent states to keep it from falling/blowing off. My idea is to punch a few holes in the corners of the mylar blanket, then reinforce the holes with binder-paper type peel-and-stick type reinforcements.

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