What Are Industrial Protection Blankets and What Types Are There

When you need a little bit more than just individual protection, you should use special protection blankets for area coverage. There are multiple types of such blankets varying in materials, purposes, and threats they protect from. In this article we will try to sort things out.

What are protection blankets?

Protection blankets are designed to bring in more protection from various threats or hazardous conditions than individual protective equipment does. Unlike individual protection, blankets are not designed for long-time wearing. Their main purpose is to bestow protection onto someone that does not have it – quickly, efficiently and without much hassle.

A protection blanket looks like a folded or rolled flexible blanket made of a special lightweightmaterial. When you need additional protection, you unfold and deploy the blanket where you need it.

What are types of protection blankets?

There are many types of protection blankets available on the market and designed to defend from various threats. Let’s take a closer look.

Ballistic blanket

This type of protection blankets is used by policemen, military, SWAT and other operatives who need to quickly deploy coverage against gun threats. Ballistic blanket can be used as a cover during assaults, or to protect hostages, or to block exits to prevent escape of criminals, or to cover windows and doors to prevent sniper attacks and ensure safety of those inside etc.

Ballistic blankets are made of bullet-resistant materials, typically steel, or ultra dense polyethylene. They can be mobile, handheld, or foldable into a small suitcase. There are a number of models of varying sizes and weight, with or without a visor, with different set of straps to attach the blanket to objects and interiors.

Lead blanket

Lead blankets are made to stop hazardous x-ray radiation and ensure health of medical personal and patients. Surely, if you had an x-ray procedure at least once in a lifetime, you know what a lead blanket looks like: it is a set of lead panels wrapped by the dense cloth material with straps to put on the blanket on the body.

Depending on what body part needs to be protected, there are different shapes and sizes of lead blankets for shielding vital organs from radiation.

Bomb blanket

Bomb blankets or blast blankets aim to protect from explosions and high-velocity fragmentations resulting from an explosion. They can be used in two different ways: they can protect minesweepers from explosions of bombs they attempt to unarm. Alternatively, a bomb blanket can be also used to contain the explosion itself and prevent serious damages to people.

Bomb blankets are made of multiple layers of fiber materials such as Kevlar or Aramid. Note that their main purpose is to greatly reduce the damage area, not to prevent or eliminate the explosion completely.

Industrial blankets

Industrial protection blankets have a range of types and models designed to fight specific threats and conditions. There are insulation industrial blankets to protect people and equipment from temperatures, shock protection blankets that can protect from shock and high-volume sounds. Fire protection blankets can stop open fire or protect from weld splatter during welding. There are also specialized industrial protection blankets that can be wrapped around moving parts or mechanisms to prevent flying of parts away if the mechanism damages or breaks under load.

EMF protection blanket

This type of a protection blanket is designed to prevent injuries and hazardous conditions caused by electromagnetic fields. The blanket is made of metallic mesh that works as a screen protecting a user or equipment from electromagnetic pulses, high-frequency electric charges, induced strong magnetic field and so on.

BattleSteel®️ offers a range of protection products including industrial and ballistic blankets. If you need more information about such products, or are not sure what kind of an industrial blanket you need in your situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.