Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket Review: A Technical Blanket for Camping
A cold breeze always seems to find its way around a campfire once the sun goes down. Sleeping bags are great inside the tent, but they are awkward when we are sitting around camp, watching a sunset from a boulder, or curling up beside a cabin fireplace. The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket fills that space between an ordinary household blanket and a piece of outdoor gear.
The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket
We have the synthetic Original Puffy in a large queen size, and it has become a regular addition to our overnight adventures. Our version is made with 20D ripstop nylon treated with a durable water-repellent finish, commonly called DWR. In practical terms, the fabric is lightweight, durable, and resistant to light moisture and stains. Dirt, leaves, and random pieces of the forest also brush off much more easily than they would from a fleece or woven blanket.
Our blanket packs into a stuff sack measuring about 20 by 13 inches, although it can be compressed and squished into a smaller space when necessary. We often stuff it between pieces of gear in the car, where it also keeps everything from rattling around. At ~4.5 pounds, it is not something we would carry backpacking, but the size and weight work well for car camping.
The synthetic insulation holds warmth close to the body without the bulk of a traditional comforter. Rumpl’s curved stitching gives the blanket a look that reminds me of topographic lines, waves, or wind moving across a map. It looks like it belongs outside.
How We Have Used Our Rumpl
Our blanket has traveled with us on enough trips that we have had plenty of opportunities to test it in different conditions.
We took it winter camping in Yosemite, where the queen-size blanket filled the back of our Subaru with room to spare. It came tent camping in Mojave during pouring rain and helped keep us warm after the tent started taking on more water than it could handle. One end of the blanket got wet, but the moisture did not spread through the entire thing.
It also joined us for a family holiday at a mountain cabin. We curled up beneath it on the couch beside the fireplace and added it to the bed when the nights turned chilly. We even packed it in checked luggage for a trip to a tiny house in Canada. The week was cold and rainy, and we were very glad we had made room for it.
The blanket worked well in every one of those situations, but it is not limited to cold-weather trips. During warmer nights, when climbing into a sleeping bag feels like too much, the Rumpl gives us just enough coverage to stay comfortable without becoming overheated.
Water Resistance and Drying
The water-resistant nylon handles light rain, damp ground, and condensation well. When the blanket gets a little wet, it dries quickly in the sun or a breeze. Loops along the edges give us places to hang it at camp.
Water-resistant does not mean waterproof. If the blanket sits in a puddle or remains exposed to heavy rain, it will eventually soak through. Our experience in Mojave made that clear. The advantage is that it does not absorb moisture like a heavy household blanket, and it dries much more quickly once the weather improves.
The One Drawback
The only real downside we have found is that the nylon fabric is slippery. When we use the Rumpl on a regular bed, it tends to slide toward the floor during the night. That was not a problem when we slept in the back of the Subaru because the blanket had nowhere to escape.
The smooth fabric is also what keeps leaves, dirt, pet hair, and other bits of camp from clinging to it, so the slipperiness is a tradeoff we are willing to accept.
A Blanket Made for Car Camping
The size and weight of our queen-size Rumpl make it impractical for backpacking, but it has been a great addition to our car-camping gear. It gives us a comfortable blanket for evenings beside the fire, cold cabins, roadside sunsets, warmer nights in the tent, and any trip where we have enough room to bring a little extra coziness.
Rumpl makes its blankets in several sizes, colors, and patterns, so there are smaller options for anyone who does not need a queen-size blanket. The designs change frequently, which is part of the fun.
Rumpl Beer Blankets
We first discovered Rumpl through a Beer Blanket that arrived in one of our Cairn subscription boxes. It was a tiny version of a Rumpl blanket made to wrap around a can or bottle like a koozie. It folded into its own attached pocket, took up almost no room, and kept a drink cold while the full-size blanket kept us warm.
The little Beer Blanket introduced us to the company, but the Original Puffy became the piece of gear that traveled with us. Even our cat Zoe approves, although she is not especially concerned about packability, water resistance, or whether we meant to share it with her.
