Pack Essentials: Survival Blankets
The next in my list of affordable essentials; the survival/child’s-fort-making blanket.
I’ve had one of these survival blankets in my pack or car kit for a while now. It was one of those items that was recommended by many and I knew it would be useful if I ever needed it. But I didn’t ever open it to test it out as folding it back together looked a daunting task.
So why am I recommending this product I hear you ask? Well after the birth of our son, my wife said that she’d ordered a multipack of these survival blankets (it’s a good day when your wife orders survival gear!). Apparently they’d used them at a multi-sensory group and our son had loved them. At that time (and still today) he wasn’t entertained for long before wanting to move onto the next thing, but we laid him down in a survival blanket and he giggled his way through the next 30 minutes. It became a regular activity that he (we!) thoroughly enjoyed!
Through using these blankets I learnt a few things that make me comfortable recommending it. The first thing is that they are incredibly warm. When making ‘forts’ with my son to play in it very quickly got way too warm to stay under. In a situation where someone needed to recover their natural body temperature this would be really effective. I also learnt how easy it is to fold up really small again. I didn’t try the do the original fold but I could get it pretty close to the original size with little effort.
It’s one of those pieces of kit you hope you won’t need, but you’d regret not having if you did, especially for the tiny amount of space it takes up. And if you have young children it’s a great affordable toy*.
Anything I post up will have spent time in my pack; either joining me for specific trips or being carried with me every day. *Disclaimer: Please use your common sense and don’t leave your children unattended with these!
The product(s) being tested and reviewed here were purchased fully by the reviewer.
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