Written by 7:52 pmSurvival

Best Emergency Blankets Buyer’s Guide & Reviews

Medical emergency while hiking. woman has emergency blanket and her friend is calling for help

It doesn’t matter what you call it – emergency blanket, Space Blanket, Mylar Blanket or even Survival Blanket. You need one.

We should all have one actually, it could be to protect you from the elements if you ever get injured outside or maybe to keep you warm and provide shelter if a tornado was to ever hit your town.

There isn’t one person who wouldn’t benefit from having one of these blankets stored in a safe accessible place.

Imagine this, your driving down a rural country road and all of a sudden your car hits black ice. You slam on the breaks and they seize, the car loses traction and skids. You’re now helplessly sliding down the road and eventually flips. After four or five flips, the car comes to a halt.

You’re now upside down, whiplashed and dazed. This scenario actually happened to me and luckily we were okay but if there was no reception or something we would have been standing in the cold for hours. Luckily a Gritter truck drove by shortly after.

You get the point, right?

The 10 Best Emergency Blankets

Every single year 1300 people in the US die to exposure. And sadly most of these deaths would never of occured if they had taken necessary precautions beforehand.

Take this as a harsh reminder that failing to prepare could kill you.

And I’m sorry but I can think of better ways to go than freezing to death.

Plus these things aren’t even that expensive and they don’t take up much room.

Hypothermia is not something you want to be messing around with!

Below you will find our review of 10 survival blankets. We have looked at three main points for these blankets, these are:

  • Length (overall coverage)
  • Material (durability, easy to rip, anti tear coating)
  • Compressibility – How easy is the blanket to compress?

World’s Toughest Emergency Blankets

If the brilliant brand name doesn’t catch your attention may be the specifications will. This mylar emergency blanket has been built with hikers, marathon runners and anybody who is prone to being outdoor in mind.

This product will absorb up to 90% of your body heat. Perfect for conserving heat and preventing hypothermia. I bought these specifically for a long bike ride / camping trip.

Now if you’ve used emergency blankets before you’ll know they have a tendency to rip. But surely a product titled the toughest emergency blanket won’t rip with ease? I can confirm these do not rip with ease.

In fact when compared with other random emergency blankets I’d say these are actually 2-3 times stronger.

They even feel like there is much higher quality than the rest.

These blankets are 23% larger than standard foil blankets which mean you’re getting full body protection.

I would recommend to anyone that they should keep a couple of these in the car and a few in the house.

They even give away 1% of the sale towards planting trees or to 1% of the planet charity.

So in conclusion I’d say this is one of the best emergency blankets on the market.

1. Zone Tech Car

This is an image of a heated travel blanket with controls and wires.

If you drive about a lot, this is one to consider. It’s a heated blanket, so it’s a little different but you can still get hypothermia inside the car. Imagine you get caught inside a blizzard, the car’s tyres aren’t gripping the road as well as they should, so you pull over to wait it out.

The soft cold snow lands peacefully outside, in fact it’s really peaceful. Something about the snow makes everything seem so calm and quiet, so you assume you’re safe. The cars are running and you’re getting some heat!

After all there’s no obvious dangers, you’re just a little cold. Sure your car seems like a safe haven but it is far from it. It is very easy to not notice the snow building up outside, plus the gritters keep going by and pushing more snow into your car.

Eventually the car runs out of gas and you’re left there getting colder and sleepier. What happens next? Well you’re dead. You don’t even notice it.

Oh but somebody will notice me and come to my aid. It’s snowing and freezing cold, who’s going to pull up to a car with no lights on to see if anybodies inside? Not many will even notice you. Sure you could call somebody but the problem is, most don’t even realise this is happening.

This option isn’t the solution to the above but it does help. The Zone Tech Car is built using premium polyester and will plug into your car’s 12V DC outlet. It lacks in portability and compactness but it provides a lot of warmth.

2. Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar thermal blankets

A photo of a foil pack containing a mylar survival blanket in fours

These are an absolute must for any household. They come in a pack of four so they are perfect for a small family. Going camping or is your town at risk from a natural disaster? Whatever it is you need to ensure your family are warm and dry.

The Swiss Safe Emergency Mylar Thermal Blanket comes in a few different colours. These are perfect for keeping you warm and dry. They are storm proof, snow proof, wind and waterproof.

They are lightweight but provide enough shelter from the elements.

From my experience the quality of these are far superior to the other brand you’d find in places like Target.

3. Go Time Gear Life Bivy Emergency Sleeping Bag / Blanket

A photo of a box containing a survival blanket with an orange sleeping bag beside it.

