The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is a weather-resistant, outdoor-ready blanket that’s great for camping, day trips, and hanging out outside.
To get us a closer look, Rumpl sent Man Makes Fire a review unit to test. After using the Rumpl Original Puffy for extra warmth both outdoors and indoors, including as a top blanket on cool nights, this is what we learned:
Rumpl Original Puffy Review
The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is a cozy sleeping-bag style outdoor and camp blanket that’s water-resistant and machine washable.To make its Original Puffy Blanket, Rumpl started with outdoor-ready materials used in high-quality sleeping bags. Instead of building a true sleeping bag, the original Rumpl goal was to create a plush-yet-packable machine-washable blanket you could take everywhere.
The Rumpl result is a blanket that’s great for cozying up in a camp chair on a cool morning but rugged enough to spread out on the ground for a picnic.
The overall feel of a Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is a blend between a sleeping bag and a puffy down jacket. The outside shell fabric is made from a smooth, lightweight nylon that feels good on bare skin.
The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket delivers an undeniable outdoor-loving vibe.
The puff comes from the insulation and the signature Rumpl curvy stitch pattern. In the case of the Original version, Rumpl uses a synthetic hollow fiber insulation.
Overall, the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is surprisingly cozy and has excellent fit and finish throughout. In fact, the Rumpl Original Puffy is so good, it’s our #1 pick in our guide to the 25 Best Outdoor Gifts for Outdoorsy Women.
Is the Rumpl Puffy Blanket waterproof?
Rumpl uses a ripstop nylon face fabric that delivers a smooth and supple sleeping-bag like feel. It’s water resistant but not technically waterproof.The Rumple Original Puffy Blanket is not technically waterproof, but it is water-resistant. The weather resistance comes from a combination of a relatively tight nylon face fabric weave with a Durable Water Repellant (DWR) coating.
Cape Clip and Corner Loops
Rumpl’s outdoor and camping blankets feature rugged stake loops in case you want to stake down your blanket to lounge around on.Rumpl blankets include corner loops, which let you stake the Rumpl into the ground. Most people won’t use this feature much, but if you want to sit on your blanket in a windy area, the corner loops will be handy.
Rumpl’s 1-person blankets also include a Cape Clip, which is simply a built-in clip positioned to let you drape the Rumpl around your shoulders and walk around.
Size Options
The Rumpl Original Puffy now comes in three size options:
Junior: 28″ x 40″
1-Person: 52″ x 75”
2-Person: 84″ x 80″
When the blankets are inside of their included carry sacks, the packed sizes are:
Junior: 5″ x 7″
1-Person: 7″ x 16”
2-Person: 8″ x 19″
Shop the Rumpl Original Puffy 2-Person Blanket at Backcountry.com and get up to 30% off!
Rumpl Has the Best Styles
After the great sleeping bag blanket vibe, arguably the best Rumpl benefit is the company’s commitment to style.
Rumpl produces dozens of color options and patterns, including versions specifically designed to celebrate U.S. National Parks. Are you planning a trip to Yellowstone or Yosemite or Great Smoky National Park? Nab a Rumpl blanket for the road trip and everyone will appreciate it!
RAD Artist Collaborations
In addition to Rumpl’s popular ‘Fade’ patterns — including the #1 bestseller Ocean Fade — Rumpl collaborates with artists through its Rumpl Artist Division (RAD) program to create limited edition styles. If you see a collab design you like, nab it before it’s gone.
If you want to know more about the artists, check out the Rumple RAD program here.
Rumpl Original Puffy vs Rumpl Down Puffy
The Rumpl Down Puffy Blankets use real duck down to give you a lighter, puffier experience.One question you might have is if you should get the Rumpl Original Puffy or the Rumpl Down Puffy?
The Rumpl Down Puffy Blanket is more packable and weighs almost half as much as the Rumple Original. The biggest benefit of the Down Puffy vs the Original Puffy is the feel. The Down Puffy will feel a bit warmer and a bit more supple. The biggest drawback is the increased cost to get real duck down as the insulation.
Compared to ultra high quality down jackets and sleeping bags, the 600-fill hydrophobic duck down is basically entry-level quality — but that’s not necessarily a drawback. Rumpl designed its Rumpl Down Puffy Blanket to be used outside, so it’s a bit more durable than typical down sleeping bags or ultralight down jackets.
If you have the budget, grab a Rumpl Down Puffy Blanket and don’t look back. It’s very hard to beat lightweight blankets and bags made with real down.
Shop ‘Rumpl’ blankets at Backcountry.com and get up to 30% off!
