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Is it the worst item you can get for $20? Probably not. But here is a far superior option: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bmHvUGBIB1I.html
I have a cheap no brand version...it sucks....I was looking at these Arcturus ones...but now I am re thinking it. I saw Dave Canterbury reinforcing his blanket with duct tape. Have you tried this? and will this help?
Reminds me of all the college kids giving me crap about carrying my "heavy" Gore-Tex bivy bag that I was issued. Funny thing was though is all there lightweight ones were destroyed couple days into the trip. After years of use mine still works and is strong enough that I'm pretty sure I could drag a body through the woods in it and it would still be fine.
I have enlightened equipment quilts (one 20 degree down, one 40 degree synthetic). My plan is to purchase the bivy bag of the MSS to augment my system. The bivy will protect my more “fragile” but very warm quilts.
Great review. I never thought about the fact that in a survival situation your not thinking about being nice to your stuff, your just trying to survive. Makes me re-think what I'm taking with me.
@@GruntProof That's why I have a really heavy duty tarp and a reflective blanket in the car. Tarp will water-/snow proof an emergency lean-to shelter, blanket to reflect the heat. I haven't been able to find something that combines both and is durable. The Iron Horse tarps are expensive but also seem to last, as do some regular heavy duty canvas tarps. And as I always say: "I can't afford to keep buying cheap stuff all the time"
@@rjvanloon4769 well said and it always rings true, buy once cry once. Rebuying cheap stuff always bites me in the end and end up spending well more than I intended.
Great review and test. It is sad that it failed the tent peg tension right away. Thank you for being straight up honest and using it in a realistic way with no BS.
I wanted to protect my Gortex so I bought a mid-weight Tyvek off a roll (washed it without detergent to get rid of the crinkle). I folded it up but still stitched the foot side and stitched one side then used small Velcro tabs on the other. My Gortex would go in this and the Tyvek would take the stick and rock damage. A made a second one and layered a heavy polyethylene (silver) survival blanket on one side topped with a light (green) nylon ripstop with Velcro tabs on both sides. This gave me a winter -summer color with the heavy survival blanket being a night vision (heat) blocker for escape and evasion. Very light roll. Just a thought. Love my Gortex bag though.
@@Matthew_Australia Yeah. You should always get advice from people who break stuff for a living. Not people who sell stuff. That's why I like this channel. Just ask a plumber because he knows his shit.
A group of friends and I were kayaking and the waves became too much, so we had to camp out one night. It was super windy, so we put cheap harbor freight tarps up. I don’t remember if they held up or not, being a decade ago. But definitely had to keep it nice and tight, or the wind would whip it all around. Definitely need to test them in bad conditions. Thanks dude!
Thanks for saving me the time and money, Randall. Best tarp I have is the MARPAT tarp that I set up on my backyard Hobo Camp where I test a lot of my gear before taking them out into the field. The MARPAT tarp has withstood deluges of rain, snow weight and constant UV exposure during the warmer months. Another tarp I love is the Aqua Quest. One hack I use are the short looped bungees with the plastic balls. They allow the the tarp to balloon in high winds and stretch with water and snow weight without ripping the grommets from the tarp. Aqua Quest offers three grades of tarp: regular, Safari and Defender. Mine is the 10X10 Safari in camo...great for stealth camping. I'll use a reflective blanket for a ground sheet in the winter and tyvek in the warmer months.
I have one. My first thought when I saw the grommets was "those are stupid" . It's obvious that it's made from a tyvek type material and wouldn't survive under tension. However, it's still useful as a survival blanket or would be good to use in constructing hide sites, especially if you were trying to hide from thermal.
Wow, I've seen other reviews of this tarp so I'm a bit mystified...I considered getting one but they were always so small but this XL size, hell I would've jumped all over it! So thanks, you saved me $25! I guess I'll continue using my Aquaquest. No reflective lining but I did just camp out and scraped ice off of it two weeks ago, no harm done. It also cost $110 so you get what you pay for. You do the best reviews!
Absolutely. Working on a tyvek/mylar Bivy. My second attempt. Less mylar on v2. I'm going to put the reflective material in 4" strips with 1.5" between. We will see.
Dave Canterbury’s Pathrinder school reckon their reflective blanket Is better but it looks very similar. Also, if you want a good strong cheap tarp get a British army issue version - it’s reinforced with webbing and designed to be used as a stretcher. You can pick them up really cheap and they last a long time.
