There are now quite a few different companies making these sleeved blankets and given how popular Slankets became last Christmas, its not surprising to see so many different companies trying to take advantage of what is no doubt a very good idea. As anyone who lives in colder climates will tell you, there are times when you wish you could just stay bundled up in your blanket and with a Slanket you can. A Slanket is basically a blanket with sleeves. This allows you to have full use of your hands and arms while remaining completely covered with the blanket. It may look a little funny but its functionality is so nice that you quickly learn to not give a rats behind what you look like while wearing a Slanket. I use it for reading, using my laptop and playing my xBox360. The days of having cold arms while the rest of your body is nice and toasty are over.
Out of all of the companies making sleeved blankets, Slanket is without a doubt the highest quality. I have seen first hand most of the other versions and they just do not compare quality wise. The one in particular that you should stay away from is the Snuggie. They are usually sold in a 2 for 1 manner which should tell you something right off the bat. Overall they are extremely thin and the fleece starts pilling after just a couple of washes. Slankets are made with much higher quality fleece, are much thicker and I have yet to see any pilling and I have washed some of my slankets at least 15-20 times.
For those who are unschooled in the different qualities of fleece, pilling occurs when the garment's fibers roll up, often after being washed, and lie on the surface like tiny round pills. This pilling effect seriously effects almost every aspect of the fleece including how it feels and its ability to keep heat in. All fleece pills eventually. You can tell how old a Patagonia Synchilla jacket is based off of how much pilling has taken place. High quality fleece doesn't pill for quite some time and cheap fleece starts to pill almost immediately. For example it literally takes years before Patagonia fleece products begin to pill. Again I had serious pilling after only 2 washes with the Snuggies and I am well over 20 washes with some of my Slankets and they still haven't shown any sign of pilling yet. The bottom line is that Slankets are made from a much higher quality fleece. Anyone who tells you differently simply doesn't know what they are talking about.
Its important to note that there are 2 separate versions of the Slanket floating around out there. There is the main version which is sold through the Slanket website. The vast majority of slanket's currently in the marketplace are this kind of Slanket. The 2nd version of the Slanket is the one that was made to be sold exclusively through QVC which, in case you don't know, is a home shopping network. The QVC Slanket is actually considerably different than the original version. The most obvious differences are the thickness and overall softness. The QVC Slanket is much thinner and much softer than the original version. The Original version really feels like a Patagonia Synchilla fleece jacket and the QVC version feels like the fur on a rabbits foot. The final difference between the two is in the sizes. The QVC version is much shorter than the original and this is because it was designed so that one could actually walk around while wearing it. You can still walk around with the original version Slankets however its far more difficult as its a couple feet longer which makes it very easy to trip on. You usually have to bunch up and hold the bottom of the Slanket if you want to walk around in an Original version.
I actually own 2 of both Slanket versions and to be honest I don't have a favorite. I like both versions about the same as they both have their strong points. One thing is for sure and that is that both Slanket versions are vastly superior to anything else on the market. If your interested in buying a sleeved blanket then you really shouldn't even consider buying anything but a Slanket. Overall they do exactly what they are supposed to do. What more can you really ask for.
Bottom line - A cold weather necessity!! Edit.......
I was actually on the QVC website last night and was absolutely blown away at how many Slankets they now sell. Last Xmas they had only 1, which I described in my review. That meant in total there were 2 different kinds of slankets, the one on [...] and the special edition QVC version. Well that is simply no longer the case. QVC now has 4 different slankets. They have the one they sold last year which is called the The Slanket Deluxe (66"x62"), I actually purchased 2 of these last year. In addition they also now have the The Slanket Fleece (95"x60"), the The Slanket Youth (48" x 48"), and The Ultimate Slanket w/Foot Pocket (80"x60").
The Ultimate Slanket with Foot pocket sounds interesting. Here is QVC's description "This new version of the much-loved wearable warmer trumps the original with the addition of two pockets: a bottom pocket to keep feet toasty and a front pocket for your hands--and for stowing (or hiding) the remote control"
Anyways I figured I would update this review with these new versions.
enjoy!!
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Slanket SLK-SF-002-CR The Slanket Blanket - CastlerockProduct Description: The Slanket is a gigantic fleece blanket with sleeves. A very soft to the touchlightweightbut warm fleece blanket with largeloose sleeves designed so you don't feel like you're wearing the blanketsimply wrapped up in its wonder. The Slanket is designed to keep your entire body covered and cozy while you still retain the use of your hands. Simplistic and practicalits innovativeness opens up possibilitiesbut still can replace any normal blanket
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This item looks/feels nothing like it is described. It's made of a woven material that is not soft or plush. The colors look nothing like the photo and are not remotely close to lakers colors. The edges aren't smooth, they have that fringe you see on other styles of blankets/throws. To top it all off, the fringe started losing threads the minute we opened the package. I will be returning this item. I would give this a zero if I could. Would not recommend.
