The Blizzard Survival Blanket is the new standard in thermal protection for casualties. This extra-large blanket wraps around a casualty and seals with a self-adhesive closure. It can easily be re-opened for examination of the casualty or medical intervention.
It provides the total warmth and weather protection associated with Reflexcell™ material, reducing shock and guarding against the risk of hypothermia in all conditions.
SPECIFICATIONS
- Size vacuum packed: 20 x 11 x 4.5 cm.
- Volume: 1 litre.
- Weight: 525 grams.
- Size (unpacked): 2.35 x 2.4 metres (fully stretched).
- Colour: Silver
FEATURES
- Reinforced edges for maximum strength.
- Extra large.
- Easy-to-use re-sealable self-adhesive closure along full length.
PERFORMANCE
- Warmth: 8 Togs - equal to a medium weight regular sleeping bag.
- Weather protection: fully waterproof and windproof.
- Storage: blankets may be stored indefinitely, and are not affected by temperature or moisture, either during storage or in use.
- Portability: small packed size means the Blizzard Survival Blanket takes up very little room in a personal emergency pack or vehicle.
- Re-usability: blankets can be re-used many times without loss of performance.
APPLICATIONS
First Aid, Mountain Rescue & Military Trauma Care
The Blizzard Survival Blanket is recommended as the first choice for keeping casualties warm by the 2007 Prehospital Trauma Life Support Military Version Sixth Edition (PHTLS Military Version 6E), produced by the globally respected National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT).
PHTLS says medics' initial response to trauma cases should be: “After any immediate life-threatening issues are addressed, wet clothes should be replaced with dry clothes, if possible, and the casualty should be wrapped in a Blizzard Survival Blanket.”
Versatile & Effective
It is often impractical to manoeuvre an injured person in a sleeping bag, so some form of wrap around insulation must be used instead. The Blizzard Survival Blanket is first opened, then the casualty placed on top of it. The blanket can then be wrapped around and re-sealed using the self-adhesive closure provided, to give full thermal and weather protection.
The blanket contains 50% more material than the Blizzard Survival Bag, enabling it to protect even very large casualties or those wearing thick clothing, life jackets etc. The self-adhesive closure works in cold and wet conditions, and can be opened and re-sealed many times
Hot Tips
By carefully sealing the blanket to form a tube it can be used as a sleeping bag for one or two persons (particularly useful for re-warming chilled casualties). Carry a small roll of duct tape to help “sculpt” the blanket into any desired shape, reinforce holes, mend slight damage etc. The blanket can also be sealed around an ambulant casualty, affording them a high degree of protection, yet allowing them to walk. Arm holes can be cut if necessary.
Reflexcell™
The following is some of the information about Reflexcell presented on Blizzard Survival’s own website:
‘Reflexcell™ products are totally unique: weight-for-weight far warmer than goose down, yet 100% weatherproof, tough, ultra-portable and re-usable.
Because Reflexcell™ is so different from any other material, many of the usual rules just don’t apply, so to get the most out of our products, please read these instructions carefully.
When Reflexcell™ products are packed in our factory, they are neatly folded and all air removed to give an exceptionally small package. Occasionally a small puncture in the outer packaging may occur, making the pack feel softer, and have a slightly more rounded appearance. This in no way affects the performance of the products, and should not be viewed as a problem.
If you are lying on the ground, providing extra insulation between the Reflexcell™ material and the ground will make you much warmer, for example a sleeping mat, a rucksack, or a pile of vegetation.
Reflexcell™, the base material for Blizzard’s unique products, has major advantages over existing materials and is revolutionising emergency thermal protection. Reflexcell™ took fifteen years to develop and is completely different from other reflective blanket materials.
Reflexcell™ has a cellular construction to trap warm air, elastication which draws the material to the body, reducing cold spaces and heat loss by convection, and finally, silvered surfaces to block heat loss by radiation. It is also completely waterproof and windproof.
This unique combination gives Reflexcell™ vastly superior warmth to any comparable emergency product. However its greatest strength is that it can be compressed into the tiniest of packages and stored indefinitely without damaging its performance.
What makes Blizzard's Reflexcell™ products so warm?
- The cells in the material trap warm, still air, providing insulation.
- The silver reflective surfaces block radiated heat.
- The elastic causes the material to hug the body, stopping drafts, reducing convection, and keeping the material right next to you where it is needed.
- The outer layer is completely waterproof and windproof.
- Unlike most other insulating materials, ours works just as well when wet.
What is the coldest temperature at which Reflexcell™ products will be warm enough?
That depends on many factors:
- The individual’s ability to tolerate cold.
- The amount of other clothing worn.
- Wind-chill.
- Duration of exposure.
- Insulation from the ground.
As a rough guide, if you are wearing the type of clothes appropriate for the season and you make some effort to find a sheltered spot and put some insulation underneath you, then in spring, summer and autumn you should be warm and comfortable. In winter you may not be so comfortable, but you should be able to survive for several days in all but the most extreme conditions.
How strong is Reflexcell™ material?
Surprisingly strong. Single layer reflective blankets are very fragile because they are easily punctured, and once a tear has started to develop, it rips right across the material. This doesn’t happen to Reflexcell™ material because:
- The three layers reinforce each other, and even if one is damaged, the others usually remain intact.
- The seams in the material act like the thick threads in ripstop nylon, stopping tears from developing.
- Materials only tear when they are pulled tight. The elastic in the Reflexcell™ material helps to keep the material in a relaxed state – if it doesn’t get pulled tight, it doesn’t tear.
Of course the material can be damaged (it should be kept away from sharp objects) but even if this happens, it will continue to keep you warm.
Don’t reflective products reflect the cold back to you?
Technically the answer is no. Physicists tell us that whereas radiated heat can be reflected, cold cannot. It is true that if the surface of your body is cold, it will emit very little radiated heat, so that reflecting this back to you will only make a very small difference to getting you warmer. But it is scientifically impossible for a material to reflect cold back to you and make you colder.
Fortunately, unlike other reflective products, most of Reflexcell™’s warming ability comes from trapped air insulation, so even when there is very little effect from the reflectiveness of the material, this insulation will help you to get warm much faster than other reflective products.
Are Reflexcell™ products expensive?
If you compare Reflexcell™ products with single skin products, for example with polythene survival bags, or with space blankets, they might not look cheap. But they are actually a completely different type of product – equivalent to a traditional “bivvi bag” and a conventional insulating sleeping bag in one package. Polythene survival bags may protect you from the worst of the weather, but you will usually be cold, damp and uncomfortable. In cold conditions they will not stop you becoming hypothermic.
People who have used single layer reflective blankets in any but the most gentle conditions report disastrous results – blankets disintegrating when unpacked, ripping in the wind, and not even offering the illusion of warmth. Compare this with a product which will give you a comfortable night, even in cold conditions, which in a real emergency will keep you alive for a week, which will provide instant warmth and shelter and protect against hypothermia even if you are wet through.
Do you get condensation inside Reflexcell™ products?
Not normally. This is because the warmth of the material suppresses the formation of condensation, and the perforations in the inner and middle layers allow much of the moisture to move away from the body. However under certain conditions small amounts of moisture can form. No one who has used Reflexcell™ products has felt that these caused any problem, or affected the performance of the material.’
