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Econmical cold weather blankets

je25ff

je25ff

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Just curious, does anyone have a decent store of cold weather blankets? I'm not talking sleeping bags, since I usually see the -40deg one's going for much dinero, unless there are cheap ones anyone can recommend.
 
Where do you want to use them? If you want to use blankets in a house or car in case of break down I like the tight fleece blankets you can get most anywhere near Christmas and especially after when they get discounted. We have a bunch and turn the heat down and sit with them on our laps in the evening to keep the chill off. Way cheaper than running the heat higher. We also keep them in the vehicles.
 
If I had to count on a single blanket in any circumstance, it would be a wool blanket. I couldn't believe it the first time I used one... blew my mind. Light dawned and it makes sense in those old war movies how any of those bastards lived with not much more than wool pants and a wool coat.
 
Wool is awesome. I cry a little when I think of the old surplus ones that I had as it is hard to find ones that good any more. Tore one using it as a sling to move a tree. It actually worked quite well with someone on each corner. Tore it when we snagged a rock.

I keep a wool blacket in the car all winter as well as a couple 300 weight fleece. The wool is much warmer and a better all round choice, but it is heavy. If I had to carry it any distance, I would take the fleece and a space blanket or tarp to keep the wind out.
 
je25ff said:
Just curious, does anyone have a decent store of cold weather blankets? I'm not talking sleeping bags, since I usually see the -40deg one's going for much dinero, unless there are cheap ones anyone can recommend.
Click to expand...

+1 on the wool blankets. I keep one in the car and always take one or two camping. One to put on the floor of the tent and oneJIC the sleeping bags aren't enough.

As far as the sleeping bags I got some really nice -20 bags from Sportsman's Guide for about $60 each last Christmas. Sometimes you can find a decent deal on winter bags during the summer at Sierra Trading post.
 
Some of these are tricky. Some are a mix of wool and synthetic fibers of some sort and many appear to be coated in fire retardants. I don't really care about the latter, but the percentage of wool to synthetic I do care about. Whenever I buy stuff like this, I imagine a snowy, below zero environment where I need to keep my family warm, so I'm kind of picky about things.
 
Be wary of those surplus wool blankets, as many haven't been stored properly and they STINK. I didn't think the smell would bother me and bought a few, but after a week they had infused the house, garage and car with an awful moldy stench and I had to throw them out.

+1 on the modular sleep system - I got my dirt cheap, and it's amazing. Heavy, but amazing.
 
Get a wool blanket and one of the GoreTex outer military sleeping bag shells. Good to go.

You need to own the outer shells. They are amazing.
 
Thanks, you guys prompted me to get two of the Italian blankets for $105. I searched for the Swedish ones but I couldn't find them anywhere. I saw one stat that said a wet 100% wool blanket can keep retain 90% of a person's body heat. Wouldn't that depend on how cold it was outside though? It reminds me of another statistic that 80% of statistics are made up on the spot.
 
So I got the Italian blankets today. Holy cow is the mothball smell strong.....I think moths everywhere in southern NH are afraid! Very afraid
 
So Twigg, you were right, the smell went away. I ran it through the washing machine first with vinegar and detergent and aired it out. I can even smell it anymore on the blanket. I can't say the same for the laundry room though.
 
I got a bunch of wool blankets but I steered clear of this one:

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I just bought a Pendleton wool blanket from the Kittery Trading Post website for $88 - that's with free shipping and I get a $25 gift card also. So I figure that's $63 for a nice looking wool blanket. I can always find something else for the gift card.
 

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