Category: Warmth / Shelter / Cooling

Warmth and shelter information

Inflatable, Reusable Sandbag?

Inflatable Sandbag, Image Credit

Ok, inflatable might be the wrong word to describe this sandbag as inflation implies air is involved, but it is certainly different than the traditional “fill your own” sandbags we’ve all come to despise, lol.

Anyway, I just recently ran into this SoSaveBag.com which perked my interest as it’s apparently a sandbag that actually swells when contacted with water:

“SOSAVE sandbag is an innovative instant sandbag sandbag. It is a jute bag with another inner bag as a special double layer structure bag. When it is dipped in the water, the functional material contained in the bag swells and increases its starting weight up to 50 times.In this way its volume becomes a flood defense barrier in case of water overflow.”

Interesting. I do wonder what the inner water absorbing material is… I can’t seem to find that out.

Regardless, it’s apparently reusable, biodegradable, lightweight, easily packed, etc., etc.

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find a price for these either as ordering is via email which I didn’t have the patience for, plus I tried downloading some catalog but that failed too.

Hmmm…

Seems there’s some work to be done on the website so I haven’t a clue how “above board” these folks are, especially since it’s all in China. Hopefully, these “sandless” sandbags are the real deal and something people can start to make use of.

Let me know if you have any experience with them or a similar product. Thanks.

49 Sq Ft Bug Out Retreat?

What do you think about a tiny little house like this as a bug out retreat? This sure takes the idea of only needing a “roof over your head” to a new level, lol. Plus it seems like he hasn’t quite thought this out completely, though I do like the eventual idea of the add-on rooms, use of glass, and maybe a rocket stove heater too…

How To Heat A Tent: 9 Ways To Stay Warm (link)

Image Credit

I know the weather is warming up but it’s always a good idea to know how to heat a tent safely or really any small space for that matter. With that in mind, here’s 9 ideas to consider, several of which are commercially-made options but a few use natural ideas. No matter which you choose be sure to have plenty of ventilation and follow all proper safety considerations regarding carbon monoxide poisoning. Yes, it’s a potential danger even in a tent…

“When the weather starts changing from summer to fall or perhaps at the end of October most people put their tents away and wait until the following spring to get back out into nature’s wonderland.

However, this doesn’t necessarily have to happen. You can go camping almost year round if you set your mind to it. There are ways to keep your tent warm and comfortable no matter what the weather is outside.

Today, we are going to show you a number of ways to heat your tent and when you’ve finished reading you’ll see just how simple it is. We include the ordinary as well a couple of emergency ways to keep your tent warm in all kinds of weather. Let’s start off with one of the most popular ways today…”

Read the full article here

The Ultimate DIY Survival Blanket (video)

This is a long video but quite interesting nonetheless. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of effort to make this particular blanket but doing so could be very useful to you for a bug out or for general backpacking use.

You can skip to about the 8:15 mark to get to the heart of the blanket idea, though he does cover some of the details of the blanket and bag that he made for it in the beginning of the video if interested. Last at about the 15:20 mark he heads out into the woods and begins to demo his ultimate survival blanket in a handful of different ways which I found quite interesting as well…