I use those inside my tent as a second ground cloth. Every reflective ground cloth I've ever seen rips. I've been using one as a ground cloth for over 20 years they keep it dry inside the tent
Adding extra stitches is useless if the material rips right next to them. They need to put more material there. I would add 25mm/1" nylon webbing around the perimeter and reinforced loops on the corners. The material cant take the stress, add other material in between. That way the tension is on the nylon and the blanket has to deal with the wind/storm pushing on it and not a very strong and local shearing stress (using the gromets)
Wow! That one sh*t the bed rather quickly. I agree with others that yes, they need to rethink the materials and manner of attachment of the grommets. It's better than having nothing, but you would definitely need to be careful. Like the military taught us - test it to failure, then figure out why it failed and try to fix it.
As you mentioned...nothing beats a tarp. I have never seen one of these so called "survival" blankets stand up to any sort of heavy usage. Lots of good companies out there that make great tarps for a reasonable cost. I have an Aquaquest and a OneTigris. Both of which I have punished and they are still holding up. Great video and once again I like seeing how you call it for what it is. Keep on keeping it real! Cheers
The other great thing about a tarp is that I don't get too upset when I singe it, tear it, cut it, etc. Because it's not a 'heavy duty survival blanket' its a tarp. I also have to say my heavy canvas Plash Palatka tarp/poncho is, as far as I can tell, unkillable.
Great idea for a ground sheet. They are weak for sure. But if used like a literal blanket, the mylar itself is invaluable tech when it comes to keeping you warm. Some thick tarps at harbor freight even have mylar insides now though.
If it's labelled a "survival" item, it basically means it's a toy you shouldn't depend on for survival. I believe the SOL all-weather blanket is much stronger than this (definitely rip-stop at least), but I won't find out as I'm returning it... it just is too hard to fold back into a decent package which means I ain't carrying that. My old waxed shower curtain is more practical... I quit on reflective blankets as a tarp solution.
A tarp and a survival blanket to wrap up in. There's video's on treating painters drop cloths with silicone/naptha solution to make it waterproof if want to make your own.
Folk, there are two blankets from Arcturus😮.. my favorite is the 4.5 pound wool blanket. I am replacing my junky military ones. I love this Arcturus wool blanket not to be confused with the survival one
I'm not a physicist but it seems as though bonding reflective mylar or some other heat-reflecting coating to a rip-stop poly tarp shouldn't be that hard or expensive. Once winter ends I'm thinking of experimenting with spray painting different mirror-chrome finishes on a true heavy duty tarp to see if any of them will reflect heat as good as the standard cheap survival blankets and not peel or flake off too easily.
Within the last couple of months I bought a survival blanket off of Amazon from a company called bear hard that looks the exact same as this green topped, mylar underside and black reinforcement stitching. And on my first use it also ripped at the metal grommets with very little tie-down pressure and barely no wind.
Yea I did a video on them and destroyed it as well. They sent me an "updated version" that I've been playing with. Not impressed. The one I reviewed from Bushmen is awesome.
Just bought one of these Arcturus XL (8.5 x 12). Based on your test I am going to reinforce with duct tape. I am planning on folding one edge into a floor (4 x 8.5) then use the remaining (8x8.5) as a plow point into the wind. Looking for dry floor & roof and to block wind.
Compared to other SURVIVAL blankets the Arcturus does well. Also, nobody would erect the kind of shelter (?) you made unless they wanted to catch the wind so they could die quicker. Low to the ground and with someone who knows how to pound stakes the Arcturus would last most storms. Not as good as a tent or tarp, but that is not its purpose. Small, light, and better than nothing is what you want and what you get-- especially for a measly $20.
The name was designed to gain from arc`teryx reputation. They make good stuff but they are pretty proud of anything they make and are overly expensive, that blanket would be $450 if arc`teryx made it.
Finding good equipment you can both trust, and afford, is always difficult. It's almost always a question of cost vs quality vs weight. When you get to be my age, (47), weight becomes more of an issue, especially over the course of several days. I find some surplus equipment is the best, and will suck up the weight, others i'll shed for civilian equivalent because it does *almost* as good in the durability department, is purpose made, and is lighter. I shuffle stuff around, but one thing I'll never do is buy cheap survival items at are of the more serious nature. Shelter and warmth falling into that category. When you run solo in the mountains, equipment failure is not acceptable to me, at all, ever.
