trooperChannel Travel & Field Sleep System
Always the basics:
Hydration - Sanitation - Temperature Control
This is filed under Temperature Control
As always, I have included the BEST Value-to-Use Case/applicability option, which means it is the best fit for the use or task being demanded of it, with cost being as low as possible but not so low that you are just wasting money on trash. This is the absolute best fit for the use - which sometimes is the cheapest, most expendable thing.
I have also included the absolute best Premium Quality option if you have the budget. Sometimes this is just the only option because anything less is a waste of money or inadequate. In cases where I add a Premium option, I will explain WHY it is premium over the best value-to-applicability option.
In cases where only one option is provided: That is the best option regardless of what else is allegedly better, cheaper, or brand recognized. If I only list one option, don't waste money getting a name brand alternative or waste twice as much money getting a cheaper useless alternative that will fail and result in needing to replace that with the suggested thing you should have got the first time.
Absolute Must Have Basics:
Two Mylar Space/Survival "Blankets"
Cheap, Tiny, Expendable
There are three kinds:
1. Bulk, cheapest, coated on one side only, smallest (84"x52" ), least durable (12 micron)/most expendable option & best value-to-use option:
Any mylar blankets you can get for cheaper than the above cheap link are going to be just as good - but none of those cheaper options will be as good as the Premium option I've listed.
2. Premium Option: Better, bigger (82"x64" ), coated on both sides, more durable (15 micron), more expensive option:
You should have AT LEAST TWO Mylar Blankets in your kit. USE THEM! They ARE designed to be one use and discard. Always have these everywhere in every car, pack, luggage, camper, kit, cargo pocket - you cannot have too many Mylar blankets.
3. Overkill Options: These are indeed better, more durable, more expensive, super awesome alternatives, but they are not going to replace the need for standard mylar blankets:
You only want these if you want to augment your kits. I carry a few of these in my kits "for the other, likely unprepared persons" that will undoubtedly be under my care when the need event happens (your spouse, nephew/niece/child, normie companion, an elderly/physically compromised individual, etc.) They are give-away expendable items just like your cheap mylar blankets, but they are heavy duty, and tailored into rain/wind blocking clothing that is easy for people to wear and use.
Second most important, and by far the most used and versatile item:
A standard USGI Poncho Liner ("Woobie" )
I have tried ALL of them, including the $100+ Dollar "Mercantile Woobie", as well as the cheapest ones and everything in-between.
The ABSOLUTE BEST Value-to-Quality Poncho Liner on THE MARKET is the USGI Industries version:
If you have a premium budget and want premium top-shelf quality, then feel free to spend 3x more on Pinnacle Mercantile:
The Pinnacle has thicker batting, better quality outer nylon cladding, better tie-offs, even a zipper to fold-over the woobie into a pocket quilt. I don't really see that as a useful feature, but it would be for a child or slight stature person. I feel this premium, USA-made option should cost around $60 instead of over $100 - so let your wallet and/or your vanity be your guide.
Wool Blankets: The defacto standard piece of kit for every nomad, merchant, soldier, peasant, and royal for the past 6,000 years!
The only option here is Arcturus 80% wool field/military blankets:
https://amzn.to/4evaeFi (solid colors)
https://amzn.to/4ahAS1L (new styles)
Ektos and Arcturus are fairly equal quality in my experience. Both brands offer multiple sizes and wool content in 80, 90, and 100%. A field blanket should be medium size and weight (80-85" long, 60-70" wide; Weigh at least four to less than five pounds. This option is 64"x88" and weighs 4 1/2 pounds - perfect. It comes in at least a dozen colors/patterns - perfect. It is legitimately loom woven -perfect. It is 80% virgin wool and 20% purposefully selected synthetic thread - perfect for a durable field blanket.
If you want to rock the Premium Pendleton Yakima variant of what us poors carry in the field, the vanity factor also comes at a premium:
The rest of us will stick with the more reasonably priced Arcturus 80% option.
If you are NOT going to ever use this blanket for hemming up hammocks or pulling the edges taut for hasty shelters upon the rugged tundra, or fashioning into a game satchel to carry your freshly felled Bison back to your village - then get a 90% wool blanket if you want the extra warmth. I use an 80% most of the year and a 90% in the cold season.
Arcturus 90% 90"x96" wool queen blanket:
The Ektos 90% wool blankets are equally fantastic when they are available. Just remember that the point of this post is field/minimal/utilitarian - and an 80% blanket fits that bill. If you want to augment your temperature control plan for the weather or for the home/cabin, then the nice 90% and 100% big warm blankets are indeed among my prized possessions. I sleep with a 100% wool blanket year-round: https://amzn.to/4eu8N9V
Okay, now we are through the hard stuff. Let's talk about ground cover (and also overhead or side/wind cover as the need may dictate)...
