Best Emergency Blankets in 2026: Mylar Sheets, Reusable Blankets and Bivvies

For a glove box, a first aid kit or a kid's backpack, the SOL Emergency Blanket is the mylar sheet to buy: it is made of a polyethylene that resists tearing instead of shredding, and it comes in a 4 pack. For a go bag, skip the flat sheet and carry the SOL Emergency Bivvy, a sealed sack that keeps the wind out and the heat in for under 4 ounces. For a vehicle you may actually sleep in during an ice storm, the Arcturus heavy duty blanket (a grommeted mylar-and-polypropylene tarp) and a wool blanket do what a foil sheet cannot. Cheap bulk mylar packs from Swiss Safe or Don't Die In The Woods are fine for handing out to neighbors or stuffing in every car, as long as you understand they are single use. None of these is a sleeping bag, and this guide spends some time on why.

What a mylar blanket does and does not do

A space blanket is a thin plastic film with a metal coating. The metal reflects radiant heat, which is the part of your body heat that leaves as infrared rather than by contact or air movement. Makers quote 80 to 90 percent reflection of radiated heat, and that figure is real for the radiant portion only. The blanket adds almost no insulation; it is a vapor barrier and a wind barrier with a mirror on one side. Wrapped tight over dry clothes, it cuts wind chill and bounces some warmth back. Draped loosely over wet clothes on cold ground, it does little, because you lose far more heat into the ground by conduction and into your damp clothing by evaporation than you were losing as radiation.

Three practical problems follow from the material. First, it does not breathe, so the moisture you give off condenses on the inside and you wake up damp. Second, basic mylar tears from any nick and then runs like a stocking; once you have unfolded one in wind you understand why. Third, it is loud, which makes a long night longer. The better products on this page each fix one or more of these: a polyethylene base that resists tearing (SOL), a thicker film (Don't Die In The Woods), a laminated tarp with grommets (Arcturus, SOL Heavy Duty), or a breathable coated fabric that lets vapor out (SOL Escape).

A blanket is not a sleeping bag. A sleeping bag traps dead air in loft, which is insulation; a reflective sheet has no loft. If you plan to sleep in a cold house or a truck during an outage, the reflective layer goes outside a real blanket or bag, not instead of one, and you need something between you and the floor. For heat that does not come from your own body, see our sister site's propane heater and kerosene heater picks and their ventilation warnings.

Four things that separate these products

• Single use or reusable. A 12 micron mylar sheet is single use in practice; it will not fold back into its packet and it will have holes. Polyethylene sheets, laminated tarps and the fabric bivvies pack up again.
• Sheet or sack. A sack (bivvy) seals out wind on all sides and you cannot lose your grip on it while shivering. A sheet is more versatile as a tarp, ground cloth or signal, and it is cheaper.
• Breathability. Only the SOL Escape line lets water vapor out. Everything else will condense. For one bad night it does not matter; for a week of sleeping in a cold house it does.
• Weight and size. A pocket sheet is 2 to 3 ounces. A bivvy is 4 to 10 ounces. The Arcturus tarp is about a pound and a half, and a wool blanket is four and a half pounds.

SOL Emergency Blanket

Best Sheet

SOL Emergency Blanket (4 pack)

• 56 x 84 in, per SOL
• 2.9 oz
• Vacuum-metalized polyethylene, tear resistant
• Reflects 90% of body heat, per SOL
• 4 pack, per the listing

The pocket sheet that does not shred when nicked.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Pattern (third-party seller)

SOL's blanket is 56 by 84 inches and 2.9 ounces, per Survive Outdoors Longer, and it is made of vacuum-metalized polyethylene rather than mylar, which is why it does not shred when nicked. The maker rates it at 90 percent reflection of body heat, says it is waterproof and windproof, and notes that it is quiet and will not crinkle in high wind, which anyone who has tried to hold a foil sheet in a gust will appreciate. The orange side is a signal panel. This 4 pack is the one to split between the cars, the first aid kit and the kids' bags. It does badly as a sleeping cover because it is still a flat sheet with no way to close it. Amazon's listing is sold by Pattern, a third-party seller, so check the seller when you order.

