I have some surplus Red Cross blankets that I purchased at the local Army/Navy store. They are thicker, heavier, and larger than the ones typically referred to as "Army Blankets". I keep a couple in our vehicles.

Interestingly, I use a lot of "high tech" material products for everything from outerwear, to sleeping bags. However, in a disaster or emergency, I think the bulk and weight of a heavy wool blanket seems to have a comfort effect that is hard to replace with a lightweight synthetic thing. I don't know how to quantify it, but, I know that when you wrap up in one of these, you feel better. Does that make any sense?

LOL
You're a cheeky one, aren't you? (the British adjective seems appropriate here)

"Do they need to be 100% wool or are the 70% wool blankets ok?"

It might depend on what the other 30% is, and they often don't say. Is it cotton, which will increase drying time? Is it polyester (plastic) which will burn?

Another question to ask (presuming you're asking someone who knows something, which is doubtful when it comes to cheap blankets) is, is all the wool in the blanket virgin wool (never previously made into fabric) or recycled wool? Even virgin wool has different grades of quality, so there's a great difference between wool for underwear and wool for carpeting.

Many of the cheap wool blankets (even 100%) are made from recycled wool, which has been torn or cut apart and respun into 'new' fabrics with shorter strands and blunt ends. Most of the recycled wool blankets I have seen are dense and tend to be itchy. Compare them to high-quality ($200-300) blankets, and you can tell the difference immediately.

Some wool blankets call for dry cleaning, which isn't really necessary. Washing with human hair shampoo, with a human hair conditioner in the rinse does very well, and they can be dried in a dryer, but use low heat and short cycles, as they dry quickly.

True wool allergies are quite rare. People who say they're allergic to wool are most likely to be sensitive to coarse, recycled wool.

Sue

For a brief moment when I first read that, I focussed on the "human hair" part and was thinking, "What sick puppy has blankets made of human hair? Oh, wait, use human hair products..." Whew, you made me scared there for a minute, Sue. Thought we've been conversing with a female Hannibal Lecter here all this time.

You make some great points about wool there, Sue!

Personally speaking as a southern Lousy-annian, I use a Falsa Blanket (cotton) sandwiched between two flat sheets and I'm good for 65deg F, on the boat, which is what our thermostats are set for. During winter, I have to add an additional blanket (no, we don't raise the thermostat during wintertime).

I use my sleeping bag as a mattress and cover with the falsa blanket during summer outings.

In wintertime, I crawl into the bag and use the falsa blanket on top as an extra layer of insulation.

The falsa blanket rolls up tight, fairly lightweight and breathes, unless sandwiched between two flats.

Thanks Susan for your info,,,now I know why, after all of those years of sleeping under cheap govt issued military blankets, why they were so scratchy. That is why I started sandwiching blankets between flats.

"Thought we've been conversing with a female Hannibal Lecter here all this time."

[OH, NO! They've discovered the real me!]

Sue

Picked up 2 of the Cheaperthandirt wool blankets. Excellent. Great size, thick, warm, and as Blast pointed out, they won't melt.


But,.....


Pick up a bottle of Febreeze and plan on letting them air-out outdoors for awhile. The mothball stench coming off the 2 I received was amazing.

M

Wool blankets also work well in car kits because if there is an accident and someone is on fire, you can use the wool blanket to smother the fire, as opposed to the melting fleece one.

Lol. I prefer the fire extinguisher. Actually, I've done this one already, which means of course that it'll never happen again, right?

OK, well I read this through a second time and realized you probably meant the car, not the person's body. I hereby retract my previously frivoulous statement. Your point is well taken, about wool not melting. Although, I suppose it would work just as well on a human (God forbid!)