In the backcountry, people don’t die of “cold”—they die because they’re wet, in the wind, and not protected.

Shelter fails more often than people think: in the U.S. alone, hundreds of people die every year from exposure to heat, cold, and bad weather, and thousands more end up hypothermic, frostbitten, or severely dehydrated because they had no real way to get out of the elements. The pattern is almost always the same: good intentions, expensive gear, and no simple plan to turn what you brought—and what’s around you—into real protection when the weather turns. The challenge is not owning more equipment; it’s knowing how to choose a few pieces that always come with you, how to use them fast under stress, and how to build or improvise shelter so well that a sudden storm, cold night, or brutal sun becomes an inconvenience, not an emergency.¹²³

Your first shelter is the jacket you actually have with you when the temperature drops. Our jackets are built so you don’t forget it or leave it in the car: it clips securely around your waist when you’re not wearing it, so it rides with you like a belt instead of getting stuffed under a seat or hung on a hook. When the wind comes up or the sun drops, that jacket is your first barrier against cold, rain, and convective heat loss.¹⁴

But a jacket alone isn’t enough for a long, cold night, so every kit at Jackpack Gear includes a flat-packed Rescue Essentials Mylar Emergency Blanket as standard. These foil blankets work by reflecting over 80% of your radiated body heat back toward you while blocking wind and moisture, dramatically slowing heat loss. You can wrap it around yourself like a blanket, fold and tape it into a simple bivy, or cut a head hole and wear it as a parka-style shell over your jacket. Combined with an improvised floor barrier (dry moss, leaves, clothing, or spare gear), this setup can make a huge difference in staying warm. With the Trekker kit’s paracord and Leatherman Micra multi-tool, you can also rig it between two trees as a lean-to or low tent and pin the edges with rocks or logs. In hot, exposed country, you can flip it reflective-side up to act as a solar shade, and that same mirror-bright surface makes you stand out to aircraft and ground search teams from far away.¹²⁵

If you do get lost or stranded, think shelter first. As soon as you realize you’re in trouble, stop moving, get out of the wind, and put your jacket on before you get cold, not after. Stay as dry as possible and reduce exposure to cold, wet ground, which pulls heat away by conductive heat loss—sit or lie on an improvised barrier like your pack, branches, dry moss, or extra clothing. Then deploy your Mylar blanket as a wrap, bivy, or quick lean-to using paracord and natural anchors. Once you’ve reduced your exposure, shift focus to signaling: keep your reflective blanket, whistle, and light where rescuers can see or hear them, and avoid unnecessary night travel. Warm, visible, and in one place is how most people get found alive.¹²³⁶

References

1. 1. Auerbach PS, Cushing TA, Harris NS, eds. Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine, 7th Edition. Elsevier; 2017.
2. 2. Forgey WW. Wilderness Medicine, 7th Edition. Rowman & Littlefield; 2021.
3. 3. Giesbrecht GG, Wilkerson JA. Hypothermia, Frostbite and Other Cold Injuries: Prevention, Recognition and Prehospital Management. Wilderness Environ Med. 2014;25(4):S104-S117.
4. 4. National Park Service. Hypothermia—The Cold Facts. NPS.gov. Accessed 2024.
5. 5. U.S. Army. Survival, Evasion, and Recovery: Multi-Service Procedures for Survival, Evasion, and Recovery. FM 21-76. Department of the Army; 2002.
6. 6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Extreme Cold: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety. CDC.gov. Accessed 2024.