Rumpl Original vs NanoLoft Puffy
The Rumpl NanoLoft Blankets use down-like synthetic fibers to create a blanket that’s lighter and warmer than the Original Puffy.The Rumpl Original Puffy and the NanoLoft Puffy Blankets both have synthetic insulation, but the construction is a bit different. The NanoLoft insulation is broken up and is more compressible. Instead of a sheet of insulation, it more closely resembles a bunch of down fibers that can move around and loft inside of the baffles.
In fact, the NanoLoft Puffy Blankets have more sewn baffles in the design — like down jackets. Rumpl adds extra baffles to keep the insulation from shifting around.
The biggest benefit of the NanoLoft is a slightly increased warmth rating with a slightly smaller and lighter form factor. The biggest drawback is the increased cost over the Original Puffy (which also comes in more design options).
Still, if you find a NanoLoft Puffy color pattern and size you like, you’ll get improved warmth and performance out of it compared to the Original Puffy.
Rumpl Drawbacks
The only drawback to the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is that it’s not campfire spark-resistant. If you want a true campfire blanket, consider the Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Blanket.There is only one real drawback to the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket for outdoor lovers: It’s not campfire spark-resistant.
However, Rumpl has an answer for you if you like to bundle up in a blanket near a campfire: The new Rumpl NanoLoft Flame Blankets are fire-resistant and spark-resistant.
That sounds perfect, right? Not so fast.
As of right now, the new NanoLoft Flame Blankets only come in a small, lap-blanket sort of size option: 38″ x 52″. The Flame blankets’ best use case is using them while sitting around a campfire or fire pit. On the plus side, because they’re so small, they can keep your backside warm while leaving your front side more open to the heat of the campfire.
Pro Repair Tip: If your puffy down jacket or puffy blanket happens to get a small hole from a campfire spark, consider it a badge of honor — and repair it with a couple drops of AquaSeal. What is AquaSeal? It’s basically a repair glue that’s waterproof, ultra durable, machine washable, and slightly flexible. We use it to repair all sorts of outdoor fabrics — it’s even durable enough to repair fishing waders. As far as we’re concerned, everyone should have a tube on hand.
Competitive Alternatives & Options
Rumpl is the clear mindshare leader in the outdoor blanket market these days, which has led other gear manufacturers to produce their own competitive outdoor-ready blankets. If you’re considering a Rumpl outdoor/camping blanket, these competitive alternatives and options might also work well for you:
REI Co-op Camp Blanket — REI is known for producing some excellent price-to-value outdoor gear and the REI Co-op Camp Blanket is a great example. Like the Rumpl Original Puffy, it has a soft ripstop nylon face fabric with a DWR finish. It is machine washable. The only drawback is that it only comes in a 1-person size: 70″ x 54″.
Kelty Bestie Blanket — The Kelty Bestie Blanket is an excellent low-cost competitor to the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket. It has a similar synthetic insulation quilted construction. Kelty makes it in multiple color options and patterns. In fact, it’s our favorite budget-priced outdoor blanket: The price-to-value ratio is its biggest benefit. A second benefit is the feel — one side is a soft-brushed polyester while the other side is slicker polyester face fabric. If you’re looking for a larger option, the Kelty Biggie Blanket is a two-person version.
Therm-a-Rest Argo Blanket — The Therm-a-Rest Argo blanket is similar to the Rumpl Original Puffy but it has two interesting additional features. First, it has built-in snap loops around the perimeter of the blanket, which lets you connect it to other Therm-a-Rest blankets or sheets. Second, the bottom has a drawstring that lets you snug in the bottom of your blanket around your feet to fend off cold drafts. If you want a want a 1-person option, go with the Therm-a-Rest Stellar Blanket.
YETI Lowlands Blanket — The YETI Lowlands Blanket is more of a ground blanket than a bundle-up-in-a-camp-chair blanket. While it does have one softer side and is insulated, the biggest difference from Rumpl blankets is the inclusion of a fully waterproof side. The YETI Lowlands Blanket waterproof utility side is great for placing against wet ground. You can also use it to protect your car from wet and muddy dogs. In fact, if you’re looking for a rugged ‘utility’ blanket, the YETI Lowlands Blanket is for you.
The Verdict: Best Puffy Outdoor Blanket
All-in-all, we believe the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket is the best all-around outdoor puffy blanket for 2023. It delivers a great blend of puffy insulation in a durable, machine washable sleeping bag-like construction that everyone seems to appreciate. The Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket doesn’t just give you warmth, it delivers an undeniable outdoor-loving vibe. Because the color patterns are so bright, fresh and vibrant, the Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket makes an excellent gift idea for most any outdoor lover. Very highly recommended.
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Backcountry.com | Bass Pro Shops | Cabela’s | Moosejaw | REI
Looking for great outdoor gifts?
Rumpl has made it into a few of our outdoor-focused gift guides:
