Arcturus Survival Blanket Retest
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
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Is it the worst item you can get for $20? Probably not. But here is a far superior option: ua-cam.com/video/bmHvUGBIB1I/v-deo.html
"I'm not a knot guy"
Hope that changed since this video 🙃
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?
I really appreciate , tho very rare , honest reviews @GruntProof .
Arcturus , build a $40 blanket that lasts, & I'll buy one.
Single stitching has to be #1 red alert FOR EVERY cheap POS.
They beat the heck out of those pocket emergency 2 dollar one's.
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.
Funny, my lightweight bags last for years and years.
@@gary7vn they definitely can if you use them properly.
I've seen some very costly good ones but most light stuff has to be babied. This is not that type of channel
Yeah those 3 piece sets are bomb proof. One of 11b's best friends IMO
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.
In Survival there's no room for weak equipment
@@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.
if your shit breaks, bad news, now you have to break and enter or home invade to find new equipment.
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.
Thanks!
I have used mine all winter every day to block the wind. I used one ridge line for the top and bungees for the bottom. So far so good!
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!
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.
Thanks for the video, surprised they would even send another blanket without improving it.
There were a few, but they didn't touch the issues I mentioned before.
@@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.
Nice to see you are an unbiased tester.
I try
I'm thinking the actual material is the problem , a complete redesign is needed .
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.
Good to know
The grommet didn't fail
The fabric failed.
🤺💐
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.
Arcturus sent me an "upgraded" version of their Heavy Duty Survival Blanket to test. What do you guys think?
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. 🤷🏻♂️
True, it's not the worst product in this category
Thanks! I'm waiting on a company to get it right
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.
Looks like they sent you a free replacement for the other POS.
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!
It's not the worst product. You just have to baby it
@@GruntProof The Army never issued me anything I had to “baby”! LOL. I’ll pass on this one until they improve it. Thanks for the review.
I completely agree! If it doesn’t handle the stress of the outdoors, it’s not a “ survival “ tool!
Use Tyvek material almost indestructible, in combination with Mylar for extreme cold weather
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.
Cool
I use the 2GoSystems V4 Trifecta, which is 'gruntproof enough' given its weight.
Stellar as always man. We use the Arcturus in the back yard. It's fun for my son and easy to deploy but I'm not putting it in the truck just yet.
YES!!
I love the fact you are pointing out poor quality manufacturing. These companies can and should do much better. I hope they take notice.
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.
Wow. Thanks for help with survival Arcturus! You care about things and stuff.
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.
Good on you for giving this junk a second chance. Maybe there will be a third. I will watch. Snow here too.
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
thanks!
Very foolish company rep that sent that lamb to the slaughter. Never send light duty materials into a combat zone.
I was literally just looking at this on Amazon earlier today. 🤯
No way !!!!
@Edward Fletcher tell me about it. If anyone knows of a decent one let me know.
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.
The Bushmen Thermo Tarp:
ua-cam.com/video/NigxdHP9tks/v-deo.html&ab_channel=GruntProof
@@GruntProof hell yeah thank you I'll definitely check it out now
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
Only thing I'm trusting my standard size for is with a poncho/woobie/wool blanket for a sleep system. I'll rely on something better for cover/shelter.
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.
Thanks for the new improved 2nd warning on that P.O.S.! aren't they embarrassed??🤣
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.
@@benjaminwright5936 Or taped on as a reflective liner.
I wouldn't use it for a shelter. I did so because all the youtubers who push it do, but under perfect conditions and with no tension.
@@GruntProof yeah, I would probably just use that as a ground cloth.
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.
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.
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
The wool blanket is great
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.
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.
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)
I had Arcturus confused with Arc'teryx. They have the interesting dinosaur bones logo, & supposed to sell good quality outdoors products.
IDK for sure, but I'd guess the similarity of the brand name Arcturus was intentional.
I thought there must be a difference between this crappy tarp and what Homemade Wanderlust/Dixie carries on trail. 🤔
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.
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.
Frozen ground sucks but that doesn't give the cover me up to any excuse
Grommets in any tarp create a weak link. Why they didn't reinforce those areas and add fabric loops is beyond me.
Grunts dont need no blanket lol
Take a sewing machine to it Randall and make that tarp into a cover for a thermarest or roll matt.
Just an idea..
Good idea, but if I take a sewing machine to anything it definitely won't worth anything anymore 😁
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.
