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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 10, 2008 - 04:19pm PT
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Ok, once you bust one of these things out for a bivy, there's no way to fold them back down to size and I feel guilty tossing it after one night.
What are your ideas for making some productive use of a used emergency space blanket?
Peace
karl
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 10, 2008 - 04:21pm PT
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Tin foil hats, of course! Steady demand for them around here. Russ may agree to help with production.
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MisterE
Trad climber
My Inner Nut
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Oct 10, 2008 - 04:36pm PT
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I have used them under a pack cover to keep a chest cooler hold ice longer!
Erik
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Oct 10, 2008 - 04:39pm PT
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Either throw it away or don't buy one in the first place. There are re-usable ones. A tad bulkier, but re-usable.
I don't understand just pack it up, is you pack that tight for space?
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Gene
climber
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Oct 10, 2008 - 05:06pm PT
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Find a place where there is nothing flammable for miles, like the middle of a large lake or ocean. Wait for a very cold and still night. Get some birthday candles, two pieces of balsa wood and some string. Use the string to secure the balsa wood and make an X. Tie string to each corner of the space blanket and to the ends of the balsa wood X. Light up a birthday candle and attach the other candles to the little pools of hot melted wax on the balsa wood. Light up all the candles and watch your hot air balloon take off.
Do at your own risk.
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Karl Baba
Trad climber
Yosemite, Ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 10, 2008 - 05:11pm PT
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To have them around for an emergency (and not a planned bivy) they have to fold back to cigarette pack size. It ain't happening.
Peace
Karl
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Oct 10, 2008 - 05:22pm PT
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Karl, I use those ones that are red one side, metallic silver the other. I just use it as a liner for the bottom of my pack. It's always there, keeps sh#t dry when the bottom of pack hits water, reusable, easy.
I have yet to use mine but it's still there, about 5 years old.
Ya know the ones I'm talking about? They are bulkier.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Oct 10, 2008 - 05:26pm PT
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just chuck it. it's an emergency rig, so it's not like you're tossing one away every week.
compared with the stacks and stacks of nylon, poly and teflon that most of us pile up over the course of a career, i think that a disposable space blanket should not weigh too heavy on the conscience.
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nutjob
Stoked OW climber
San Jose, CA
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Oct 10, 2008 - 09:49pm PT
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I've used my little cheap space blanket twice when I had no other shelter, and I still carry it. The first time it ripped in half and I used finger-tape to keep the pieces sorta together. It was pretty trashed after the second night.
But I'll be damned if I'm going to spend another $2.97 to buy a new one, and let the plastic rot in landfill. Let's just not talk about the cut ropes, camalots left behind, and other battle victims.
If that space blanket thing gets too funky to use, here's what I'll do with it:
1) Keep half of it as part of a solar distiller for collecting ground moisture when I go on desert adventures
2) Tie half of it to my body, and connect it with a cut-off tube from a broken camel-back, and make a desert 'stil-suit like from Frank Herbert's Dune
3) When I'm done visiting the desert, I'll find a friend who has a dark living room with a window onto a small deck, and then put up the shiny metal thing on the deck outside so it can reflect some nice sunshine into their dingey little hole.
When the elements have broken it down a little more, the last step before a logical end will be to put it through a paper shredder and use it for New Year's confetti.
And then when we vacuum up the little pieces a week later, I'll reclaim them and make it into glitter pieces to use with glue sticks for the kids' arts and crafts projects.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Oct 10, 2008 - 09:52pm PT
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Burning Man costumery and/or decorations. Even if you don't want it for that use, there are plenty of folks looking to add a little mylar to their rig there. Similarly, you can donate it to an art supply collective (there's one in oakland/berkeley if you're in the area) or school art dept.
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hafilax
Trad climber
East Van
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Oct 10, 2008 - 09:58pm PT
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Use it as a layer of superinsulation in the cryostat of your superconducting magnet. You have a superconducting magnet right?
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nick d
Trad climber
nm
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Oct 10, 2008 - 10:00pm PT
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Eat it and crap shiny mylar turds.
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Dr. Rock
Ice climber
http://tinyurl.com/4oa5br
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Oct 10, 2008 - 10:01pm PT
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Glue it to a cardboard mold in the shape of a Parabola and use it for a WiFi dish.
Drive around the Park with it on top of your car and Wardrive Camp Curry or Yellow.
You would be violated to see what the Winnie crowd is bringin in on the Sat dish.
Worse case is the chicks think you are some kind of Park Secret Asian Man, and you might get privraldges.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Oct 10, 2008 - 10:10pm PT
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Make confetti out of it, and scatter it around the Valley. Near the Visitor Centre, for example, in mid-September. All the FaceLifters will greatly enjoy picking it up with their litter sticks.
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nita
climber
chica from chico, I don't claim to be a daisy
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Oct 10, 2008 - 10:10pm PT
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Halloween is just around the corner,fine costume material..be creative.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Oct 10, 2008 - 10:12pm PT
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Wrap a sack of potatoes up, then stuff under the fire (down in the ashes) for a tasty dinner treat for everyone....
And don't forget..
The potato is a butter delivery system... No matter how much butter you add.. It can always take more...!!
Hey, or you can poke a tiny hole in it and watch a solar eclipse...
You ever need an extra antenna? I've seen worse....
If you cut it up into equal parts and glue them to your lamp shade for an interesting disco ball effect!!!!
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MisterE
Trad climber
My Inner Nut
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Oct 11, 2008 - 12:03am PT
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Make a killer retro Devo outfit out of them - maybe some space-blanket manpri's (don't forget to gusset the crotch!) with a Jetson's reflective collar
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Oct 11, 2008 - 12:26am PT
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Build a wire frame and Voila! Baked Potato Halloween Costume.™
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