UKH

I do a fair amount of easy climbing and scrambling in winter on my own. I always take my small bothy bag and belay jacket with me, but -trying to be as responsible as possible- I've been thinking about getting a blizzard bag as an additional back up. Looking on their website, I see they do both 2 layer and 3 layer versions, and then bags and blankets. I was wondering if the blanket would potentially be more useful - for example you do something unfortunate and break an ankle or similar - not immediately life threatening but you can't move. I imagine getting into a Blizzard Bag could be really difficult in that situation? Bothy Bags seem better than old school bivvy bags - I used to carry one, or a big plastic survival bag in the 90s - because you pull it over your head where ever you are. I was wondering if the Blizzard blankets might work in the same way - easier to wrap around you once in your bothy bag, rather than needing to wriggle into with the actual Blizzard Bags?

Any feedback from users would be helpful. Thanks! 

In reply to TobyA:

I went through a similar puzzle and went for the bag rather than the blanket because my usual haunt is the Cairngorms. My thinking was to plan for the wildest weather and a bag would be more likely to stay round me than a blanket. With a bust ankle I'd be prepared to crawl in head first and tear another hole for my face if I had to. I went for the 2-layer on carry size and given I'd have a belay jacket with me. That said, if I didn't have to think about being in a CG hoolie, I'd have gone for the blanket as more versatile, able to help 2 at a push, easier to 'wear' if mobile, free arms without making holes.

In reply to TobyA:

I bought a Blizzard bag a couple of years ago, and sent it back shortly afterwards having tried it out in my sitting room.  Blizzard refunded me immediately. 

What I found was:

1. It was hard to get the bag out of its protective packaging. I can’t imagine doing this for the first time in a real survival situation. I’m glad I tried it at home first. 

2. The bag tore on a sharp edge of the big cable tie used to seal the bottom end. The material used, like an old-style space blanket, was easily ripped and I can see it being shredded when exposed to high winds (and crampons). In comparison, my Sol bag - a modern take on the orange plastic bag - is very tough. 

3.  It was difficult to get into, even on the sitting room floor. 

4. It proved impossible for me to get the bag packed up again. There is a packing service available…

Overall, I found the Blizzard bag didn’t suit my needs. The fragility worried me a lot. It isn’t re-useable in the way that a group shelter is. My group shelter / bothy bag gets used as a portable lunch stop, or while waiting for other folk on the hill.

I was hoping to be able to cut down on the weight of insulation I carry in winter - typically a belay jacket on long winter plods or ski tours - but the Blizzard bag turned out not to be an attractive option for this. 
 

On the plus side, I can see how the Blizzard bag may be useful in a group situation, when viewed as a consumable item and carried by someone who uses it regularly in training. 
 

if it was made of a tougher material, such as used in my Sol bag, I might reconsider. 
 

Hope this helps. 

Cheers

Al

In reply to TobyA:

I've had the 3 layer blizzard bag for a few years. I went for the bag as opposed to the blanket just because I think it's a bit more versatile i.e. you can just cut it if you just needed it as a blanket.

In reply to alibrightman:

For what it's worth I have used one in an emergency. 

We didn't get the casualty into it fully as we were worried about spinal injuries but did get it over his legs before putting duvet jackets over his top half.  That'll be a problem with any bag type though.

I don't recall unpacking being particularly stressful at the time but having a good knife certainly helped.

It did pick up some minor tears but fared a lot better than those thin silver things that just turn to chaff in a stiff breeze.

I never did get it repacked, and ended up eventually donating it to the emergency gear shelf in a bothy.  Did buy another one.

For me the key drawbacks relative to orange bags are that they are less visible and are useless as sledges.

In reply to TobyA:

Fairly standard carry among experienced Eagle Ski Club tourers, and were also being promoted (in the sense of "here are three, try them on, we carry and use them" at Glenmore Lodge in October.) 

Mine's packed in thick polythene that would want a sharp edge to cut through it (ski pole tip, knife) but is suitable protection for a fairly thin material. I bought a sleeping bag configuration: Glenmore had us try out an SPB, jacket and possibly a third configuration. 

My opinion is that a broken lower limb is going to hurt whatever you do, and spinal damage is going to be problematic for sure. So my options with the sleeping bag configuration would be to rip open the base of it (sharp edge as already necessary) and use it as a tube, or if circumstances require, open up the side and then you've got a blanket. Not ideal. Neither is hypothermia, which has a degree of certain finality about it. I respect that others mileage and experience may vary - I'm not casual about the broken lower limb. 

In January I toured 20km with a fairly nasty summit period of 3-4km (howling wind, little or no shelter even from sastrugi or digging into cornices.) Partner and I recognised that the skiing down could have been pretty high-consequence if we'd smashed up a lower limb. Up there, I don't think a bothy bag would have added much at all. A blizzard bag might have given us an hour or two. A decent jacket likewise. We had all three within the party. Single skin foil blanket - nah. 

When I put them on the scales, the blizzard bag weighs half the hooded synthetic duvet I was carrying. So for some circumstances, I would leave the duvet, and in others, I'd leave the b/bag. For example, I ran the four An Casteil Munros solo in October and felt the blizzard bag was my adequate "get out of the sh1t" protection. 

Y

In reply to Yanchik:  I went for the orange 2 layer Blizzard bag as it was small and light enough that I couldn't justify not taking it. (about the size of a decent ham sandwich on sliced bread* and more useful if shit hits the fan)  One thing I did do however was to actually start a cut about of about 1cm on the protective clear plastic covering to make it easier to rip it open quickly, a bit of insulating tape beside it (or over it to keep things air tight) marks where to rip.

