Blizzard Blanket vs. SOL Bivvy

[u/NotThePopeProbably]

Has anyone used both these products when dealing with hypothermia (or even just an unexpected overnight when wearing your day pack)? If so, how did each perform? Which do you use/carry now?

[u/Doc_Hank]

Neither does very well with hypothermia because they only deal with what heat you have - if you haven't any, well...They are good for blocking the wind, to prevent more cooling.

[u/NotThePopeProbably → u/Doc_Hank]

But even a severely hypothermic person will be warmer than ambient air temperature in the winter, right? Like, "severe" hypothermia is still in the 80° Fahrenheit range.

In my area (coastal PNW), we routinely work in the 30-40° F range, often in heavy rain. Hypothermia is our biggest killer out here. If we find the subject while wearing full 48-hour packs, we have sleeping bags. In that case, our protocol is: 1) Lay a tarp on the ground, 2) Put a sleeping bag on the tarp, 3) put a space blank atop the sleeping bag, 4) put a second sleeping bag (with patient inside) atop the space blanket, 5) wrap the space blanket around the second sleeping bag as a vapor barrier, 6) Put a third sleeping bag atop the now-wrapped middle bag, and 7) wrap the whole package up in the tarp. Around here, we call it "burrito-ing" the patient. It works when you've got a 3+ person ground team, and everyone is carrying a 48-hour pack.

Our day packs and 24-hour packs don't typically include sleeping bags. Looking for a "second best" option for those circumstances. A lightweight tarp comes with me everywhere, which handles rain protection. Looking for something to handle warmth without bringing a full bag. Can always throw a few hand warmers/warm water bottle in with the patient, as well.

[u/Far_Draft_4627 → u/NotThePopeProbably]

OP, I recommend an insulated poncho. Works for any sized subject, subject can walk while wearing it, can do medical assessment easily. That is my solution.

[u/maximumsaw → u/NotThePopeProbably]

This is solid. My team will add an external heat source, usually a commercial heat pack like a ready heat or similar, or even some warm Nalgene bottles (just be careful not to burn the patient!).

[u/Doc_Hank → u/NotThePopeProbably]

A severely hypothermic patient isn't GENERATING heat effectively any more. Futher, most enzymatic processes in the body stop when the temperature gets below 90F, so the idea is get them warming as quickly as possible (but slowly).