Great review. Short and to the point. And we didn’t spend 5 painful minutes reviewing packaging or instructions either. I guess the only solve (if someone already owns one) would be to do big triangle gussets of Gorilla tape (like 6-8 inches all three sides) with the hole bored out through the tape. Probably easier to just buy a better quality tarp. Personally I won’t go under $50 on Amazon. Anything cheaper is a one n done
Grommets are manufactured weak spots, as sure to fail as any fuse, given enough load. That goes for ANY hole in ANY shelter. Rather than use them in bad weather, I'd recommend tying corners with cordage with a sheet bend. Good job. I'm pleased that you didn't cave in to the expectations of those who sent you a free rag.
Those are super accurate simulated survival conditions there. What is that, a ski lodge lol? There are undeniably some major issues with the product. I have to say that survival applications wouldn't always support such a set up, though. In the event of a cold camp (for whatever reason) a tall backstop reflector is ill advised. Better to erect a low, small, more enclosed (not fully) shelter to conserve body heat. Allowing outside snow to further insulate. Not sure why to place grommets on anything considered a "blanket". Better a light tarp. Use a blanket as a blanket.
3.6 pounds! My tarptent Rainbow is 2.2 pounds and sleeps 2, with bug netting and a floor. The saved weight means I can carry more insulation and food. The only advantage to a tarp this big and heavy is to be able to make it into a three sided shelter, with a floor, and build a fire in front. But there are much lighter, more practical solutions. A tarp is never going to protect as well as a good tent.
You can basically hear how bad it is by the sound that it makes. You're better off buying a surplus basha or a nylon tarp like DD. If you want quality survival bag/tarp with reflector look at Jerven. If your survival depends on it then, I'd suggest, you might spend some extra money rather than buying the cheapest possible.
In all fairness to them I haven't seen many survival blankets that are good for shelter building. I carry a tarp and a light weight emergency blanket with the intention that it'll be used as a blanket and not a shelter.
Nice review thanks for making the video and sharing. Been in heavy winds before with a so called survival blanket which couldn't handle the wind and self destructed. I was sure glad I wasn't in a survival situation! It just proves you need to test your gear! Have a great day!
I'm happy with my Grabber, didn't fail me in ~15 years. While it's not advertised as a tarp, I used it as one on several occasions. I recommend using toggles with the grommets, they are the weak spot on every product like that incl. a poncho, there is a reason good tarps come with reinforced loops... it's called wind xD
Having used this and several other brands. The arterex is the most heavy duty available for the money. For the price i can't really fault it. It works just fine under a conventional tarp as a reflective sheet. I've even hauled wood with mine. Although it was pretty trashed afterwards. I would like to see the upgrades you mentioned, but im skeptical that it could be done at this price point. I've seen better reflective tarps, but they are over $100. I think for the price point they did a good job. 🤷🏻♂️
Well let's put it in perspective. For years the gold standard was those 99cent mylar blankets that everyone, including major manufacturers and the military, included in thier survival kit. Those mylar blankets basically fell apart if anything touched them. Next SOL comes out with thier version which was stronger and less prone to ripping. SOL also charged $6 for thier stronger version. Then someone gets the the idea to use a stronger backer material and add grommets to the corners so people didn't have to use a rock. Now arcturus produces the strongest version of these blankets. If those 99cent mylar blankets worked so well for thier purpose, then a heavier duty version should be like glamping. Yeah, it's not 500d ripstop, but it doesn't cost 500d ripsop price. It's designed to replace that 99 cent mylar blanket in someone's survival kit and for that purpose and price it's hard to argue they did a bad job. Is it great? No. Could the company make some improvements? Yes. Can it work in a emergency? Yes, and a hell of a lot better than a 99cent mylar blanket.
I’ve had one hanging on the side of a chicken coop for at least a year now to block wind, rain and snow without any failure. It looks like they’re more than twice the tarp. I should have just hung a cheap blue one and saved the camo tarp for camping use...
I really need the fanboys to understand that they do promote this as a shelter. I think it's a great blanket and I use it as a ground sheet as well. But it's dumb as a shelter, as they and their product pushers claim. www.amazon.com/Arcturus-Heavy-Duty-Survival-Blanket/dp/B01H6NC8XU?ref_=ast_sto_dp
I agree with your review but there are much better ways to pitch a tarp without the added stress. A toggle goes a long way in preserving gear. You wouldn’t use a lean to in a snow storm more like a steep a frame to trap body heat so although I agree it’s not a survival blanket I do think it’s a decent tarp
I don't want to "baby," my camping gear. I have a similar blanket, but after this, I won't be using it as a shelter. I do have the USMC tarp, and that seems pretty stout.