SOL Emergency Bivvy

Best for Go Bags

SOL Emergency Bivvy

• 84 x 36 in sealed sack, per SOL
• 3.8 oz
• Reflects 90% of body heat
• Rescue whistle and tinder cord drawstring, per the listing

The sealed sack that belongs in every go bag.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Pattern (third-party seller)

The Emergency Bivvy is the same 90 percent reflective material sewn into an 84 by 36 inch sack with sealed seams, weighing 3.8 ounces and packing smaller than a soda can, per SOL. The current version has a tinder cord drawstring and a rescue whistle on the stuff sack. Because it is closed on three sides and cinches at the top, it holds a pocket of warm air around you in a way a sheet never will, and the orange is visible from a long way off. It suits every go bag and every hiker's pack; our bug out bag checklist lists it as the shelter item. It does badly on breathability: you will be damp by morning, and the material, while tear resistant, is not something to crawl around on gravel in. It is reusable if you fold it with some care, though it never goes back into the original bag the same way.

SOL Escape Bivvy XL

Best Breathable

SOL Escape Bivvy XL

• 91 in long with hood, per the listing
• 9.5 oz (XL), per SOL
• Breathable ThermaShell fabric, reflects 70%
• 2 year warranty, per SOL

The only one here you can sleep in without waking up wet.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Pattern (third-party seller)

The Escape is the bivvy that solves the condensation problem. SOL makes it from Escape ThermaShell, a spunbonded olefin fabric with a metalized coating that lets moisture out while blocking wind and shedding rain and snow. The trade is reflectivity, which drops to 70 percent per SOL, and weight, which is 8.5 ounces for the regular and 9.5 ounces for the XL. The XL is 91 inches long with a drawcord hood, which is the version to buy if you are over six feet or want to put a sleeping bag inside it. SOL backs it with a 2 year warranty, which tells you it is meant to be used more than once. It suits someone who will actually sleep in it: a cold house with no power, a truck on a closed interstate, a shelter cot. It does badly as the cheapest option, and the gray color is not a signal panel. The regular size was in short supply when we checked; the XL listing was in stock.

Swiss Safe Emergency Blankets, 10 pack

Best Bulk

Swiss Safe Emergency Blankets (10 pack)

• 10 blankets plus a bonus small blanket, per the listing
• 12 micron aluminized polyethylene mylar, per the listing
• Rated to retain 90% of body heat, per the listing
• Individually packed

Cheap mylar for every car and every neighbor.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by FourCity Brands (third-party seller)

This is the bulk mylar option. Per the listing, the blankets are 12 micron aluminized polyethylene mylar, double sided, rated by Swiss Safe to retain 90 percent of body heat, individually packed, and the box includes a smaller bonus blanket for a glove compartment. Ten of them cover every car in the family and the neighbor who did not prepare. They are classic mylar, which means loud, single use in practice and quick to tear once started, and that is fine for what they cost. They suit anyone building car kits or a stock for handing out after a storm. They do badly as the one blanket you rely on yourself. The listing is from a third-party seller.

Don't Die In The Woods World's Toughest Emergency Blankets

Thicker Mylar

Don't Die In The Woods World's Toughest Emergency Blankets

• 2.5 oz per blanket, 12 oz per set, per the maker
• HeatFlex mylar, thicker than standard sheets
• Each in a ripstop stuff sack
• Reflects up to 90%, per the listing

Pocket sheets you can refold and use again.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Dont Die Survival Co. (third-party seller)

Don't Die In The Woods sells a thicker mylar it calls HeatFlex, with the pitch that it is tougher and more flexible than ordinary space blankets. The maker lists the set at 12 ounces total and 2.5 ounces per blanket, each in its own ripstop stuff sack inside a zippered pack with a carabiner, and rates them at up to 90 percent reflection. The stuff sacks are the real feature: the maker's point is that you can refold one and put it back, which a bulk sheet in a plastic sleeve will not do. It suits someone who wants pocket sheets that survive more than one use, and the camo or orange color options cover both hunters and people who want to be found. It does badly on price per blanket against bulk packs, and it is still mylar, so it does not breathe. The company also makes a Freakin' Huge 5 by 7 foot version for two people or a lean-to.

Grabber Original Space Brand Emergency Blanket

Name Brand

Grabber Original Space Brand Emergency Blanket

• 56 x 84 in
• 3 oz
• Reflects over 80% of radiated body heat, per the listing
• Folds to about 4 x 2 x 2 in

The original space blanket, sold by Amazon directly.

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Sold by Amazon.com

Grabber sells the Original Space Brand blanket, which per the listing uses the same superinsulating material developed for NASA's Apollo missions. It is 56 by 84 inches and 3 ounces, folds to about 4 by 2 by 2 inches, and per the listing reflects and retains over 80 percent of radiated body heat, which is a more modest and more honest number than the 90 percent most makers print. It is sold by Amazon.com directly, which is unusual in this category. It suits anyone who wants a known brand in a first aid kit or a race-day pack. It does badly on durability relative to the SOL polyethylene sheet; it is still a thin film that tears. Grabber's heavier All Weather Blanket, a laminated tarp with grommets, was showing a shipping delay when we checked, so the Arcturus below fills that slot.