Next up we’ve got the Go Time Gear Life Bivy Emergency Sleeping Bag. Look, imagine this, you’re stranded outside.

It’s stormy weather, freezing cold and the rain is pouring down. You need shelter, help is on its way but you’re stuck for a while.

If only you had something to wrap round you that was rain proof, windproof and helped you retain your body heat?

This extra thick mylar blanket is perfect for that kind of situation. Its highly resistant to tears and even has a puncture resistant coating.

It’s lightweight too, so it won’t be too heavy to carry around. You won’t get hypothermia with this blanket, well it’s going to reduce your chances of getting that by a LOT.

It’s a real life saver.

It also comes with an emergency sleeping bag too. So you could use this inside a tent to help.

4. Primacare HB-10 Emergency Foil Mylar Thermal Emergency Blanket

A photo of a foil mylar rescue blanket in a plastic pack.

These Mylar Emergency blankets from Primacare are ideal for any survival situation where you need to keep yourself warm. A good survival knife, the ability to start a fire, a survival flashlight and a few of these will set you up for success with any survival situation.

I keep a few blankets in the car, some in the house and some in the work. I’ve given some homeless people these in the past to keep them warm.

I wouldn’t say they were as durable as the previous few listed but you’re getting 10 in each pack with these. That’s a LOT, especially for the money.

These are waterproof and do exactly what you need them for and thats to keep you warm. The ground can be cold and damp so these also make good covers for the floor too if you’re needing to make a shelter.

5. Mylar Men’s Emergency Thermal Blankets

A photo of a stack of foil mylar blankets on a white background.

These Mylar Mens Emergency Thermal Blankets are great for retaining heat and they weigh next to nothing. They are big enough to cover you properly. They retain / reflect up to 90% of body heat.

I read reviews of people complaining about how these blankets do not keep them warm. I think this is mostly down to them not using the blankets properly.

Now this blanket is windproof like most are. That doesn’t mean the wind cant get under the blanket if you’re not sitting properly. These blankets work by creating a pocket of air between you and the blanket. So if your body heat is warm and you wrap the blanket around properly, the pocket of air will be warm.

If you’re allowing cold windy air in this pocket of air will become cold and you are now cooling yourself down.

So when you use these blankets you should be squatting down and making sure you are fully wrapped.

6. Snugpak jungle blanket

An image of a blanket folded, green color on a white background.

Then Snugpak Jungle Blanket comes with a slightly higher price tag. This blanket doesn’t just offer protection from the cold elements but it also provides a level of comfort no other blanket on this list has offered yet.

The Jungle Blanket is a travel-friendly alternative to a traditional blanket or poncho due to its compressible size and water repellent and windproof properties.

The Jungle Blanket provides a water repellent shell. It is lightweight, it only weighs 1.6lbs. The blanket is windproof.

Is this an amazing product? No, it has a few flaws.

The material is comfortable and i’m happy with the water resistance. Its lightweight and doesn’t affect mobility when carried.

The issue lies in the compression… Its hard to get this blanket back to the original size before you took it out. Plus the compression straps are a little fragile.

7. Arcturus Military Wool Blanket – 4.5 lbs, Warm, Thick, Washable

This is a photo of a wool blacket, folded, with orange edging outlines.

Similar to the Snugpak Jungle Blanket, this Arcturus Military Wool Blanket has a higher price tag. This is the first wool blanket on the list though.

The Arcturus Heavy Military wool blanket is a blanket people seem to love or hate. Looking at the reviews I had no clue what to expect. Seriously, look at the Amazon reviews.

One common complaint was the bad chemical smell that the blanket had. This isn’t something I experienced, the blanket was fine. Even if it did, its for emergencies so I don’t think I’d care as long as it kept me warm.

The next problem was the shedding. I can confirm it isn’t great but it’s nowhere near as dramatic as some of the reviews claim.

8. Grabber Outdoors Original Space Brand All Weather Blanket

Image of an all-weather blanket inside its red-color box packaging.

This multi layered survival weather blanket is a fantastic buy. It’s a bit noisy because its a tarp like material but you can be sure that it will keep you warm.

It is lightweight and compact so it can be easily stored for your next adventure. Its the perfect blanket for hiking or snowboarding or whatever really.

9. S.O.L. Survive Outdoors Longer 90 Percent Heat Reflective Emergency Blanket

This is a photo of a plastic pouch containing a survival blanket with a photo of a man on the front part wearing it.

This S.O.L. Survive Outdoors Blanket is lightweight, compact, puncture resistant and one of the most advanced on the market. Created from vacuum-metalized polyethylene this mater is more durable than Mylar!

