Blizzard Survival Bag

[Tim Seaver]

I had just read about something called a "Blizzard Survival Bag" in a british climbing mag and was wondering if anyone is familiar with the product ( as an emergency winter bivy sack it looks pretty neat)
It looks like it's made out of elasticized 3 layer mylar, and comes compressed like a brick about the size of a VCR tape @ 350 g. Check it out at Blizzard Survival Bag

 

[Pete_Hickey]

While it looks decent for its size/weight (100's of times better than those mylar things around here), just remember that cold in Britain, is very different than cold in the NE.

 

[sardog1]

Bags like these are popular in Scandinavia. Hilleberg (the tent maker) offers a three person Windsack and a one person Bivanorak. You can find other examples usually by searching for bivy sacks and/or tarps.

I gave some serious consideration to them. But in the end I bought an MSR Missing Link, which gives me lots more room (read: dog shelter) and functionality. It weighs three pounds, minus the trekking poles to support it that I'm carrying anyway. If I'm in extremis, I want to be comfortable.

 

[Tim Seaver]

Ben Nevis, as Britain's highest mountain, tends to be colder on the summit than you would probably expect. The climate on the summit plateau is described as sub-arctic: this means that the average anual temperature is below 0°! The summit also receives only about 60 days of good sunshine every year - much of the time it is spent shrouded in cloud - the "usual cloud base on the UK is approx 3,000 feet (apx 930m) - Ben Nevis is significantly higher than this.

I've used lots of British climbing gear ( Mountain Equipment, extremely rugged and warm), and climbed with a pair of Brits on Denali who shared some pretty gripping and COLD tales of climbing on the Ben, a very popular destination for British winter climbers. I don't think these bags were made for hanging out in the Lake District in summer.

The purpose of carrying one would be as an emergency shelter to get me through the night ( preferably in a snow hole out of the wind), not be comfortable.

 

[Rick]

... don't think these bags were made for hanging out in the Lake District in summer...

Which is where I plan to be this summer - wind cheaters and all!!!!

 

[Waumbek]

I don't think these bags were made for hanging out in the Lake District in summer.

I was semi-lost in a "mist" on Skiddaw one autumn in high winds and would have been comforted by the thought of one of these bags in my pack. With no tree cover, the wind can really rip through the Lake District hills.

 

[Jim lombard]

I have one, somebody gave it to me about seven years ago, it's still in the brick sized package in the bottom of my pack. My only concern would be putting something underneath like a pad or a pile of fir branches, I don't think it would perform very well if you were laying right on the snow.

 

[Tim Seaver]

My only concern would be putting something underneath like a pad or a pile of fir branches, I don't think it would perform very well if you were laying right on the snow.

Quite right - ANY bivy sack or sleeping bag is going to require some insulation from the ground to be effective.

 

[John H Swanson]

I have one too. It is still a brick. Like many prepacked things, if you open it then it will never be packed the same size after. So it makes practicing difficult. Trust for me comes from practice so I've had doubts but not from data driven observations.

I carried it a few times but now opt for two large plastic garbage bags as they are lighter and smaller and more freely given away. I carry a ton of insulation for emergencies (parka and pants) so I guess I have the weight anyway but I use it occasionally. I would not hesitate to bring it as emergency grear in a situation where I chose not to bring the heavy coat and pants.

It all comes down (for me) to the decision to have an emergency plan that includes stop walking and bivouac. It is not a choice I want as my emergency plan. I prefer an emergency plan that includes being able to crawl, move, care for others etc. If I have to stop, then that's the last choice and I'll do it when needed.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Tim -

Without actually seeing it, this bag looks similar to one sold by Adventure Medical, which is packaged in a yellow stuff sack. Adventure makes a single as well as a double. I've found that the single sack will fit into a small metal cup, the size which fits the liter Nalgene bottle. Between this bivy, the cup, an MSR Pocket Rocket and a small iso-butane cannister, you have the beginning of a survival kit for very little weight.

Kevin

 

[porky]

I have a Blizzard Bag that I bought several years ago. It's still in its shrink wrap, still in my daypack and I hope I never need to use it in extremis. If I ever do, I'm planning on insulating myself from the ground with leaves and/or evergreen boughs. If that's not possible (because of injuries or being above treeline), I guess I'll use my pack, extra clothing and sit pad as best I can. If I were really concerned about this issue, a short Z-Rest or Esolite sleeping pad would not be a henious addition to my kit. I do routinely carry a 5'8' silnylon tarp, some light line and a "Heatsheet Emergency Blanket" to allow me to improvise a shelter on day hikes.

I have heard of at least one ultralight hiker who used a Blizzard Bag as his primary sleeping bag. He claimed to be comfortable in temps below 20*F. That's less than would be found in an improvised snow shelter and beats the performance of my 1.5 pound Western Mountaineering Iroquois sleeping bag. At 11 oz., $35 and about the size of a paperback book, I think of the Blizzard Bag as cheap, light insurance against the moment when nature's wrath or my own stupidity finally catch up with me,

porky pine

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Tim -

I did a bit more research on this bag, and my previous post drew an incorrect comparison. The Adventure Medical Bivy is not comparable - while that bivy is very much tougher than a Space Blanket, it lacks the insulating quality of the Blizzard Survival Bag (equivalent to a 20F bag). Thanks for posting - looks like that bag might be a good investment.

 

[BorealChickadee]

Does anyone know if it is carried in the US? or the final cost of ordering form overseas?

 

[sardog1]

This is either the same thing or something very much like it.

 

[MattC]

I recently bought the MPI Outdoors Extreme Pro-Tech Bag and it's been sitting at the bottom of my pack all winter. I got it from Northern Mountain:
http://www.northernmountain.com/detail/529916?ClearLast=Yes

This page describes the design:
http://www.mpioutdoors.com/extreme.htm

Matt

Edit: Sardog1 beat me to the draw. I think it's pretty much the same design.
The package actually says "Made under license from Mont-Bell (Japan) and Mountain Equipment (UK).

 

[BorealChickadee]

Thanks guys!

 

[pedxing]

The "Blizzard Survival Bag" and the MPI Outdoors Extreme Pro-Tech Space Bag look good. I carry the Hilleberg Wind Sack and an Adventure Medical Bivy - but the BSB and MPI bag look like significant upgrades from the Adventure Medical.

The Wind Sack has other uses, since it can shelter 3 people, be folded up for one with a little extra insulation from the ground and can provide some shelter within which to get organized, change, etc.

I also consider extra insulating clothing to be part of my emergency overnight equipment.

 

[TomD]

bag

The Brits also use a "Bothy Bag"-they come in different sizes and are essentially an emergency shelter you pull over yourself (and several others depending on the bag's size to sit out bad weather. Terra Nova makes them, as do other companies.
http://www.terra-nova.co.uk/terra/bothy.shtml