Pak-o-Bird Fleece cover

[bill_e]

So I purchased the small Pak-o-Bird Fleece cover from Celltei last week.

It's not quite what I expected but It will serve it's purpose. The material is wind proof but very thin. I had it in my head it was going to be like a fleece blanket but it's not. I'm not sure if the thicker fleece would have provided any better protection, it's just not what I expected.

The quality is great and there is a lot of sowing to make this so I think the $55 price is reasonable for a Celltei product but the shipping was $16 which was about $10 too much for something that was shipped in an envelope.

It fits snugly so when closed up there is no way for the cold air to infiltrate (should be no drafts) but because it's thin I would imagine that it would radiate the cold fairly quickly. It should be fine for getting the bird to and from a warm car.

As you can see from the first pic, the cover's flap doesn't open the front fully but you can unzip the Pak's flap and make the opening large enough to easily get the bird in and out without removing the cover (second pic)

It has access slots so you can use all of your Pak's straps. I would call it more of a luxury than a necessity but I do like having the Pak ready to go.

All zipped up

 

[Kiwibird]

Great option for those who live in bitterly cold areas to have should an emergency occur in winter.

 

[ChristaNL]

I was looking at them in the shop last sunday, but the silly things do not cover the bottompart of the carier at all!

(Since I do not own a car I have to take bird+bag on my back, cycling or walking.)

As everything Celtei I am very impressed with the snug way everything fits and the high level of finishing.
Having said that... I also would expect something more 'heavy duty" (windproof yet breathable material is not really exceptional anymore; birds can generate enough heat to keep themselves comfortable in the pack-o, but not in a draughty, wet & cold environment (just my humble opinion) and though fleece is very breathable the wind blows straight through).

They were (for the M/L) almost 90 euro ... so I left them in the shop (for now anyway )

 

[bill_e]

Crista, your comment "and though fleece is very breathable the wind blows straight through" is not referring to the Celltei cover, just fleece in general? My Celltei cover is windproof. I wonder if they changed the design.

It does fit tightly and I understand your concern about the bottom but that part of the PAK is pretty solid and windproof with the plastic tray installed.

Right now it's 2°F outside. If I had to evacuate the house I would still be in a pickle because the cars would be ice cold for 5-10 minutes at least. I still havent found an emergency way of heating the Pak yet.

 

[ChristaNL]

Ha Bill, thank you!
I did not realise it *was* windproof- I asked but (since it was crazy busy and I may have asked the wrong person) they did not know ( "information not available" usually means "nope")
Actually another selling point rather than holding me back!

For emergcy heating:
* preheat the pack *without* the bird: use those nifty glove/hand warmers,
* heating the pack with *bird in* it use the special heatpacks for reptiles (they use those in transportboxes when shipping them), the small ones that are single use.
(they do not get crazy too hot like the handwarmers can- so no accidental overheating, the reptile ones last longer)

Since you are a DIY-gent make a small metal container for it with lots and lots of small holes to keep the chemical-snot-filled-baggy away from birdybeaks while in transit.

The heatpacks are only a few dollars / probably not the most planet-friendly sollution, but an emergency is just that!



(also an option: just plunk a bottle filled with hot/warm water in it to preheat the pack -- I would not use the hot-water-bottle with the bird present because you have no temperature controll al all! )

 

[bill_e]

Christa, I think that if I had time to heat something up or warm the pak then I would also have time to warm the car.

Last summer we had a bit of a kitchen fire and I had to get Nike out fast as the smoke was spreading quickly. There was no time for anything except tp get her from her cage and place her in the pak and get her out. Luckily it was about 80° so weather wasn't a concern but imagine if it was -3° as it is right at this moment and I just had to get her out...no time to warm anything up, just go.

What I thought about last year, but didn't act on it, was some kind of 12v heater that I could plug into the car's cigarette outlet...I need to investigate that further.

 

[bill_e]

Well, this may be the answer...not sure this exact one but an electric heating blanket, spread out on the car set, pak placed on top of it and then wrapped up in the blanket.

But it would still need time to warm up...I wonder if just a regular blanket coupled with the windproof fleece cover would hold in enough heat for say 10 minutes until the car warmed.

https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Blanket-Tailgating-Emergency-Stalwart-BLUE/dp/B001QJQ22O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542976203&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+heat+blanket

 

[ChristaNL]

You have these pillowsized electric blankets meant for cats etc...
(I found one once for a geriatric cat of one of my friends who was too old and thin to keep herself warm anymore)
Not sure if they come with the cigarettelighter- thingy


But why not just get a warm blanket in the car to wrap/ isolate the bird + carier.
Birds produce a lot of heat- so if you make sure he or she only has to warm the POB and not the entire car... I think they will be fine.


(Low tech and always availble in a hurry, because it lives in the car anyway)

 

[Cooks]

Do a test with a bottle with warm water, see how fast it will loose heat indoor then do the same test outside, thermometer test the water first then after 10min again. It would be nice to see what the results is. Think that might be the best way to know what you might need extra. Also wind proof sound like it might get very stuffy inside.