Need it for a ground cover? No bother, this will work just fine. Need a first aid blanket to keep you warm? The S.O.L Survive Outdoors Longer is just for you. Have to cover your equipment and protect it from rainfall? Well this blanket is windproof and waterproof.

10. Arcturus All Weather Outdoor Survival Blanket

Image of a green insulated blanket, folded, on a white background.

We’ve actually reviewed this survival blanket separately before. If we were stuck stranded and required something to keep us warm I would be more than happy if I had the Arcturus All Weather Outdoor Survival Blanket.

You’re going to find a few bad reviews on Amazon about this blanket and it’s a real shame because it’s actually really good. See, these bad reviews come from poorly experienced users. An emergency blanket can’t generate heat, do they have a battery? Do you plug them in? No. They are designed to keep you insulated so that the heat you produce stays trapped between the blanket and your body.

So if you’re not sitting correctly and the cold wind is blowing under the blanket, it’s going to get trapped. So now you have cold air trapped between you and the blanket and yet they wonder why it’s not working?

I can tell you, I was roasting hot with this Arcturus reflective blanket.

Different Types Of Emergency Blankets

There are a few different materials used to construct emergency blankets. Some more dated than others. In fact, the survival industry jumps massive leaps every single year. This includes survival blankets too, they are lighter and provide more comfort / warmth than ever before.

Animal Pelts

Let’s start with the original survival blanket, just because it’s interesting. Yep, many many years ago our ancestors would use mammoth hides for their tents and as blankets. These pelts are heavy and thick which makes them too bulky to use in some cases.

Wool

Wool blankets can be traced all the way back to 1340. A Flemish weaver called Thomas Blanquette, developed a heavily napped woollen weave. He stayed in England at the time.

Wool is much lighter than things like leather. It’s also great at keeping you warm. They do well at trapping heat.

Polar Fleece

Polar Fleece is crafted using a synthetic material called polyester. Polar fleece is able to compress back down to a very small pack and is very lightweight too.

Down and Synthetic Down

Down and synthetic down are where my preference lies when it comes to sleeping bags! These generate a tonne of heat and make sure the body heat you do produce, doesn’t dissipate.

Down is an extremely warm material which is why most modern sleeping bags use it. Seriously, there isn’t a better type! You can get Synthetic Down wet and it will still keep you warm! Not that you would want to but hey accidents happen. Real down will lose its ability to generate heat if it gets damp.

Space Blanket

Now if something is designed for space it has to be good! They have an insane criteria for their gear and millions of pounds go into them. Space Blanket Technology was originally designed by NASA (god, really?) and looks like a big sheet of tin foil.

It’s hyper light and insanely warm. It’s very durable too and can compress up so that they take up a tiny amount of space.

It’s so good that many medical teams around the world use space blankets because of how effective they are and how much it can compress.

What To Consider When Purchasing An Emergency Blanket?

Excessive body heat loss leads quickly to hypothermia! Don’t skimp out on one of these and watch out for fakes!

Material

The majority of emergency blankets today are made with mylar. Mylar is a very good material for trapping your body heat and it’s also extremely light.

When you consider these points and how cheap it is, you’ll quickly realize it’s a no brainer! Mylar made products tend to be great.

Length

Most emergency blankets today are one size so you cannot adjust it to suit you. They tend to be around 82 to 84 inches in length and about 52 to 54 inches in width.

This is generally good enough to cover the body of somebody who has a decent-sized frame and is about 6 feet in height. This is also good for times when you need to use the blanket for something else like a ground cover.

Weight

To be honest emergency blankets are really light if you’re going with a mylar one. If you’ve decided to go for a wool blanket or something similar you’re looking at a weight of up to 6 lbs.

Waterproofing

You’re not going to be just facing the cold, you’ll be up against moisture in the air, floodwater, torrential rain, who knows what! If you decide to go for a Mylar blanket you’ll be glad to know they are 100% waterproof.

Windproofing

If you want to stay warm outdoors, lighting a fire isn’t your only option. Blocking the wind can be extremely effective. Winds are cold! In fact the wind will remove the warm area next to your skin which makes you feel even colder.

Durability

Since your average reflective blanket is designed to be lightweight and compact into a tiny space, they aren’t the most durable. This is ok though because you’re ideally not going to be needing it forever anyway.

If you’re frequently running into situations where you’re breaking out the survival blanket for yourself, I’d be questioning why it keeps on happening lol. On a serious note, if you want something that’s going to last, pick up an 80% wool blanket instead.

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