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Thanks. I have some reading to do. Will get back.

I realize this is an old topic, but Just FYI.

I can testify from experience how effective a space blanket and candle can be. Two weekends ago while caving west of Cloudland Canyon in Georgia I had to wait behind in a chamber for an hour and a half while the rest of the group went deeper into the cave. I was damp and within 15 minutes of not moving I was getting cold. I had read about making a heat canopy before and decided this was a good time to try it out. So, I broke out my $3 Walmart space blanket and a candle and made a heat canopy over the candle while sitting down. The candle produced more than enough heat to keep cozy during the wait. Very effective and efficient.

BrianFrank wrote:I realize this is an old topic, but Just FYI.

I can testify from experience how effective a space blanket and candle can be. Two weekends ago while caving west of Cloudland Canyon in Georgia I had to wait behind in a chamber for an hour and a half while the rest of the group went deeper into the cave. I was damp and within 15 minutes of not moving I was getting cold. I had read about making a heat canopy before and decided this was a good time to try it out. So, I broke out my $3 Walmart space blanket and a candle and made a heat canopy over the candle while sitting down. The candle produced more than enough heat to keep cozy during the wait. Very effective and efficient.

Space blankets and candles work fine. But space blankets don't live long. Once used it is almost impossible to fold it again. So when you are visiting a lot of cold "alpine" caves there is new alternative. It's made by a belgian female caver and is called a "burkannette" or "speleoponcho". It's used more and more on expeditions in cold caves.

Some info
http://scbaudreix.canalblog.com/archive ... 89248.html

http://scbaudreix.canalblog.com/albums/ ... _4242.html

Leclused wrote:

BrianFrank wrote:I realize this is an old topic, but Just FYI.

I can testify from experience how effective a space blanket and candle can be. Two weekends ago while caving west of Cloudland Canyon in Georgia I had to wait behind in a chamber for an hour and a half while the rest of the group went deeper into the cave. I was damp and within 15 minutes of not moving I was getting cold. I had read about making a heat canopy before and decided this was a good time to try it out. So, I broke out my $3 Walmart space blanket and a candle and made a heat canopy over the candle while sitting down. The candle produced more than enough heat to keep cozy during the wait. Very effective and efficient.

Space blankets and candles work fine. But space blankets don't live long. Once used it is almost impossible to fold it again. So when you are visiting a lot of cold "alpine" caves there is new alternative. It's made by a belgian female caver and is called a "burkannette" or "speleoponcho". It's used more and more on expeditions in cold caves.

Some info
http://scbaudreix.canalblog.com/archive ... 89248.html

http://scbaudreix.canalblog.com/albums/ ... _4242.html

You are correct. The space blanket was impossible to fold back up. Do you know of a link in the United States to order a Speleoponcho?

BrianFrank wrote:Do you know of a link in the United States to order a Speleoponcho?

Indeed. The links are only in French(?) and the one email address listed comes back with a permanent bounce failure. I have sent an email to the French club that posted the article, but it would be nice to find out if these are commonly available or one-off manufactures.

Just this past weekend I used a reflective space blanket for the first time while waiting motionless in a 37F alpine cave for about 1.5 hours. I'm a seasoned pro at using black trash bags to stay warm, and let me tell you the space blanket was significantly warmer. Warm enough that I am switching to space blankets permanently.

@Brianfrank and VRcaver : pm sent

I learned a trick that you can use two trash bags on top of each other to make a better heat jacket. The air space that is trapped in between the two bags actually helps to insulate.

KeyserSoze wrote:I learned a trick that you can use two trash bags on top of each other to make a better heat jacket. The air space that is trapped in between the two bags actually helps to insulate.

Thanks, in an emergency with no space blankets available that is good to know.

Picture at Daily Mail with caver using candle in a space blanket to stay warm.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/01/article-2225955-15C640B9000005DC-695_964x652.jpg

I now have two uses of the words "cave burrito".

BrianFrank wrote:Picture at Daily Mail with caver using candle in a space blanket to stay warm.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/11/01/article-2225955-15C640B9000005DC-695_964x652.jpg

Hopefully that is NOT the way he is using the candle. I presume it was done for the photo only

To get the best result you place the candle on the ground between you legs.

Leclused, I agree.

Don't know if I could handle caves that have freezing temperatures all the time. TAG caves at 58 degrees give me the chills sometimes. We are blessed in southeastern United States.