Great job. 5 minutes into the video and the product is done. The snowfall looked great in the video. Thanks for saving people before they go out with such un dependable garbage
Dammit. I'm guilty of not testing this. Just checked mine bought in 2022. It only has corner grommets in the 5x7. The reinforcements part os double stitched along the diagonal but single all the way around. I took a ferro rod and gave some good pulling tension on a grommet and it didn't tear. However, I'll go back to keeping my 5x7 brown poly tarp with several grommets and keep that Arctaurus in the truck as a blanket as the factory describes or as a ground sheet. This one is thick enough.
First 5x7 i bought from them ripped with absolute ease. Told them to send me another one. They did for free. Its been a ground sheet ever since. Thats all its good for. Ill trust the poncho instead.
Omg. I had the same issues with three. Of them. I thought it was maybe sat in pack for too long. But when I put tension on it ripped. The only tarp I found that works under great hard core conditions was a canvas. Company's lie through their teeth for money. Problem with world so worried about profit instead of integrity
Maybe it's not the best survival blanket, but your "test" is quite questionable. What I learned from my father is: if the winds are high, you better stay low. Anything above knee-high in stormy weather is a pretty recipe for desaster. Metal grommets in (esp.Nylon-) fabrics MUST FAIL, if loaded - sewn-on loops are a way better option. Arcturus rates the grommets to 35lbs - barely enough for moderate winds, nothing to encounter more. My first line of defence is a 10'x10' tarp, made from spinaker-fabric with all-around, across and diagonal reinforcements, its weight is 900g and I use mylar space blankets (1,50€/pc) underneath in addition for waterproofing and heat-reflection. Ask a kite-surfer, how many square-feet of sail he needs to do 60mph - my tarp has 100sq.ft.
"HEY!!! Grunt-Proof" I got use this tarp for a weekend you pay for it $400.00 made it in to a hammock it held my but for the week need . "The Jervenbag King Size - Mountain Camo" Maybe have a look at it to test it out?
One good alternative might be 2GoSystems tarps. The company is known for it's reflective bivvys and such (which I own a couple, but have no experience with their tarps).
Corporal kelly corner pushes the Arcturus survival blankets, he hang a brake drum off one. The pathfinder school have video where they go round and duct tape the edges and grommet holes to give it more strength.
As always, unable to provide rip stop material, only one row of stitching and grommet surrounding material that can’t hold any pressure. Thanks for the review, now we know arcturus is bs when it says ‘’ heavy duty’’. Hopefully one day some manufacturers will make a decent all weather survival reflective blanket. Let’s hope this day comes sooner than later.
Thanks for showing us the limitations of this product. It's not a stand alone survival for sure, But its not a total nogo item either, seems it could be used as liner for tents and tarps but not structural item at all. So pair it with a poly tarp or sil-nylon tarp maybe ? Ground mat ? We have house wraps and roofing underlayments that are ripstop reinforced poly-mat. why can't it be mylar coated. Seems like for a few dollars more and some corporate will we could get a truly decent product. Maybe there is a operatunity for small business here?
Direct & to the point. Well said. I think we're in the same neighborhood. I have an AquaQuest tarp that I'm certain would provide me with shelter during strong gusty winds. Warm Regards from Reno, Nevada.
@@GruntProof Today, I hiked up Deadman's Creek, up to the Gazebo, which is on the South Side of Washoe Lake. Am now planning to hike the Jones/White's Creek 9.2 mile loop hike that begins @ the Galena Creek Recreation Center on Wednesday or Thursday. I'm an old fart, 76 years old, 5'3" tall & still full of piss & vinegar.
Those tarps are not intended for your blunt force hammered stake tests. Ya toggle the damned corners with heavy shock cord - they'll perform way better - not perfect ... way better. You have to consider what you're working with when you configure the setup. I hate grommets, period. Those tarps are cost effective and handy for putting together several secondary kits. You'd never use them as a primary shelter - they have their place.
I like it for some uses, but this company especially would promote it as a shelter so I tested it that way. A little roughly, but that's what I do. Thanks
