The legendary Ranger Roll is a very efficient, effective, and light weight way to make an effective sleep system for keeping you alive outdoors in the winter. It's very simple to make, uses up virtually no room in your ruck, is simple and inexpensive to make for those instances of emergency or when you can't pack a more elaborate sleep system because of weight and space and when you simply don't feel like packing a multi layer, cold weather sleeping bag. It's been used ( and still is ) by military units for decades. All it requires is a military type poncho, a woobie ( poncho liner, and tarp, all also available here ). You simply hanh your camping tarp in an "A" frame above you, lay your military poncho on the ground, place this on top of your poncho ( metalized side up ), lay yourself on top of that, place your woobie poncho liner on top of you, and run the nylon strips of your woobie thru the eyelets of your poncho and this, tie them together, and roll it all around you like a burrito. It's not designed for comfort, it's designed to keep you from freezing to death. As long as you are dressed in warm layers for the weather ( a wool tobogan hat is also suggested ), it will do that for you. I use the Ranger Roll myself when practicing my survival training. At this price, I am going to get another. It's especially great for people like me who, even tho I use large military rucks, I also bring a good deal of weapons, ammo, and tactical gear so that I can keep all of my skills good. Even if you don't train in survival techniques in the woods for days, if you are snow-bound in your car ( or home with no heat because of the storm ), this will reflect 96% of your body heat back to you. Remember that what is under you is twice as important as what's on top of you due to the ground's tendency to sap a huge amount of your body heat. Even if you use it to survive one night, it has already paid for itself. Highly recommended, and Major Surplus has all of everything right here. He's my favorite Major ;)

I have used these for more than twenty years. The military version is very similar. They are good to reflect the radiant heat from a fire back at you to stay warm at night. Makes a good lean to shelter for wet conditions. Makes a good ground cover for your tent or picnic All the global warming garbage aside they are excellent in the field back in Alaska to the woods in Alabama. Don't use in California as everything causes cancer there. Everywhere else these can make the difference.

Due to atmospheric warming, the weather is becoming more extreme. There should be one of these blankets in your car for each rider normally carried. Why? If you get stuck in snow, this blanket will keep you warm until you're rescued. Remember stories of dead people in stuck cars? They probably tried using the car heater without realizing that if the exhaust is covered by snow it will either stall the engine or it will be forced into the passenger space, asphyxiating the people in the car. Sunny? Too hot? Turn the shiny side up and tie it to the car roof as well as covering the front and rear windows and you'll stay a lot cooler.
Seriously, these blankets can well be the difference between surviving and ... I have six in each of my vehicles (since they can seat six). These have backing so they last (the non-backed versions are generally one-use items and cost the same as these do) and can be re-used.
Seriously, the climate has gone unfriendly to us humans regardless of the cause and these blankets are a means of staying alive. Period.

I have had a couple of these for a long time now. However, I haven’t had an occasion to use them as an emergency blanket, I have used them often as a ground cloth (shiny side up) in the tent, during some pretty chilly weather. They do a great job reflecting body heat back up to you but best used with a mattress to prevent conductive heat loss through the blanket and tent floor and into the cold ground! I have no doubt they would perform very well in the role of an emergency blanket as well!