I'm not sure if this is the right place for this as it's top insulation, bottom insulation, weather protection and a review. (Mods: feel free to move to a more appropriate place.)
Here’s a brief review of the Blizzard Survival Tube. I got the idea for using one of these over my hammock from Birdofprey here on HF (check out his cocoon idea). I knew of the Blizzard products before but never really saw enough of a need to want to buy one. I liked what Birdofprey did and fancied using one in a similar way. My main hammock doesn’t have an integral insect net, so instead of having to split the tube, using one as a UB and another over the top, I wanted to see if I could attach it around the hammock itself as an ‘all-in-one’ cocoon/sock system. It looked small, light, relatively cheap, would keep the wind chill off and provide warmth.
In use:
When it arrives from the factory it really is the size of a VHS cassette (if anyone remembers these). It is very dense, almost solid like wood. At the factory they vacuum-seal it taking all the air out of the tube. You will probably never see it this size again, so take a pic if you can (I never did as I wanted to try it out straight away). Open up the pack and gently tease the bag apart and it opens out into a large tube easily capable of fitting 2 people in, even 3 in a pinch.
Hammock use:
I initially tried the tube out a few weeks ago on a trip up to my local park here in north London. The video was done on a miserable day in the woods with a new camera that doesn’t like low light conditions, so the quality isn’t great. I found it quick and easy to place over the hammock although it is rather noisy during this process. After setting it in position I climbed in and pulled the tube up like a quilt and pulled the drawstring tight under my chin, making sure that it covered my shoulders below me. It is instantly warm and cosy.
Since then I have spent a night out in it. The temperature was around 5 degrees C (40ish F) overnight and I had my Alpkit airmat and a wool blanket underneath me and an old 3 season bag as a quilt on top. Around all of this I had the Blizzard tube. I had a very cosy night indeed. I had my DD XL tarp set up with ‘doors’ at both ends so I was sealed in quite well from the elements. It’s easy to set up and get in and out of during the night: just loosen the cord lock and slip the tube down the hammock, kick your legs over and you’re out. Once you’re in the tube is no longer noisy. In the morning the tube was dry inside around my body (where I guess the most heat is produced) but there was a small amount of condensation on the inside of the surface of the tube underneath my feet area (where I guess the air is cooler). The tube was tightly sealed at both ends, so I don’t know if loosening the tube around my feet would have allowed the air to circulate more and/or let the warm air to escape.
I’ll continue to use it throughout the winter in conjunction with a mat and a bag but into the better weather next year I’d like to see it used without a pad or bag, just the hammock and the tube.
Overall I’m impressed with the product. The main downside is the repack size. You can get it smaller than in my video if you can pack it up tightly on the floor. When you get home a vacuum can be helpful to reduce the pack size and get it a lot smaller, but still nowhere like the original size (despite what the manufacturer says on their website)...at least I couldn’t.
For what it’s designed for: a survival situation product I would say that it would be fantastic. For regular hammock, bushcraft use it could be a useful addition to your gear.
Here's the vid of my set up and the Tube/cocoon:
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