True. Standard space blankets tear easily, so I'm trying to find a tough, reflective material to try that with
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.
I agree a good tarp is what I carry in my bag never fails me.
Well, I hope they get it right. I hate when people make stuff like this and market it for "survival". People put their lives in their hands...
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.
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
Gotta make sure 100% it's worth hanging my hat on.
I appreciate you being blunt and honest 👍
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
Bold move by Arcturus. Maybe they're going with, "there's no such thing as bad publicity" Great honest review!
Thanks. I doubt theyll respond again, but I ain't in this for free stuff
Any tarp with enough tension on the grommets with a stake and a cord that has very little or no give will be damaged
Would be a better video to teach.
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.
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
Thanks!
Thanks for showing
Interesting, so Randall you could be back on the coast and still be getting snow right now. Crazy huh, bbrrr. 🥶
A failure when used as a tarp, but how well does it hold up as a *blanket*, retaining heat when wrapped around an improvised sleep system?
It's fine for that
@@GruntProof Thanks!
I bought one of these and the grommet reinforcement ripped off the corner the first time I used it. 😄
Hey Randall. Thanks for testing this stuff so we don't waste our money buying rubbish. Greetings from Australia
Fair test Randall, thanks for the video, love your stuff brother!
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 video, I was going to get one but I found this video first and you've saved me money
Thx for the new Test!
I have the smaller one for a daytrip in the Backpack. Just as a fast simple weather protection.
They should use strap pullout instead of grommets
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.
They should interweave the mylar into the tarp fabric on one side so that it can flex
It's advertised as a blanket, so he tries to make a cub-scout shelter out of it.
Bro that jacket is mental!! What is that??????
Thanks Randall ! TAKE CARE..
I would love to see your reviews of the thermo tarp by the Polish company Bushmen. I wonder if he would have survived the test.
I checked it out and might get one
I have 2 of the Arcturus blankets that ride around in a bag. Apparently that is all they are good for. Better to find out now than when needed.
Just before I was about to purchase the original, I watched that video. Thanks again for saving me the money, and frustration.
Honest Reviews tend to get Brutally Straight forward
Well harbor freight has camo tarps for about $10 and it definitely holds up. I carry one in my bag just as a backup in case.
Direct UV light and wind shredded my Harbor Freight tarp the second day. It made it through 2 nights though.
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...
How to say you're a liar without saying you're a liar: show parts that are supposedly stress ripped that aren't under stress.
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
@Randall Actual on the arcturus website?
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.
I aware, but I haven't found a video of them using it in inclement weather
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.
Wishing I’d seen this before buying two of them.... oh well. Maybe they’ll come in handy somewhere. Maybe as a ground cloth?
Yea just baby them
Dave Canterbury has a shop called self reliance outfitters and sells arcturus blanket but much more heavy duty version than the proprietary hd model.
It looks like the same model but with their logo on it
Are you planning on doing a review of those Gen I ECWCS parkas? They seem pretty cool
I just might. Thanks
@@GruntProof Awesome! Love your channel!
Thank you for an honest product review. This is must have information for prospective buyers.
Fair test for sure Randal.Not something I would trust my life with.
Thanks
Nate
it looks like the strength of the material it self is the issue. i like no bull shit reviews.
Thanks for this review..I was actually going to buy one of these
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.
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
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).
Cool thanks
Ground sheet... I have a Harbor Freight HD tarp and it is damn near indestructable.
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
Omg! I was thinking down the road to purchase one. Thanks for your review and test. 👍
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.
True, which is why the first test was done low to the ground
It is 10 times better than ones sold at Wally-world, but affordable camo "cheap tarps" at Harbor Freight works fine.
They almost feel like a thick tyvex
I’ve got that unit. No issues. Owned since 2020….I think I was lucky!
If you baby it or use it as an actual blanket, yea
@@GruntProof I set it up as a lean to in my yard to test it for two days.
Only good thing about this product is using it as a ground sheet, as tent next to useless, but good for keeping the mud off the ground
Same here
As always nice video with true and hones review, Grunt!
Little off topic.
What's your height (in cm) and your DCU ECWCS (Lvl 3 guess? ) parka?
Trying to figure out a size that will perfectly fit me.
Medium regular. I'm 175 cm
@@GruntProof Thanks. So with my 180 cm (75kg), I guess it;s either Medium Long or L regular, right?
Depends on the fit you want. M-L would fit you fine. It's American so wide in the shoulders
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