You want to keep wind, rain, moisture, dirt/mud, and overhead sun off of you or from penetrating through your gear and clothes. The minimalistic mylar foil survival blankets are cheap and easy to use as ground cover, but they only block moisture from wicking up into your gear and clothes. A mylar blanket alone will allow more lost heat transfer to conduct into cold ground than it will reflect body heat back into the man on the ground. You need air space between you and the earth. So pile loose leaves, layer cardboard box panels, sleep on sand vs. hard dirt, do something to get that air space between your body and the earth. This matters very much when it is below 40°F and colder. The rest of the year, just having the moisture barrier is fine. You can use the mylar, or reusable Tyvek scraps from a jobsite (or buy a scrap, but don't: https://amzn.to/4b6ukTS ) - or overkill it completely: https://amzn.to/3QoTfex - or just use a 40-42 gallon heavy-duty trash bag (don't buy these unless you use them for actual trash - but 40# thick mil bags are a trooper standard survival/homeless multi-purpose piece of kit: https://amzn.to/4uUMAqw )
Among all these options, I just stick with the expendable mylar blankets and a cheap sand blanket that is durable enough to be used as ground cover, wall/wind cover or roof/canopy cover - as I see fit: https://amzn.to/4f0LIf7
These are excellent, durable, lightweight, cheap multi-use tarp/covers that can be used to cover gear, make shelters, drape over the mylar or tyvek or trash bags to minimize mud and moisture saturation under your sleeping position, or just an extra layer wind & rain wrap when you are on the move. Great kit.
The last two bits in the video are actual sleeping pads. I never carry these in a lightweight/travel pack. They are relegated to winter camping and for use between me and the concrete floor of my training room if the wife ever kicks me out of the house.
Self-inflating: https://amzn.to/4w6ZQJF
Self inflating is bulky, but provides a softer lay and more thermal insulation.
Z-Fold: https://amzn.to/4eClnnP
Z-Fold is light, with proven fail-safe deployment (no worry of air leaks because it is foam). But it has lower R value, is less comfortable on concrete floors and super hard dirt. It is also less forgiving of rocks transmitting their geometry through the lay, which air-pads are good at attenuating.
Again, the sleeping pads are luxury bonus items. They suck way less than those rolled hard foam mats the US Army issued us. Avoid those springy, annoying, bulky curls of lowest-bidder solutioning.
In summary:
> 2x Mylar blankets at minimum always.
> A decent Poncho Liner (Woobie) for 99% of your travels.
> A lightweight wool blanket to take off the chill.
> A sand blanket, scrap of Tyvek, or large trash bag for better moisture barrier and cover/shelter options.
> Sleeping pads if you have the carry space for them and expect a need for them.
> A dry bag if you want to roll everything up into an egg roll: https://amzn.to/3Qmf0M5
Everything else - your stocking cap, furry bunny slippers, fuzzy teddy bear, and any pillow that is not a wadded up piece of clothing - is up to you.
Thanks for watching my video and reading this post. If you don't want to use my affiliate links at least say thank you with a like or share so I know I am not spending so much effort writing to myself.
Thanks,
-tC
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Posted on 23JUN2026 (C) N7CAV
Use these affiliate links for reference. If you use them it helps me and doesn't cost you anything extra. The key points are knowledge, not product...
1. Assure you have a dedicated space for your hydroponic garden unit(s).
2. Assure the temperature range for that area is compatible with survivability of plants.
3. Definitely make sure whatever product you buy has an integrated light/pump timer/controller! You do not want a manual only system. Just fill up with water, plant seeds/pods, plug-in, walk away.
4. these work best with short-cycle leafy greens and herbs. You can start and grow peppers and tomatoes - but be realistic what those little growing cells can support. These work great for germinating and starting transplants however - I transplanted hundreds of pepper, lavender, tomato, herb, squash, and other seedlings from my Aerogarden with the high density cell grid upgrade.
5. Be realistic and honest with what you are trying to accomplish, and temper that with what you truly know you are capable of ...
Four key points on "Medical" (I'll do a video) -
1) Basic First Aid
- Standardized classes, focus on wound hygiene awareness - which is by far the most important aspect of basic wound care.
2) TCCC/Stop the Bleed
- Heavy Bleeds; Arteries; Tourniquet & packing - Casualty temperature control and evac - good to know, and thankfully (hopefully continues to be) uncommon but critical to know.
3) ALS - Advanced Life Support - out of our scope.
4) trooperCare training
- Focused on real world acute and management of chronic wounds when support/evac/clinical treatment is not an option.
I am developing this training and will release it as free videos with an eventual full class option.
Remember: We are NOT doctors or ALS trained/equipped persons. The real threat of injury is infection/sepsis/MRSA/CDiff/Amputation from unmanaged would consequences. I focus on health and sanitation management.
Everyone should complete a basic first aid class (even online) and a Stop the Bleed class (This should be in ...
