Posted: 12/10/2008 11:46:31 PM EDT
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S.G. has 12 blankets for $60
30% wool 70% synthetic. Anyone have any input on these? I was thinking 1 for my bug out bag, 1 for my car, 1 for the GF car, 1 on my bed....... Thoughts, comments? |
| I bought them several years ago. They're like imitation blankets, not really woven and definitely not repeat machine washable. They weigh about half what a 'real' wool blanket does. They hold up reasonably well and are medium warm. Under $5 and new, there's probably no better deal. They look exactly like SG's picture.... |
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As much as I hate dealing with moths eating my wool stuff I really like 100% wool stuff that is well made and can handle being cleaned one way or another.
I accept wool blankets should not just be tossed in the washing machine depending on how they were made but some of the weird thin blankets like the ones apparently mentioned in the original post suck to try to clean since they are not heavy and well made. I have a lot of old hand me down blankets that are old and falling apart. I am slowly replacing them with the nice not too expensive 100% wool surplus blankets that I sometimes find now and then. One thing about 100% wool is it helps keep you warm when wet. I don't know if I see much point in only 30% wool. |
I got a box full of grey blankets from my local Red Cross when they were moving to another site for free  I have made good use of them even though they are mostly wool. I'm also always on the lookout for used militay wool blankets at yard sales and have quite a few of those. Going price at yard sales and flea markets here for the OD green military blankets is $1 to $3 each.
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I have completely been won over by the cheap synthetic fleece blankets.
Its all I buy anymore for camping or emergency use. They're light, have exceptional insulation, very water resistant, won't hold water like wool, mildew resistant, and very low cost. I picked up about four recently at Wallyworld 70" for $4 each. Its all I keep in my cars. Tj |
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isn't wool waterproof? Waterproof? No. Water repellent? Can be, but it depends on how it's made. It's attraction is that it can soak up a good portion of it's weight in water while retaining it's insulating properties. Unlike cotton, where it's thermal properties, when wet, are absolute garbage. "Cotton is rotten". I don't know about it "pulling water away from your skin", ie wicking properties, it isn't my first choice for that purpose. But it isn't the worst choice, either. I like a good synthetic for that, like Under Armor (I actually buy the Starter Dry Star line from Wal-Mart, gobs cheaper and just as effective in my experience). |
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Local surplus place here has unissues 100% wool OD green blankets for $10.00 So i picked up a couple along with a K31. The first time i owned a wool blanket. Its all i use now to sleep with. Let me give you an emphatic answer, no. It soaks in water and gets heavy as heck. What you are thinking of is wool keeps some of its insulation properties when wet. Wool blankets are miserable when wet but better than nothing. The synthetics are basically plastic and do not get wet. They wring out a lot better and resist getting wet better in the first place. Its sleeping using Army blankets in all kinds of weather that got me into synthetic fleece so much. Wool has one major advantage over synthetics. It will not burn a hole in it as fast which is a big deal when sleeping with no shelter next to a fire. Now that all being said, the prices for surplus wool blankets is an exceptional value compared to comparable commercial wool blankets. TJ |
| When I was first getting into survival/bushcraft I went to the local army surplus shop and bought a bunch of the $8 "Emergency" Blankets. The wool/synthetic/recycled/whatever blankets. I used one on my bed and kept a couple others in my truck for a long time until from daily use I would wear giant holes in them. Now I have replaced them with the Mil-Spec Plus Wool Blankets. They are 65% wool, 35% blend and 66" X 94" Approx. I love 'em and use one over my main blanket at night and under my comforter during our cooler months. |
Sorry but I'm with TJ here. I have had my time in the Army with their blankets. Nothing but nothing beats these new fleece blankets. They will keep you warm. They are cheap. They are so light you don't even feel them. I keep one on my side of the bed all year. My wife will in the winter months. (that menopause thing and I will swear on a stack of bibles one of you put this in ). I even made a sack to fit inside my sleeping bag to make it warmer and keep the bag cleanner. There are lots of uses. They also compress better than wool. And they don't itch.
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snip.... And they don't itch. I always forget about that part! I love me some heavy, wool blankets, though. Back in my college days I had a blanket labeled 100% wool. That thing was a static electricity magnet! One night my roommate came in and kept pulling the edges of my blanket while I was trying to sleep (top bunk). I guess I was getting mad... I told him that if he didn't stop, I was going to shake my blanket on him! As you might guess, that REALLY SCARED him, LOL! In the next minute he was tugging the blanket again so I flew off my bed, dragging the blanket, and rolled and rubbed it all over him while he fell back on his bed laughing his head off. I then pointed my finger at him to tell him off, but I guess I was standing a little closer than I thought I was and a BOLT OF BLUE STATIC zapped him right on his bare chest. It left a black mark! Of course, after that he had to tell everyone to "not mess with Skunkum or he'll shake his blanket over you!!" |
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Sorry but I'm with TJ here. I have had my time in the Army with their blankets. Nothing but nothing beats these new fleece blankets. They will keep you warm. They are cheap. They are so light you don't even feel them. I keep one on my side of the bed all year. My wife will in the winter months. (that menopause thing and I will swear on a stack of bibles one of you put this in ). I even made a sack to fit inside my sleeping bag to make it warmer and keep the bag cleanner. There are lots of uses. They also compress better than wool. And they don't itch.which new fleece blankets? |
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New to me is anything less than 10 years The blankets that are polyester and fuzzy that you can get at wally world for about 10-20 dollars. They usually come rolled up in a package. We have a old rat dog that is cold natured and she loves to be covered up in one. She won't budge out of it.
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Here's the one I picked up at Target for $14.99(twin size):
Microfleece blanket It's my new-age poncho liner/woobie. |