The actual blanket is ultra thin (if you hold it up you can see through it) but strong. I couldn't tear it. It has a golden colour one side and silver on the other - both striking from a distance, which is handy in a rescue situation. There aren't any instructions and the online pictures were highly confusing so I was wondering if the blanket is to be used with the golden or silver side out. Some other websites say that gold on the outside is to keep warm when it's cold and silver on the outside is to keep cool when it's warm, the silver side reflecting body heat or sunrays respectively. The sheet is 210cm long and 140cm wide so is quite versatile. You can wrap your upper body in it when using it lengthways and you'll feel protected but it's very light and, in the wind, will make a lot of rustling noises and may be tricky to keep in place. Used lengthways, it won't cover the full body height if you're standing. Your legs will not have the same protection - and still feel the wind and rain. If you're lying you can use the sheet as a blanket and it can be used as a bivvy bag to keep a sleeping bag dry. In all cases, having some duct tape (or equivalent) will be handy to secure the sheet in place. Each sheet is just over 50g and is folded neatly to a small pocket size (around 13 x 7 x 1cm) in a press-seal plastic bag with a small flyer confirming the size and product benefits (including that it reflects 90% of the body heat). The flyer also includes what looks like the CE logo which usually means that the product is OK for sale in the EU. You got three in this set so you can leave them in places such as car, rucksack and camping gear for emergencies. Everyone should have some and hope never to have to use them.
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I have always been intrigued by the efficiency of what we referred to, when they very first went on sale, as Space Blankets. I get the idea that the silver surface reflects the body heat back towards the body rather than allowing it to just escape. It's a bit like a white sun hat reflecting the heat of the sun rather than absorbing it like a black hat would. On that basis I'm not sure why a survival blanket doesn't have a silver and a black side so that you are retaining heat but also harvesting it. For me one of this pack of three blankets will see some usage in my attic room which does suffer from heat loss in the winter and heat absorption in the summer. A second will go in my waterproof jacket pocket in case of dire need and the third will be a spare. In my attic TV room I will soon be able to judge the blanket's heat retaining capabilities but it may have to wait until I can test how effective it is at shielding me from the high temperatures that the room gets to in the summer. The blanket is thin but strong. It is a great size at 210 x 140cm and covers me well when I am in my chair. It is extremely lightweight in use, you hardly feel it , unlike the heavy blanket I sometimes use. It does rustle a bit when I move but is not too loud. It covered me really well with material to spare and was surprisingly effective at retaining heat. I will never pack it as well as it was on arrival but will find a suitable container for storage. Value wise £3.95 is a small price to pay for a pack of three heat retaining blankets that can not only be used in emergency situations but also, if like me you prefer not to have the central heating on constantly, can also be used in the home to keep you warm throughout the winter months.
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I have unpacked one of the blankets to get an idea of the quality and the size. They seem to be pretty good and it didn't take me long to start feeling hot when I wrapped it around myself. By some miracle I have been able to fold it up again and get it back into it's packet, so it's ready if I ever need it. I get the impression that they're supposed to be almost kind of disposable, really, but as long as I can fold them up and pack them away I will look to reuse them if I can. Hopefully I will never need to use them but if I do, they will come in very handy.
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I got these because heating is expensive, and the nights are getting cold. We put them on top of the duvet to add an extra layer. It's a bit crinkly when you roll over, but wow. I had to take it off in the middle of the night on my side because it was too hot (we usually have to sleep with an electric blanket to stay warm). It also collected quite a lot of condensation between the two layers while it was folded over, so that's something to bare in mind. At festivals people put these over their tents but it doesn't really do much other than flap about in the wind and make loads of noise. But when put over a duvet (or potentially a sleeping bag) it makes a huge difference. I recommend these
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Every car and motorcycle I've ever owned has been kitted out with a basic tool kit (although what constitutes basic has changed somewhat over the years) and a basic first aid kit, they've also had one of these for every person the vehicle will carry and often a couple of extras just in case. They weigh less than 50g, compress down to about 5 or 6mm thick and are smaller than a smart phone but open out to am ultra thin heat reflective/retaining blanket almost the size of a double duvet. That's big enough to wrap completely around an injured adult or child. Make a temporary shelter. Use as a ground sheet. Wrap around adults and children in a car if your trapped in snow. Or just to wrap completely around your body and head and hunker down in the fog until it clears on a hillside. Anyone who drives or rides, goes camping or hiking, goes fishing or rambling in the countryside should carry one or two of these, I even have on in the tool kit of my electric mountain bike and the mobility scooter I use when I need to. These ones are pretty good quality, they open out easily and have no visible faults, they are evenly cut and can even fold back down fairly easily if they've not been too creased in use. At £3.95 for a pack of three I'd say they are a bargain.
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