4 picks
Wool blankets
Woven whole, mended rather than replaced, handed down rather than thrown out.
Wool is the one textile that does not wear out on a season鈥檚 cycle. The fibre is scaled and springy, so it recovers its loft instead of flattening, it resists water and fire where cotton surrenders to both, and a hole in it is darned in an evening. The mills here have been weaving since 1863 and 1780 respectively, on patterns they have not needed to redraw, which is why these turn up in second-hand shops older than the people selling them.
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| Rank | Pick | Brand | Why it lasts | Backcountry | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pendleton Yakima Camp Blanket, Full/Queen | Pendleton | Woven in Washougal, Oregon 路 Wool and cotton, napped both sides | Buy | Buy |
| 2 | Pendleton Yakima Throw | Pendleton | Woven in Washougal, Oregon 路 54 by 66 inches | Buy | |
| 3 | Pendleton National Park Blanket | Pendleton | Park stripes woven since 1916 路 100 per cent virgin wool | Buy | Buy |
| 4 | Woolrich Hudson Bay 4 Point Blanket | Woolrich | Specification unchanged since 1780 路 Point marks woven into the selvedge | Buy |
- Top pick
Pendleton Yakima Camp Blanket, Full/Queen
PendletonWoven in Oregon from a wool and cotton blend heavy enough to sleep under and tough enough to sit on wet ground. Pendleton has run its Washougal mill since 1912 and the Yakima pattern is one it has never needed to restyle, which is the quiet test a blanket passes or fails.
- Woven in Washougal, Oregon
- Wool and cotton, napped both sides
- 90 by 90 inches, full or queen
- Felt binding, mendable by hand
- Pattern unchanged for decades
-
Pendleton Yakima Throw
PendletonThe same cloth as the camp blanket at throw size, which is the one that lives on the back of a sofa rather than on a bed. Fifty-four by sixty-six inches with a whipstitched edge, and wool being wool, it comes back from a moth hole or a scorch in a way no synthetic throw does.
- Woven in Washougal, Oregon
- 54 by 66 inches
- Wool and cotton blend
- Whipstitched edge
- Dry clean, or air it and brush it
-
Pendleton National Park Blanket
PendletonPendleton has woven the park stripes since 1916, when the blankets were sold to the lodges themselves, and the design has not moved since. Pure virgin wool rather than a blend, which makes it warmer and more particular about washing.
- Park stripes woven since 1916
- 100 per cent virgin wool
- Woven in the USA
- Felt bound edges
- Collected as much as used
-
Woolrich Hudson Bay 4 Point Blanket
WoolrichThe point blanket has been made to this specification since 1780, and the short bars woven into the selvedge are the original sizing marks rather than decoration. Heavy virgin wool, four points, natural with the multi stripe.
- Specification unchanged since 1780
- Point marks woven into the selvedge
- 72 by 90 inches, heavy virgin wool
- Whipstitched edges
- Thin review record, long history
-
Top pick
Pendleton Yakima Camp Blanket, Full/Queen
PendletonBuy at Backcountry View on AmazonWoven in Oregon from a wool and cotton blend heavy enough to sleep under and tough enough to sit on wet ground. Pendleton has run its Washougal mill since 1912 and the Yakima pattern is one it has never needed to restyle, which is the quiet test a blanket passes or fails.
- Woven in Washougal, Oregon
- Wool and cotton, napped both sides
- 90 by 90 inches, full or queen
- Felt binding, mendable by hand
- Pattern unchanged for decades
-
Pendleton Yakima Throw
PendletonView on AmazonThe same cloth as the camp blanket at throw size, which is the one that lives on the back of a sofa rather than on a bed. Fifty-four by sixty-six inches with a whipstitched edge, and wool being wool, it comes back from a moth hole or a scorch in a way no synthetic throw does.
- Woven in Washougal, Oregon
- 54 by 66 inches
- Wool and cotton blend
- Whipstitched edge
- Dry clean, or air it and brush it
-
Pendleton National Park Blanket
PendletonBuy at Backcountry View on AmazonPendleton has woven the park stripes since 1916, when the blankets were sold to the lodges themselves, and the design has not moved since. Pure virgin wool rather than a blend, which makes it warmer and more particular about washing.
- Park stripes woven since 1916
- 100 per cent virgin wool
- Woven in the USA
- Felt bound edges
- Collected as much as used
-
Woolrich Hudson Bay 4 Point Blanket
WoolrichView on AmazonThe point blanket has been made to this specification since 1780, and the short bars woven into the selvedge are the original sizing marks rather than decoration. Heavy virgin wool, four points, natural with the multi stripe.
- Specification unchanged since 1780
- Point marks woven into the selvedge
- 72 by 90 inches, heavy virgin wool
- Whipstitched edges
- Thin review record, long history
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