Reflectix & getting caught by the cold

[TrainChaser]

The temps here have been in the low 20s, and we've been getting snow off and on since Dec 1.  I don't usually keep a fire in the wood stove at night, so it's been chilly.  A few days ago, I was passing the store that sells Reflectix by the foot, so I went in and bought six feet of the 48".  ($2.50/ft x 6 = $15 +tax)

I laid it directly on the mattress, covered it with an old acrylic blanket.  Then I made the bed as usual, with cotton sheets and wool blankets.

IT WORKED!!!  IT WORKED!!!  ONE OF MY EXPERIMENTS WORKED!!!

It was a really nice improvement to my sleeping comfort.  You know that when it's cold, your bed is cold when you crawl into it.  The bed gradually gets warmer from your body heat, and you're shivering.  You heat one spot and then roll over, and that place is cold.

But now, it's only cold for a few seconds.  I've been using it for three nights.  On the second night, I had to get up about 2 a.m. to check on a noise (opossum), but as soon as I got back in bed, I was warming up.

The crinkling noise was much less than I had anticipated.  The worst of it was when my cat was walking back and forth around the top of my head, trying to force me to get up and feed him.

This could make a lot of difference in a van.  But, as I said, I'm using wool blankets, and they 'breathe' better than synthetic (plastic) materials, IMO.  But if you use synthetics, it's still cheap enough to try.

Anyway, its one more piece of info to help keep people comfortable.  Try it, you might like it.

 

[TrainChaser]

p.s. I don't seem to be having any moisture issues. I got a bit too warm last night, so I just took off the top blanket and my socks.

 

[Txjaybird]

IT WORKED!!!  IT WORKED!!!  ONE OF MY EXPERIMENTS WORKED!!!

It was a really nice improvement to my sleeping comfort.  You know that when it's cold, your bed is cold when you crawl into it.  The bed gradually gets warmer from your body heat, and you're shivering.  You heat one spot and then roll over, and that place is cold.

But now, it's only cold for a few seconds.  I've been using it for three nights.  On the second night, I had to get up about 2 a.m. to check on a noise (opossum), but as soon as I got back in bed, I was warming up.

The crinkling noise was much less than I had anticipated.  The worst of it was when my cat was walking back and forth around the top of my head, trying to force me to get up and feed him.

This could make a lot of difference in a van.  But, as I said, I'm using wool blankets, and they 'breathe' better than synthetic (plastic) materials, IMO.  But if you use synthetics, it's still cheap enough to try.

Anyway, its one more piece of info to help keep people comfortable.  Try it, you might like it.

 I am so glad you tried this and it worked!   YIPPEE!

The Safari I hope to modify for travel only has heat in the dash.  I can feel the cold creeping up on us when I'm out of the van for just a few minutes.  I was worried about sleeping as here in the apt I use a heating pad to warm up the bed and for leg and back cramps.  I found it's cheaper to just heat where we are than a whole room.  Queenie is on it before I can sit down and turn it on!

Thanks for your experiment gone right and posting it.

Jewellann

 

[ArtW]

Awesome! seemed like it should, but first hand experience i didn't have

 

[hepcat]

I learned thirty years ago while motorcycle tent camping with a "kiwi cot" that a foam ground pad is one of the best insulators to sleep on/with. Without it in my cot, I froze even in a good sleeping bag. With it, I had no heat loss through the cot at all. Foam ground pads are cheap and easy to clean and replace. Now, however, in our high-tech world, I've replaced the $10 closed-cell ground pads with a Thermarest backpacking air mattress. They're more expensive, but not only does it do the insulating job, it adds more comfort as well. Ground pads and backpacking air mattresses don't trap moisture and they don't make crinkle noises either.