Staying warm in an emergency – Insulation
In a survival situation, knowing how to properly insulate yourself and your cold weather shelter can mean the difference between life and death.
Similar to how double-pane glass insulates your home, by trapping air between its layers, properly insulating yourself from the elements means knowing how to trap air between your body and what’s outside.
Whether you’re in an urban environment or a wilderness setting there are always a number of materials that you can use to stay warm.
Insulation in a Wilderness Survival Situation:
Fibrous plants, grasses, layers of bark, pine needles, leaves, wood, and even snow are all types of materials that you can use to insulate yourself and your shelter.
To insulate your shelter, use the materials to build a thick layer over and inside your shelter. Layering the materials will help trap air, and more efficiently keep the heat inside your shelter. Make sure you also use a thick layer of insulating materials inside your makeshift mattress. Doing so will insulate yourself from the cold ground.
Don’t forget to insulate yourself.
One of the most effective ways of staying warm is to insulate yourself from the elements. To do this you need to create layers of material that will trap air between your body and the elements.
The best way to insulate your body is to shove fibrous materials, grass, cattail, or dried leaves between the layers of your clothing. If possible, try to put the insulating materials between a couple different layers of clothing.
During a winter storm, power outages can quickly turn into a life-threatening emergency. When the temperatures start to plummet, you need to take action. The first thing you should do is build a warm room. It’s a lot easier to heat a small walk-in closet or pantry than it is to heat an entire home. So the first thing you want to do is find a small room or closet, and then start insulating.
Urban environments are filled with materials that can be used to keep your body warm, and protected from the outside elements. Cardboard, foam, plastic, and bedding materials are just a few of the items that you should be able to easily find. During an emergency, a small room or closet can easily be turned into an insulted fortress.
- Couch cushions, blankets, towels, and mattresses can all be used to add extra insulation to your warm room. Line the walls with these insulating materials to trap heat inside the room.
- Layer your clothing, and remember that in an emergency you can line your clothing with crumbled up newspapers, paper towels, or any other insulating materials that you can find.
- Depending how many people are in the room, body heat alone can be enough to keep the room at a tolerable temperature.