How to use mylar for survival (correctly)

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Ten 5-Gallon Mylar Bags

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Note: The above picture is not how to use a bivvy bag properly if
you are trying to retain heat in a survival situation. The couple
should be huddled together sitting up because the ground is cold.
If you lay on the ground, then be sure to pad the surface with
plenty of dry leaves or if you are able to build a platform to get
off the cold ground.

Happy endings...
Mylar is incredible material and when you know how to use it
properly you just might save a life.

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Mylar Use #17: Shelter (Outdoors).
Mylar provides personal protection from rain, wind, heat and
cold, making it an ideal addition to a bugout bag to create a
tent or overhang and ground covering.

Tent. Making a tent with mylar won't be easy because
ordinary mylar blankets don't come with grommets, but it
can be done! To make a tent from a mylar, ideally you'll
need a large mylar blanket and some cordage, along with
tent stakes and duct tape. Mylar tube tents are also
available. The mylar tube tent pictured immediate right is
8 feet in length, and houses two adults. It provides only
ground covering and a roof.

Ground covering and shelter. Because mylar is
waterproof and relatively durable it will make a good
temporary ground covering for your shelter or sleeping bag
(if you're sleeping out under the open stars).

Mylar Use #18: Shelter (Indoors).
In an emergency situation, using mylar tents and blankets in
freezing conditions during a blackout will certainly help in
conserving body heat.

Mylar Use #19: Signaling device.
The reflective nature of the material will make a good marker
for an aerial view if you are awaiting a rescue and place the
material flat in an open space, supported by stones or
otherwise anchored. Here are some ideas on how to use mylar
as a signaling device:

String mylar onto cordage to provide a long reflective line
of mylar flapping in the wind.

If you have lots of mylar, as with a group, then you can
create an S.O.S. pattern on the ground or use it as ground
covering with which to place large stones, which spell S.O.
S. (the universal acronym soliciting extreme distress).

Mylar Use #20: Reflect and absorb light for
gardening.
It may not seem like the place to use Mylar, but for gardening
it does have use! Here's how to use Mylar in your garden.

Scare crow replacement. The reflective material will keep
birds away from your crops. Just cut the mylar into strips
and tie to a stake. Reflective bird deterrent. Birds hate
mylar! The changing reflections and constant movement
keeps them off the fruit bushes and away from the veggies.

Shield crops. Cut the chill of frost in the Winter or
moisture loss in the summer by placing mylar as a
protective shield around your plants.

Mylar for Hydroponic gardening: Preppers affix mylar
sheets to the walls near their gardening system to reflect
back otherwise wasted light to plants. This helps plants
grow faster and more efficiently.

Mylar Use #21: heat reflection for fire or sun oven.
With a melting point of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, can help you
retain heat from a fire, and can be used to make a home-made
sun oven, or parabolic cooker.
Mylar will melt at 254°C !

Mylar Use #22: Cook food.
Again, because of its power to withstand heat, you can throw a
fish into a Mylar and throw it over a fire to cook it.

Final Thoughts About Mylar...
Mylar keeps out light, which can degrade food. Another benefit
of mylar for food storage is that it provides the perfect barrier
from rodents because it's strong and puncture resistant. What's
more, it helps keep foods sensitive to changes in moisture and
oxygen. You can easily seal food with an oxygen absorber to
control moisture and remove oxygen which degrades food.

Other (non-prepping uses of Mylar)

Food storage. The same wonderful material for your
bugout bag is also available for your prepper's pantry to
help you keep your food preserved. Here's how to use
mylar with oxygen absorbers.

Dog house insulation. Take the frost bite of out the dog
house too and have your dog's body heat help retain the
heat. Line the inside of your pooch's little abode.

Improvise a picnic blanket or a table cloth. Mylar adds a
layer of protection to keep your picnic blankets dry on a
moist lawn, too. Since mylar is so lightweight, you could
keep it in your pocket for the fourth of July fireworks at the
fair, when you don't want to lug around a large blanket to
sit on the lawn or to keep little ones warm. It makes a
nice sit-upon! Keep a mylar blanket in the car and you
have a tablecloth for picnics.

Happy endings...
Mylar is an extremely useful item for preppers to have. Is mylar
on your prepper's supply list! Ideally you should stock two mylar
blankets per person. If you have a family of four, have at least
eight on hand in your car.

Related articles...

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Mylar Use #7: Fire Starter.
With a bit of ingenuity and a hot day, you can use your mylar
as a reflective fire starter. Dig a hole and place mylar reflective
side up. Now place dry tinder materials, which will act like a
sun oven onto the tinder. With time you should have a
smoldering start of a fire with which to feed into larger fire.

Mylar Use #8: First aid.
Obviously, a mylar blanket will help a hypothermia victim retain
heat, but mylar has many first aid purposes too:

compress wounds to bandage (for example paired with a
feminine napkin, it can helps stop the blood).
make a finger splint (to strap an injured finger to a healthy
one).
craft the mylar into a sling!
use as cordage for a makeshift tourniquet.

