View Full Version : what is a thermal sheet?
RAPPLEBY2000
04-02-2010, 00:20
Hi I've come across a few of these:
Army surplus 4m x 4m thermal sheet
(it has huge metal grommets to attach tent pegs or ropes).
(at some of the worn parts you can see woven silver foil type material).
it's green both sides really heavy duty and is obviously part of a shelter, but what is it for? what does it do?
is it to conserve/reflect heat for the person inside?
or is it to reduce heat visible to thermal imaging equipment?
any ideas?:dunno:
phill_ue
04-02-2010, 00:24
It is used to reduce the thermal signature on armoured vehicles, they are joined with plastic toggles (which are H shaped) through the grommets. Each vehicle uses specific sheets to make up their sheeting. They come in a variety of sizes. Putting these things together on exercise are an absolute nightmare as the H's catch the cam net when you are trying to put that up! The large (And I do mean large!) rubber tank sheets are better as they don't catch the cam net, but they do not have the same thermal shielding properties.
What have you got planned for it?
What have you got planned for it?
Stealthy blatant bushcraft I bet :cool:
phill_ue
04-02-2010, 00:29
Stealthy blatant bushcraft I bet :cool:
Well they ain't too heavy but they are bulky! They are like large space blankets sandwiched between plastic green sheeting, a bit of a nuisance to pack around! You could potentially make a half decent baker tent from them though!
RAPPLEBY2000
04-02-2010, 11:55
What have you got planned for it?
A rain/shade cover for my Bushcraft demo work at the momnet i use 3 Mod tarps 1 DPM 2 desert DPM which i've always thought gives too much of an "army" vibe, but didn't want to resort to cheapie poly sheets that fall apart.
these sheets seem ideal, huge, obviously waterproof with the added advantage of the silver stuff.
at the moment i have a shelter open both sides but I reckon i could close one end with these sheets.
reckon it might keep the Suns heat out of the shelter? or make it worse?:dunno: (it'll certainly be more shady)
phill_ue
04-02-2010, 12:28
It may get a bit warm under there, but if you have a breeze it will be fine. Also, you could pitch two sheets above each other with a six inch gap to give you cool air underneath. I used to like crawling under the thermal sheet when it was cold out and the vehicle had been running for a few hours, it was very warm!