[kbatku]

I can't remember who, but somebody on here mentioned Blizzard Tubes. They are a light weight emergency shelter that the mentioner uses year round to help get his overnight pack weight down to like three ounces. I'm thinking these things are a great idea for their intended use too - survival (especially in the winter). They weigh slightly over a pound & fit two people. Pack this and a shovel on you winter treks (as well as other essentials of course) and you would be well prepared to hunker down and wait out a blizzard or other emergency. I don't know if there is a local source for these near you - but here's an online... (note: They have different colors. It defaults to green, which might not be the best choice in a survival situation. Orange is a dollar more than green, silver a dollar less). Blizzard Tube - $41 with shipping

[Kat]

Well that is kind of interesting. I googled the material this 19 oz Blizzard Tube is made of - ReflexCell - and came across a graph that claims it is as warm as a 2 lb down bag. hmmm.. For $41, I may have to buy one and try it out! ReflexCell Comparison

[williswall]

I'm the one who posted about the tube. My daughter and I used it on an unplanned bivy this past summer at Panhandle Gap. We were stymied by frozen snow and had no sleeping bags. We spent a relatively comfortable night there, got plenty of sleep, and continued on our way the next day by bypassing the Gap. Easy to carry if you leave it packaged. I am out of town and not on my computer but information on this system is available on my blog at williswall.com. I use it as a two person summer system but I would also take it on winter hikes as an emergency system. I recommend spending $40 and get one.

[Edgewood]

I carry one for emergences. This fall while skiing Baker backcountry I needed to deploy it for an injuried skier we came upon. He had fractured his hip. The bivy has baffles or tubes that run down it that help to retain heat. It was difficult to get the baffles to fully open espically when our patient needed warmth now. It does perform better then a simple mylar sheet or plastic garbage bag. Once opened it will never pack as small and compact again. I am still searching for the perfect solution. Now I'm thinking about a down quilt with a Silnylon cover.

[tigermn]

I bought the sleeping bag a year or so ago whenever someone brought this up before in an earlier thread. Yea as long as you don't unpackage it you have something about the size of a VHS cassette tape (remember those). I don't know how it packs after you use it. I just have mine for emergencies hoping to never need it.

[williswall]

"I don't know how it packs after you use it." Not real small. I roll my tube up and carry it strapped to the bottom of a small pack. Maybe 6" thick and over a foot long.

[kbatku]

It would be nice if the outdoor stores had these and similar items as "trainers" so it wasn't a surprise when you used them for the first (and probably only) time. {edit} - Hey willis: How durable are they/do they seem? How many uses do you think you could get from one before they disintegrated?

[williswall]

[treeswarper]

How about putting them into a bag and sucking the air out with a vacuum to repack. Like those space bags?

[meandering Wa]

that was my thought as well

[williswall]

Here is some more information if anyone is interested in Blizzard products. The Blizzard website. Quote about durability: •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. Where to buy in the US. Here's what an unpacked tube looks like strapped to my pack:

Zpacks with tube

Here is the tube setup with a cuben tarp we used (no sleeping bags) on an unplanned bivy at Panhandle Gap; notice no ground sheet:

unplanned bivy setup

They are a bit noisy. I've used the long jacket (12 ozs) as a sleeping bag, worn upside down with my feet in the head end, on at least 5 overnights.

[HundsSolo]

They are called Blizzard survival bags which are being used by teh US and British special forces. I have one at the bottom of my bag. Search YouTube for videos on the bag.

[kbatku]

The tubes & bags are diferent. The tubes are two person, the bags one. Depends on your style/needs I suppose. The bags are cheaper and lighter, for what that entails.

[HundsSolo]

The bags come in different sizes, also in a blanket model

[Euler]

I have a blizzard bag and I take it on every hike in case of emergency. They do tear easily. If, say, you find yourself sitting all night on a boulder in the middle of a boulder field, and put one of these things on, the rock can easily tear it. Hypothetically speaking, of course.