Mylar Use #9: Fishing lure.
Craft a makeshift fishing lure with mylar (or enhance the one
you have). Fisherman often use prism tape to dress up spoons,
crank baits, spinners and other lures. See the mylar skirt lure,
pictured immediate left. To make a mylar skirt lure, you'll need
to cut the mylar into fringe.

Mylar Use #10: Heat reflection.
As previously mentioned, mylar can help you avoid thermal
imaging of drones. Mylar actually works better as a sunshade
than it does as a blanket for the elements.A Mylar space
blanket can provide you with sun protection. It reflects heat to
keep you cool. Place it shiny side up to create shade.

Sunshade for your vehicle. As a sunshade, mylar works
incredibly well. Mylar deflects heat to help in extremely hot
climates, particularly if you are trying to stay cool and
don't have any air conditioning.

Neck gaiter. Craft a neck gaiter by affixing a strip of mylar
to the back of a baseball cap or hat.

Mylar Use #11: Heat retention.
The primary use of mylar blanket is to prevent heat-loss. It's
intended to help you retain 90% of your body heat in a survival
situation or in the event of trauma shock where you'll need to
keep body temperature stable. In other words, a mylar blanket
keeps what body heat you have, so that you don't loose more.
Here are more ways mylar can help with heat retention:

Keep warmer near a fire. To keep warmer near a fire, out
a mylar blanket behind your back on a camp chair or
behind your backpack, so that the heat reflects back
towards your body.

Windbreaker: Mylar can act as a wind shield to cut the
chill.

Prevent frost bite. In extreme conditions, you can cut the
mylar and line your boots and gloves to help avoid frost
bite. Be sure to allow moisture to wick away however, so
as to avoid hypothermia.

Insulation for your jacket. To use as insulation for a
jacket, shred the mylar and crumple it, then use it like
stuffing inside your jacket. This will help to create pockets
of air released from your body heat.

Insulation for a sleeping bag. Keep yourself toasty in a
sleeping bag by lining the inside of your bag so that you
trap the hot air.

Duvet insulation. For a Winter's night, slip a blanket in
the duvet cover. This will help retain your body heat.

Mylar Use #12 Hydroponics.
Pictured immediate left, a 50 foot roll of reflective mylar film
can give your plants an extra boost of light without using any
more electricity for your hydro farm.

Mylar Use #13: Light reflection.
When set mylar behind a candle or flashlight you'll gain more
visibility of light (or heat if you need it from a candle).

Mylar Use #14: Keep the critters away.
If you don't have a bear box for camping, you can tie your food
up into the trees with help of cordage. This will keep raccoons
and small rodents away. In bear country, you will deter bears.
Some will

Mylar Use #15: Melt water.
Eating snow in a survival situation is dangerous because it
could lower the core body temperature. In a survival situation,
you can melt snow for drinking water by hanging a snowball in
mylar above a fire. Being careful not to burn the mylar, but
warming the snow enough to melt it into drinking water.

BONUS IDEA: The little plastic bag the mylar blanket
comes in could be used to collect water!

Mylar Use #16: Rain cache.
A mylar blanket can help you collect water in a survival
situation. Simple and effective as a rain cache, first by diga
hole in the ground and then laying the mylar sheet on the
surface. Secure the edges of the sheeting with rocks, then wait
for it to rain!

Surviving with Mylar blankets, mylar bags, and more

Mylar blankets: you've been using them the wrong way!
Mylar is that crinkly, wonderful, space-age survival material
that's essential to pack in your bugout bag. Or is it? Made of a
thin polyester film that's shiny on one side and dull on the
other, Mylar is useful stuff but ONLY if you know how to use it
properly! Many preppers don't realize how to use an emergency
bivvy or Mylar blanket properly.

Perhaps you were expecting too much from your Mylar blanket...
Useful it is, but honestly, you will find Mylar to be inadequate in
many regards. Certainly it is better than nothing and it weighs
next to nothing too, so adding Mylar to your kits is more
comforting than omitting it. The caveat is you need to know the
proper use. To that end, here's how to use a mylar blanket
properly in prepping, so you're not disappointed, (and so you
can live to tell about it)....

Rethink your Mylar blanket
Seven things to know about Mylar blankets before you buy...

#1: Mylar will never warm you up: it will only slow
the heat loss.
This is the most important thing to know about mylar. The goal
of a Mylar blanket is not to warm you up, it's only to slow the
heat loss from your body! It is an important distinction because
you will be sorely disappointed if you expect it to perform like a
wool blanket or a hand warmer.

#2: As a fabric, mylar doesn't breathe.
Be careful how you use mylar because the fabric retains
moisture as well as heat. Hypothermia, a condition of having an
abnormally low body temperature, could set in as a result of
sweating in mylar. The condensation and moisture can stay
trapped inside the mylar and cause you to chill, and for this
reason you should add a layer in between you and the stuff.
This can be dry leaves if you have nothing else! Never cover
your entire body and face. Your breath will cause condensation
and you could freeze to death!

#3: Mylar tears.
The material invented by Dupon inteh 1950s rips (maybe not so
easily), but it does rip. Be careful not to brush up against
prickly bushes, particularly with mylar you're using to stay warm
and dry. Try to retain the integrity of the sheeting for multiple
uses on your journey to safety.

