Availability of Blizzard Survival Bag?

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Kevin Rooney

Kevin Rooney

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Does anyone know where to find this emergency bivy bag in the US? You may recall a thread started last year by Tim Seaver and the bag, in non-camo form, was available then from Northern Mountain. They no longer seem to carry it, and haven't had much luck finding it. It's available in the UK, but that's an expensive source.

Anyone got a US/Canadien source? Thanks.

Kevin
 
I can't view their site from here, but BotachTactical.com lists them in $,

Blizzard Survival Bag
A regular sleeping bag in a pack the size of a video cassette, the Reflexcell Sleeping Bag massively simplifies the task of providing warmth and shelt... Read more at BotachTactical.com In stock BotachTactical.com
323/294-5555
Review this store $29.95
No Tax (NY)
Shipping not included
 
Do your think that the Blizzard is much warmer than the Adventure Bivy Sack???
 
Maddy said:
Do your think that the Blizzard is much warmer than the Adventure Bivy Sack???
Click to expand...

Ayuh, strictly from reading the excerpt below from psychovertical Bivi Bags but without having had a chance to try one. I think even Muir would have enjoyed having one on top of Whitney that night. :cool: EDIT: It was Whitney, not Shasta as I implied earlier, that he danced on to stay warm. :eek: :eek: :eek:

The Blizzard Bag gets its own category here as there is nothing else on the market like it. When I first started writing for High I wrote about these bags just as they were coming on to the market, championing what I thought was a classic piece of British design. They aren't easily pigeonholed, being part bivvy bag, part sleeping bag and part survival bag, which I think has counted against them. At the time I thought that thousands of people out there would be looking for a product like this, but it seems so far only the specialist shops, instructors/guides and the emergency services have switched on to them (or even know they exist). So in order to do my bit for UK industry I'm going to write about the Blizzard Bag again (you may have noticed I've not covered the same topic twice so far).

Firstly the Blizzard Bag is not a glorified foil blanket or poly survival bag. It is a lightweight sleeping system for those of us who need the minimum to do the maximum (those in trouble, adventure racers and Alpinists). The bag is vacuum packed for storage (0.7 litres) and weighs in at only 330g, is 100% waterproof and windproof, yet provides the warmth of a regular two to three season sleeping bags and is tough and tear resistant. The unique material, developed over 15 years, is more than twice as warm as goose down, yet completely waterproof and windproof. The bag is made from multiple layers of heat reflective and waterproof polymer sheeting, which are interspersed with elastic filaments. This gives the bag a kind of corrugated loft (1cm to 2cm of dead air), with the elastication hugging the body so as to reduce convection to a minimum and aid heat reflection. The inside of the bag is perforated to reduce condensation, but I think any user would probably be fully kitted up inside (although some mountain marathon runners sleep inside the bags in just their thermals at +5°). One problem with the bags is that they are noisy and so I'd recommend earplugs if you know you're going to spent the night in one.

Once the bag has been used it requires a stuff sack to compress it down again (compresses down to the size of a small sleeping bag) and can be reused as much as you want. I've seen testimony from several users who've been forced to spend the night out through injury or bad timing, both in the UK and the Alps (winter and summer), all of who were surprised how comfortable the bag was, along with Alpinists who are now using the bags as a lightweight alternative to a bivvy/sleeping bag combo.

The Blizzard also comes in a two/three person tube bag (530g/£27), which I think would make a great mountain marathon/emergency bag and they even make a jacket out of the stuff, which although looking a bit 'Doctor Who' could be a real winner for guides and instructors.
 
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Thanks Chip & Sardog1. I think once these bags gain some publicity they'll become standard survival equipment. At $30 that puts them in the range of the Adventure Medical bivy, but with a vastly superior product.
 
giggy said:
hiltons tent city might be worth a call - they always seem to have "stuff" nobody else does - don't search their site, its typically only a fraction of that they have in store -

http://www.hiltonstentcity.com/


they might be able to tell you who might - if they don't have one.
Click to expand...
The bivy is made of something called Reflexcell - doing searches on that word gets some hits, mostly in the UK and NZ. Apparently they also make a long parka out of the stuff as well.
 
Yowza! Performance Systems in Houston, TX sells them direct to public. Civilian version is silver; military is olive drab. For $27.00 (before shipping), according to their receptionist this morning. Yes, dollars, not pounds sterling. Contact them at:

(713) 723-6000
Fax (713) 723-6221
Toll Free: 1-888-737-7978
[email protected]

When I get mine I'll report back.
 
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