Cheap Heat

[WP]

I just finished reading about Ellen's harrowing tale. I don't carry a sleeping bag myself but I carry therma care heating pads. They are available at almost any drugstore, they are cheap, lightwieght and will stay warm for hours.

[KathyW]

I always carry chemical warmers in my pack. Typically a body warmer and toe warmers. Now I might start carrying 2 sets in the winter.

[formerjarhead]

This is an excellent back-up for any winter day hike or snowshoe trip. I take it everytime I am in the wilderness. Following is the full description for the item from AMK's website.

Our # 1 selling survival item for the past five years! This year round bivvy sack is ideal as a light weight replacement for your sleeping bag when temperatures are above 50F/9C and an excellent emergency survival shelter for winter time activities.

WEIGHT: 6.9 oz
SIZE: 36" x 84"

Link for listing on said site -

http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/kit ... =0140-0223

[AlanK]

This is an excellent back-up for any winter day hike or snowshoe trip. I take it everytime I am in the wilderness. Following is the full description for the item from AMK's website.
...
http://www.adventuremedicalkits.com/kit ... =0140-0223

I'll vouch for those things. My son and I have used them for summer bike trips and they worked reasonably well even with temperatures in the 30s. I can't say we were toasty, but we did sleep.

[Ellen]

Howdy All

What a fabulous idea, thanks I'll have one in my daypack from here on out.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[Hikin_Jim]

I've used them too for summer overnight trips. I brought along a lightweight sleeping bag liner, put it inside the bivvy, and I slept really well.

I still have that bivvy by the way. Unlike a typical space blanket, the AMK space blanket bivvy is a little heavier and can be re-used. Just try folding up a regular space blanket and putting it into its original packaging. I carry the AMK bivvy on many of my day hikes, although I just carry a regular space blanket if I'm staying at lower altitudes in the summer to save space.

[Kevin]

My emergency gear includes a bivy from Adventure Medical. They're readily available, including REI, for about $35. http://www.rei.com/product/750938. I believe they also make a double bivy.

I also carry an emergency sleeping bag, made of Reflexcell material. Here's a link to a distributor, which contains another link to info on that material: http://www.redflarekits.com/c/bz/Blizza ... nkets.html

The bag is very compact (about the size of VHS cassette) and weighs about 12oz.

An item which is usually carried when on snow & ice in other parts of the country but I've rarely seen in SoCal (except by backpackers) is a closed cell foam pad. The Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite is a good choice in that it's light and compact. If you look at the rate of heat loss of a body on frozen ground it's sobering, to say the least. While your pack may help, a pad is far better.[url][/url]

[phydeux]

My emergency gear includes a bivy from Adventure Medical. They're readily available, including REI, for about $35. http://www.rei.com/product/750938. I believe they also make a double bivy.

I also carry an emergency sleeping bag, made of Reflexcell material. Here's a link to a distributor, which contains another link to info on that material: http://www.redflarekits.com/c/bz/Blizza ... nkets.html

The bag is very compact (about the size of VHS cassette) and weighs about 12oz.

An item which is usually carried when on snow & ice in other parts of the country but I've rarely seen in SoCal (except by backpackers) is a closed cell foam pad. The Therm-a-Rest Z-Lite is a good choice in that it's light and compact. If you look at the rate of heat loss of a body on frozen ground it's sobering, to say the least. While your pack may help, a pad is far better.[url][/url]

I might buy one of those AMK bivys when I get my REI dividend. Another option I use is a Shires Tarptent - weighs about 2 lbs (max) and can get me and my gear out of the wind.

REI used to sell really cheap (about $1) 2' x 2' sections of closed cell foam thatare were great for sitting down during summer or winter. I have a doubled up piece of foam I use as a stiffener in my daypack-the pack has a pocket that used to hold another (abominably uncomfortable) plastic stiffener thingy that I tossed out. The pad works MUCH better, including its secondary function as a sit pad.

[Kevin]

REI used to sell really cheap (about $1) 2' x 2' sections of closed cell foam thatare were great for sitting down during summer or winter. I have a doubled up piece of foam I use as a stiffener in my daypack-the pack has a pocket that used to hold another (abominably uncomfortable) plastic stiffener thingy that I tossed out. The pad works MUCH better, including its secondary function as a sit pad.

If it's just a sit pad you're interested in, then keep an eye out for either Ace or True Value this spring. One of them (can't remember which) carries these little pads for kneeling in flower beds (my friends call them "Granny pads") - they're about 8"x16"x3/4" and have a little handle cut into them. They work very well as a sit pad, too, and usually cost about $2.

Another point on the Adventure Medical bivys - if you carry one enough years they'll show some wear points from friction in your pack. To extent their life (and maybe yours) you can put one inside a small stainless steel mug. Not all of it fits, but most of it will. I often carry a MSR Pocket Rocket and small can of isobutane for emergencies, and this cup for melting snow & ice.

[mcdanielvaughn19]

I have emergency Bivvy ... This is like a sleeping bag, this Heatsheets® emergency bivvy will keep you out of the cold. More compact, lightweight design features a quiter, more durable polyethylene material. Reflects 90% of your body heat. Fits one person. Put these in your home emergency or survival kit.

Once you climb in this bivvy, you begin to feel the warmth. This is your own body heat not escaping into the air as it normally does. Instead it's contained within the confines of the emergency bivvy and around you where it belongs.


Emergency Bivvy