#4: Mylar is noisy.
Mylar is extremely noisy, so it will hinder your ability to hide if
you are within ear range of someone you want to evade. Or it
will hinder your communications as you might not be able to
hear instructions. Those are two important considerations.

#5: Size matters!
Pay attention to the size of mylar blanket you are ordering. A
mylar blanket that's 62" x 82" or 59" by 87" will provide
coverage for an adult male; while mylar blanket that's 54" x 84
inches is more suited to a child, teen or adult female.

#6: Remember the "one is none" rule.
It's always better to have two mylar blankets than one because
they are small and weigh next nothing, it's really a good idea to
carry more than you need. Also, there are so many great uses
for mylar so you may

#7: There's something better than a Mylar blanket!
An emergency bivvy is better than a M ylar blanket because
you'll be able to get your whole body inside. Made of the same
stuff, only a bit stronger, the only problem with the bivvy
pictured immediate left is that it's orange. Manufacturers
haven't yet figured out that preppers want to go incognito! The
bivvy can be used as a lightweight sleeping bag. Just remember
to use it on a tarp or surface with insulation from the ground.

Proper Use of a Mylar Blanket
Do you know the correct way to use a mylar "space" blanket in
an emergency? To help you retain the heat you have, you'll
want to sit up (not lie down on the cold ground). Mylar will help
offset hypothermia reactions if you use it properly.

To use a Mylar blanket or sleeping bag properly: squat, then
wrap it around you! (See the picture, above right.) This will
minimize the cold you will feel from the ground. While a Mylar
blanket can be good as a ground covering, it has no insulation
on its own, and this could even make you even more cold in an
extreme survival situation. If you must sleep in your mylar, the
best way to use a mylar blanket is to use two of them: one as a
ground covering and the other to retain your heat. Also be sure
to add a layer between you and the ground, such as dry leaves.

IMPORTANT SURVIVAL NOTATION: Never pull a Mylar
blanket over your head! If you do, your breath will release
condensation and effectively this will lower your body
temperature. You may even freeze to death!

22+ Uses of Mylar Blankets for Survival
Here is a list of ways to use mylar -- some astonishing:

Mylar Use #1: Carryall.
With mylar or any blanket, you can carry items in a horseshoe
pack or hobo pack. Roll all your items into the Mylar blanket, tie
with cordage and sling over a shoulder.

Horseshoe pack: Here's how to build a horse-shoe pack.

Hobo pack: Also called a bindle, hobos were famous for
carrying stuff on a stick. Bandannas work too. To make a
carryall from mylar, cut some cordage from the mylar, then
sling some berries, apples or gear in the center of the
mylar bag tying the bag with the mylar cordage onto a
stick. Now you can swing the stick over your shoulder and
be on your way.

Milkmaid's yoke. If you have two space blankets you can
craft a carrying pole to leverage the weight of your luggage
onto your shoulders. This is the classic look you've seen
women in China use to carry wares on a stick. In the
United States women in Chinatown use them to carry
bundles of recyclables they collect in urban environments.

Mylar Use #2: Chicken Coup insulation.
Have some hens? Mylar will help you keep your girls cool in the
summer and warmer in the winter. Reflect the heat and cool the
interior of a chicken coup with mylar blankets. Now that's one
way to avoid frying your egg-laying chickens!

Mylar Use #3: Cordage.
Hopefully your bugout bag include paracord, but if not, you can
rely on mylar as cordage if you cut it into strips. Because mylar
tears so easily, you can use this cordage.

How can you use mylar as cordage to help you survive? Cordage
is always useful for first aid (see below for ideas on how to
make a tourniquet and more):

Catching food. Making fishing lines, trap triggers, and
snares

Lashing shelter. Cut into strips you can use the cordage to
tie shelter together. (Emergency tents are also available.)

Improvising a Leg gaiter. Tie a pant leg as a gaiter to
avoid ticks or wick away water from pant legs or use in
combination with duct tape.

Using as a Territory marker or path marker. As a way to
mark your path from camp to a hunt and back again.

Mylar Use #4. Dry your camping laundry more
quickly.
How can mylar help you do your camp laundry? Wash laundry as
you would ordinarily, drip dry it, then as a final touch, place
your garment directly atop the mylar blanket to dry. The sun will
dry it faster than on a clothes line. Try it! You may need to flip
the garment.

Mylar Use #5: EMP protection.
Mylar alone will not help protect your electronics from an
ElectroMagnetic Pulse (EMP), but it does provide a layer of
protection for your electronic equipment. You'll need to use
mylar bags and place your gear also into insulated metal
containers (a Faraday cage). Even then you'll have to pray,
because it's unproven as to whether a Faraday cage will
withstand the immense magnitude of Electromagnetic
destruction a solar flare can produce.

Learn more about preparing for an EMP.

Mylar Use #6: Evading thermal imaging.
If one day you're a prepper evading drones, you can remember
this handy trick about using mylar to evade detection: mylar will
make you invisible! Avoid thermal imaging is a drone's primary
source of detecting people.

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