Arcturus Heavy Duty Survival Blanket

Best Reusable

Arcturus Heavy Duty Survival Blanket

• 60 x 82 in, per Arcturus
• 1.4 lb
• 3 layers: mylar plus two polypropylene
• 4 reinforced grommets, waterproof carry bag

A reflective tarp you can sleep on, hang, or wrap in, over and over.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Arcturus Gear

This is the reusable, do-everything version of a space blanket. Per Arcturus, it is 60 by 82 inches, weighs 1.4 pounds, and is built in three layers: a mylar reflective side bonded to two layers of polypropylene, with four reinforced tie-down grommets and a waterproof carry bag. It is quiet, it does not tear, and the grommets mean it goes up as a lean-to, lies down as a ground cloth, or hangs behind you to bounce heat from a fire or a heater. It suits the trunk kit and the family that might sleep in one room of a cold house; put it under you on the floor, reflective side up, and it stops the conduction loss a mylar sheet ignores. It does badly in a pocket or a small pack because of the weight, and it does not breathe either. Arcturus also sells an XL 8.5 by 12 foot version for a shelter roof.

Arcturus Military Wool Blanket

For Actually Sleeping

Arcturus Military Wool Blanket

• 64 x 88 in twin, per Arcturus
• About 4.5 lb
• 80% wool, 20% synthetic
• 550 GSM
• Machine washable, cold delicate cycle

Wool for the trunk, because foil is not a bed.

Check price on Amazon

Sold by Arcturus Gear

Every emergency blanket roundup should end with a wool blanket, because for sleeping in a cold vehicle or house, wool beats foil. Arcturus's Military blanket is 64 by 88 inches in the twin size, about 4.5 pounds, 80 percent wool with 20 percent synthetic for durability, at a density of 550 grams per square meter, per Arcturus. Wool insulates when damp, does not melt near a heater or a fire the way plastic does, and is naturally fire resistant without added chemicals. It is machine washable on a cold delicate cycle. It suits the trunk of every car in North Carolina from December to March, and the hall closet for the next ice storm. It does badly on weight and bulk, it is useless as a vapor or wind barrier, and it sheds a bit for the first few washes. Pair it with the Arcturus tarp above and you have a real bed for a bad night. Sold on Amazon by Arcturus Gear.

What we skipped and why

SOL's Heavy Duty Emergency Blanket (58 by 98 inches, 8 ounces, 90 percent reflective and reusable, per SOL) is a good middle step between a sheet and the Arcturus tarp, but its Amazon listing was in short supply when we checked, so it gets a mention and not a card. Grabber's All Weather Blanket showed a shipping lead time. The two-person XL bivvies from SOL were also low on stock. We left out the no-name two-pack "emergency sleeping bags" that flood the search results, because none of them publish material specs, and we left out the heated and battery-powered blankets, since this page is about things that work with no power. If you are building the rest of the kit, start with our bug out bag picks and the winter car kit, and see the rest of the fire and shelter guides for the fire starters that pair with a reflective tarp.

Questions people ask about emergency blankets

Do emergency blankets actually work?

Yes, for what they do: block wind, block rain, and reflect the radiant part of your body heat. They do not insulate, so they work best over dry clothing and with something between you and the ground.

Why do I wake up wet inside a mylar bivvy?

The film does not breathe, so the moisture your body gives off condenses on the inside. A breathable bivvy such as the SOL Escape reduces it; opening the top a little helps with any of them.

Can I reuse a mylar blanket?

Thin 12 micron sheets usually tear and will not refold well, so treat them as single use. SOL's polyethylene blankets, the thicker Don't Die In The Woods sheets, and laminated tarps like the Arcturus are meant to be reused.

Which side goes toward me?

The shiny side faces your body to reflect heat back. On two-tone blankets the colored side faces out, and orange doubles as a signal.

Is a space blanket enough to sleep in a car during an ice storm?

No. Use it as a wind and ground barrier around a real blanket or sleeping bag. A wool blanket plus a reflective tarp underneath is the minimum for a comfortable night.

How should I store them?

Keep the packaging sealed and away from heat. Check car kits each fall, because heat shortens the life of any plastic film and a Carolina trunk gets hot.

The one to buy

A SOL Emergency Bivvy in every go bag, SOL sheets across the cars and first aid kits, and an Arcturus tarp plus a wool blanket in the trunk of the vehicle you would be stuck in; the bulk mylar is for everyone else.