Sole Mio 100% Wool Blanket for Winter Vanlife
Itchy blanket nostalgia, anyone?
Are you old enough to remember those itchy blankets our parents put on our beds in the winter? I am…..in the days of yore before mass produced duvets became a household staple. I also remember thinking: “why oh why have you punished me with this big old itchy blanket you evil beings!”
Little did I know then that it was these bad boys that kept us warm in the winter and it is them that keep Dan and I nice and toasty now.
Surviving our first winter with a basic setup
When we first got our van, it was winter, and we were too scared to use the heating system through fear of it draining our batteries and using up all our gas in a few days. This was not totally irrational, after all we had no solar, an old lead acid battery and a 3.6 kg gas bottle as our set up. In the first few weeks we just had our super thin duvet and our trusty Sole Mio to help us keep warm and it worked.
See how we managed on frosty days when we first started our vanlife journey
Click here for pictures of our early days on Instagram
A time tested solution
The blanket is 100% wool and conserves an impressive amount of heat, even when we woke to find frost forming on the inside of the windows! I took quick peek at the “Sole Mio” website, and I discovered they have been manufacturing these since 1948 and the blankets also come with a 10-year warranty. They are durable and made to last so I would say they are a buy once item. Our blanket is 70x100 inch and is big enough to cover our bed which is around a double. If you’re using it for a bed at home, possibly try a bigger one if you want it to hang over the sides. They are easy to store away when not in use (they take up less room than a thick duvet) and if you have two blankets, one can go underneath the sheet to toast yourself in a woolie sandwich!
Ours is red but you can often find them in various colours and although they can be quite expensive brand new, you can find them for a reasonable price on Ebay here. If you are lucky, you can also find them in charity shops or in your nan’s linen cupboard! You could also just lookout for a 100% wool blanket, it doesn’t have to be Sole Mio, but this is the one we have so I can only speak for this product.
Lets keep it honest: The downsides
The drawbacks are the price for a brand-new blanket, on the website they are over €300 but as I said you can pick them up elsewhere. The itchiness may put people off too, you can use a flat sheet underneath to manage this, personally I like the itchiness because I am just bit odd! They also shed a little bit and we do end up with a bit of red fluff in places, but it is totally manageable within a normal cleaning routine.
The Verdict
This product is a thumbs up from us, for sure. If you want to avoid the freeze in winter; have a basic setup, want to reduce the draw on your battery or save on gas then go get yourself one of these and keep your bed nice and snuggly in the winter.