*My personal measuring system

In reply to L.A.:

Now that is a really good idea.  Thanks.

In reply to TobyA:

I've used them a fair bit on other people but never had the pleasure myself. I carry a blanket it's more versatile and easier to get into than the bag. You can put it over the top of someone or wrap it around them whilst they're walking and it also has a sticky strip down one side to turn it into a bag if you want.

In reply to TobyA:

Option 3 which might work better is their rescue jacket.  It's great coat sized and has a draw cord hem so can be cinched up.  Not as weather tight as a bag but hugely easier to get into, you can still move if capable otherwise.  Combined with a bothy bag it's a great combo.  We carry them in our grab bags for walking wounded etc.  incredibly warm esp when you factor in you can keep moving.

If choosing between blanket and bag I'd go with blanket - it velcros up along it's length and again a draw cord cinche at the bottom so hugely easier to get into.  Inside a bothy bag no real drawback to this arrangement.  Esp pertinent in winter as you don't have to remove crampons to get into it. 

Cheers,

Stu

In reply to pancakeandchips:

Agree. Used the blanket many times - again, on other people. Much more versatile than a bag. Super bit of kit, works wonders.

In reply to StuDoig:

Thanks - very informative.

How well does the jacket pack down after use?

In reply to Myfyr Tomos:

Agreed. We use the blanket versions, the velco gives it fantastic versatility, and actually very tough - we have an old one we use for training and it's still going strong after several years of abuse.

In reply to StuDoig:

Thanks Stu - this and the other comments makes it sound the way to go. I've just ordered the 2-layer blanket - there is a small 3 layer one but they take away the velcro to save on packing space. I'm not sure if the 2 layer one has velcro or not, but whichever, its 250 gram and I wouldn't take that and NOT take my both bag, so if I ever had to use the blizzard blanket, it would be - if I was conscious and able to move a bit - inside the bothy bag, in conjunction with my belay jacket. Basically being light enough to not have an excuse to not take it seems the main plus point with the 2 layer blanket.

In my googling for a shop to buy one, i also found this thread https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/gear/blizzard_bagblanket-694083 that made 6 years ago many of the points folks have made here.

Thanks again all!

In reply to Welsh Kate:

Yes, we're the same - old used ones get used for training. A spokesperson for Blizzard said (I think) the bag or blanket is roughly the equivalent of a 3 season sleeping bag.

In reply to TobyA:

If anything this thread has convinced me to swap my blizzard bag for a blanket. They weren't a thing when I got mine.

In reply to TobyA:

I've used a blizzard bag for an unplanned bivvy high in the Tetons. It was surprisingly warm and gave me a less uncomfortable night than I i expected. I don't remember any difficulties in opening it, but I probably used a crampon. I still carry one regularly, especially for visiting more remote crags in winter

In reply to SNC:

I've not tried repacking - we don't normally see them again after we put them on people unfortunately!  I think blizzard claim you can get them back down almost to original size at home with a hoover.  No idea if that works or not though!  

Cheers,

Stu

In reply to StuDoig:

I couldn't get decent results repacking although I did try. Kina sorta got it to stick in a very distended stuff sac.

Can't say it bothered me though. I have had one incident that called for a survival bag in 25 years. Cost per trip is negligible.

At the end of the day all gear is disposable in emergencies.

In reply to TobyA:

I bought one of the bags after spending time in one on a bouldery Welsh hillside on a dark sub zero December evening during a first aid course.

I took mine out of the packaging at home, partly to check it was ok and partly because I thought I wouldn't like to have to deal with the packaging in a real emergency. I rolled it back up as tightly as I could and it now lives in a small stuff sack. It's obviously bulkier than when purchased but not really in a way that's problematical for me personally.

In reply to storm-petrel:

What size did you get it packed down to? Thanks.

I was going to reply to this thread saying "all you need is a bothy bag / group shelter" and state some evidence based on someone else's experience having thankfully never been in a position where I have needed to use it in anger. 

However, reading this thread, I am off to buy a blizzard bag. Hopefully its a totally wasted purchase, I never need it and it spends the rest of eternity at the bottom of a rucksack. 

In reply to Andrew95:

Ha! Vaguely similar, following a very cold night on a glacier, I have been looking.

In reply to redscotti:

About 28 x 15 x 12 cm. That's for the 3 layer version. It does require a flat surface and extensive use of the knees to get it that small. My stuff sack is slightly too large for it so to stop it unravelling a little inside the sack I have a piece of old fashioned crampon strap pulled tightly around it.

In reply to Andrew95:

I spent a night, in anger, in a bothy bag. It wasn't pleasant maintaining a sitting position for several hours. The wind collapsed the bag around me, so it turned into an additional thin, soggy, not very warm, layer of clothing. Putting my rucsack back on and sitting with my back to the wind created a bit of an air gap between me and the bag, which improved the insulation.

It was a lifesaver, but a blizzard bag/blanket would have given some welcome heat reflection.

I now have a blizzard bag in my running vest and walking rucksack.

In reply to StuDoig:

Thanks Stu.  And thanks to others on the tread.  I have been carrying an unopened blizzard bag in my winter sack for years, and someone else carried the bothy bag.  I am thinking I may get the jacket as an emergency item for when I'm out with some friends who are occasional walkers ( = no spare layers, and if an ankle gets twisted etc).