Alternative to emergency blanket

[Todd D]

Just saw this in my google news feed.  It is an inflatable emergency vest that can be used in place of an emergency blanket.  It is not a mulit-use product, but looks interesting.  Has anyone used this product?  Thoughts?

http://www.xero-gear.com/

 

[Jerry Adams]

“The interior surface of the vest is mirrored and thermally reflective”

That should work, you need air space next to reflective surface in order for it to work.  It looks like maybe it’s 1 inch thick so that should provide a lot of warmth.

Of course you could sweat in it.

[Kevin Babione]

For $10 and weighing only 2 ounces I’m sure it will find a use for someone in the BPL world.  It does seem to be single use (tape and one-way inflation valve) but if you knew you were going to do some sketchy stream/river crossings it looks like it would make a good emergency PFD as well.

[Matt Dirksen]

Nifty! kind of like a “NeoRest” vest.

Too bad it’s not quite reusable, although they say to use a straw to deflate the vest, which means you might be able to re-inflate it with a straw as well. Sort of like these pillows from Antigravity Gear.

[Jerry Adams]

“NeoVest”?

[Matthew / BPL]

For an extra ounce of weight I’d rather have a Montbell Plasma 1000 vest although I think those cost a little more.

[Paul Wagner]

You can probably re-inflate it….but I would not trust the tape to unstick it, and then seal it again.

And where are the integrated ventilation holes? Are those the ones for your arms, head and torso? Or are there other holes in this thing?

If you really ARE in an emergency, my guess is that you’ll want something a bit more robust than this…

[Ian]

To answer your question, I have not tried this product.  For 2oz, it’s likely to serve its single use emergency purpose well.

As far as adopting it into UL backpacking, I’m not interested in a disposable vest at any price.  The only thing similar to this that I’ve used is the Blizzard Blanket which is of similar materials but isn’t inflatable.  The conclusion I came to was that I prefer a comfortable down sleeping bag over sleeping in a humid plastic bag.  I see the same issue here.  I’d rather cary a couple extra ounces in a down vest instead of wearing an inflatable plastic one that I’ll have to figure out how to pack once inflated for the rest of the trip and throw away later.

[Jerry Adams]

I’ve carried a “space blanket” for years and never used it.  It’s for that one time I get injured and it’s wet and cold.  Might keep me alive.

Same with this

Although, maybe in that situation a blanket would be better than a vest

[Hamish McHamish]

This vest is a revival of the Aero Vest, though I don’t know if the same manufacturer is behind it. From the past:

http://www.survivalmetrics.com/store/Item/id_aerovest_emergency_survival_vest

https://www.rei.com/product/769403/solatec-aerovest

I have one of the original Aero Vests. I kind of doubt it would be applicable to ongoing hiking use. However IMO it is a pretty good niche product for trail runners or climbers who don’t have much cargo volume or weight budget to spare. It comes packed very small: about 5″ x 7″ x 0.25″. For those going on long runs in shoulder seasons with not much more than a waist pack, I think it’s a viable survival item.

John McCann of bepreparedtosurvive.com did a pretty good review of the Aero Vest a while back and reported that it definitely helped retain a lot of heat.

Like Jerry said, the reflective component only works when there’s an air gap from the skin. Even so, the vest would give you a (partial) vapor barrier and nontrivial dead air space. A ‘better than nothing’ survival tool.

[Jerry Adams]

or it would work if there’s an air space on the outside, that is, the reflective layer is the outside surface

if there was an air space on both sides of the reflective layer it would work twice as good

maybe a blanket would be better because it would cover more of your entire body

[David Thomas]

Back in college, I had a bunch of people stay late at my house.  It had gotten cold.  Some were on bikes.  A Dutch grad student asked for an old newspaper, separated the sheets, crumpled them up, and shoved them under his wind breaker to create an impromptu (and free!) “puffy” layer.  Apparently in a nation of bicyclists, this is common knowledge.  The rest of us looked on and thought, “That’s brilliant!  I’ll keep that in mind.”

It also works with leaf litter, pine needles, TP, extra clothes, your sleeping quilt, your tarp, etc.

Knowledge & Practice > More Gear.

[Bradley Danyluk]

+1 “Knowledge & Practice > More Gear”

The old SAR trick is apparently to take a few trash compactor bags. I’ve started doing this instead of an emergency blanket. They can function as a sealed VBL, or a roof for a shelter, or you can stuff them full of leaves and pile the full bags on your body for a quite warm “sleeping bag”.

[Todd D]

Thanks all.  Lots of good input.  Vest may become part of my sea kayaking emergency supplies. I’ll stick with my emergency blanket/ground sheet for backpacking.

 

David, I like your tag line: Knowledge & Practice > More Gear.

Happy New Year to all.

[kevperro .]

What???  We are supposed to carry an emergency blanket?

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