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blankets

This entry is about blankets for people, not horse blankets, movers' blankets, etc,

In the United States, blanket sizes are named after mattress sizes. Sometimes sellers do not even give a blanket's dimensions in inches.

These blanket sizes are not legal standards. The actual dimensions of a blanket can vary by an inch or two from the figures above. The dimensions of mattresses, on which these blanket sizes are based, also vary. It is a good idea to measure your mattress with a tape measure before buying an expensive blanket.

Mattresses are made in many more sizes than blankets. You can use a mattress's dimensions to estimate an appropriate blanket size for it, but the size needed depends on more than the mattress size. At one extreme are sleepers who prefer a heavy blanket exactly the same size as the top of the mattress. At the other extreme is someone with a California King mattress that is extra-deep, say 15 inches, who wants to tuck in the blanket under the mattress. Ideally they need a blanket that is at least (84 + 15 + 6 =) 105 inches long. So, only you can determine how large a blanket is needed.

Beds in trucks

Truck mattresses, which overlap with RV mattresses, usually consist of a stack of pads made of different types of foam. The stack ranges from 4 to 8 inches thick, with lengths from 66 to 86 and widths as narrow as 28 and as wide as 42. It might seem a simple matter to cut down a blanket to fit, but fir

Blankets not made for beds, and throws

Stadium blankets are 50 by 60 to 54 by 72.

How warm is the blanket?

How comfortable a blanket is partly depends, of course, on how well-suited it is to the environment it's in. Freezing air makes a thick blanket comfortable. But inherently on three properties:

a) Thermal insulance. How good the blanket is at resisting heat flow. Mostly, this insulating quality is due to air trapped between the fibers, not to how conductive the fibers themselves are. This property is measured in togs, or more recently in Rtc. (Standard ISO 11092).

b) Resistance to air flow. A wind blowing through a blanket is chilling. (Standard ISO 9237) But:

c) Permeability. Ability to permit moisture (humidity) to escape. People constantly give off moisture. If you have ever spent a night in an aluminized mylar "survivor" or "space blanket", you know how important this property is.

International aid agencies buy tens of thousands of blankets annually for refugees, and they specify the blankets' properties. The major agencies (Red Cross, Red Crescent, UNHCR and UNICEF) have standardized on three types, all 1.5 by 2 meters (59 by 79 inches):

• Medium thermal type, with a TOG of 2.5, is the minimum for hot or temperate climates (even in hot countries, nights can be cold).

• High thermal type, with a TOG of 4, is appropriate for cold climates.

• A blanket with TOG 1.5 is appropriate for indoor use, on a bed, in a house with heating facilities. Outdoors in most climates, or even indoors without a heater, a blanket with a TOG 2.5 is the minimum.

Scientific studies defined that indoors at 20°C, a person at rest requires a total insulation of TOG 1.5. Outdoors with no wind the value at 10°C is TOG 4, at 0°C it is TOG 6, at -10°C it is TOG 8 and at -20°C it is TOG 9.5. Bearing in mind that a part of the insulation comes from the clothing, the rest will come from the blanket.

Around 2016 the agencies switched from togs to Rtc

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Last revised: 25 March 2021.