I'm going thru my gear, trying to trim out a bit more fat, and I'm realizing that I've never used my emergency space blanket–it just sits in my pack and probably has holes worn in it by now. But it's for emergencies, right?
Except that, I'm already carrying shelter, raingear, sleeping bag, etc, and with a light pack am unlikely to drop the pack for a quick hike down a side trail (and thus get lost without shelter, etc). For dayhiking, I'm thinking the space blanket *is* good to have "just in case" but for planned overnights or more it seems redundant.
Am I being stupid here? Will I wind up freezing to death someday regretting the 1.7 oz savings? (I've actually tried to sleep with just a space blanket before–I survived, but it wasn't fun).
Does anyone have a story of a backpacking emergency which turned out alright because of a space blanket? Or better yet, of an emergency which turned out alright with no space blanket needed?
