Gravel Layover Travel Blanket Review
The Kickstarter veteran, Gravel, has another interesting accessory on their hands. Let’s see how it holds up in real world testing.
Gravel Layover Travel Blanket Review Introduction
Gravel came out of the gate pretty hot on Kickstarter with their toiletry kits. Those things were gangbusters and sold out almost right away. They are great, I own one, and I reviewed it here (Gravel Explorer Slim Toiletry review). The natural progression with most of these companies is then to build on that success and launch new product lines. They obviously did some liquids containers, launched one of the pricier bag kits in the space, etc.
One other item they branched out into is their Layover Travel Blanket. A full featured blanket designed to take with you while on the move. And yes - blankets can be full featured (at least, NOW they can). I tested this blanket recently on a trip to Italy and used it in standard upright seating, my wife used it for lie-flat as we ponied up for business class one way, and also tried it in the lounge.
This is my review of the Gravel Layover Travel Blanket. For full transparency, I was sent this blanket for review after reaching out to Gravel directly, but I have not been paid or sponsored in any way for this article. The views and opinions are my own.
2023 Update - Do note that in 2023 the Gravel team decided to tweak the stuff sack a bit. They’ve made it a roll top now, and I’ve no complaints about that move. Additionally, there are a couple of new colors. I’ve updated the main image on this page to reflect the new stuff-sack (courtesy of Gravel’s stock imagery).
This page may use affiliate links. If you click to make a purchase, I do make a small commission which helps to keep this site running. There is no cost to you, and you're under no obligation to use my links. With that out of the way, let's dig in!
Gravel Layover Overview
The Layover is billed as made from premium materials - that goes right down to the insulation which is a 40g per sq/m synthetic made from recycled water bottles. They say it can keep you warm down to 60F but as usual with temps - YMMV on that.
The nylon is a 20D. You’ve got YKK zippers, an anti-static coating, and this bad boy is machine washable.
Size is 41" x 67" (105cm x 170cm) and it weighs just over 12 ounces - which according to Gravel is 35% less than a pair of particular Nikes. I’ll have to take their word for that one, but good stat right there.
It retails for $129.00 online.
Gravel Layover Travel Blanket Features
Now we want to get into the features here, as I joked about above. Because it’s true - this blanket has them. I also want to make sure I differentiate the fact that this isn’t just a “camping” blanket or emergency use travel blanket that doesn’t really do much. While it can certainly be used for camping or the park, etc., its use case is really more geared towards when you’re actually on the go or in my opinion, in a hostel or something. I think you’ll see what I mean when we cover these.
For one, it’s got a zippered pocket to carry the stuff sack in so you don’t lose it. This is good, because I may or may not have almost lost it in my first use before I realized that pocket was there.
Next up, it’s got a bit of a kangaroo pocket on it - almost like your hoodie pockets. It’s fleece lined, and you can stick your hands in here while you nap. Further, this also has a zippered pocket so you can put your phone or wallet or earbuds/AirPods in here, etc.
Additionally, using one of the snaps you have yourself a footbox - just like in a sleeping bag. Clever.
The snaps on top join up to allow you to snap this blanket behind your head to keep it from falling down. We’ve all been there on a freezing cold plane flight using a blanket there and waking up with cold shoulders cause it fell down. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a good way to have solved the problem.
Speaking of snaps, there’s more. Using the snaps lengthwise you can also join two blankets together so you can share with your travel buddy. This is a good idea on traditional plane seating, for instance.
Lastly, the anti-static is certainly a feature. That’s another clever touch to add that to the blanket.
The Good
No big surprise here, but the feature set is a huge plus. I really do think this is more of a true “travel” blanket than a standard camping or picnic blanket you might think of off the bat when you hear “travel blanket”. It’s really much more about the usage you can get on planes, trains, delays, lounges, hostels, etc. I particularly liked the footbox on this.
I found the warmth level to be great on this and quite comfortable for planes.
Quality of the materials here are quite good as well. I never really felt worried about it.
Love that it’s machine washable! Makes it all the more convenient to wash when you get home or at your destination if needed.
The Bad
Also probably not much of a surprise here, but the price is going to be a “bad” for many people. I’m not one of them, but I’m trying to look at this with a broad spectrum like all of my reviews. It's bad for some groups. That’s because this makes it more of a luxury item to many people who are strictly focused on budget. And this won’t be for that group of people. More on this in my closing thoughts though.
This is going to be a bit of a hot take, especially because I'm short - but I think it’s probably too big. Maybe it’s the EXACT right size for those that are 6’3 (which their website notes “fits up to”) - so I’m the wrong person here. But I think for a single person you could make this smaller, just to make it more compact when it’s packed. You can completely ignore this if you’re pretty tall though, Haha. I also think it would make it easier to wield when you snap them together to share with two people.
Nothing bad to say about any features or functionality though.
The Improvement Requests for the Gravel Layover Travel Blanket
Only real suggestion would be to shave some inches off of it overall in order to get it into a smaller stuff sack, if at all possible.
Maybe controversially, I’m not going to list price in this section. I think in this case, the price is what they feel the value is and considering how fast this flies off the shelves when in stock, the market agrees. It might not be your favorable price, but I think it’s about right for a small team focusing on quality materials and pushing a product category forward.
Final Thoughts On My Gravel Travel Blanket Review
Although it’s most likely a luxury item for many at this price point, I think anyone that picks this up is going to find it useful. It’s a very, very good travel blanket that has quite a few useful features that will make it hold up on your trip. Especially those challenging situations we all find ourselves in sometimes (A nightmare layover in Baltimore when I was younger comes to mind and I had to sleep in a dead terminal - coulda used you, Gravel!).
I want to talk about the price a little too, since I harped on it so much (Only because I know people are going to focus on that). The Amazon-ification of the world has kind of got our perception of value all messed up. We expect anything to be $10.00 and delivered tomorrow. But that’s just not how it works - especially on new or “not the usual” items. Small companies have to deal with economy of scale, new manufacturing processes (bottles into blankets), plus non-standard sewing needs (those features, anyone?). They need to make samples. Then more samples. Then more to get it right. In this case Gravel (and many other indie brands in the travel space) put the work in for a product like this. I think we can too. So for me, I think the price is fair and a lot of people agree with me. May not be right for everyone, and that’s OK too. Don’t feel like I’m trying to force you to go out and buy this blanket. There are cheaper alternatives that are just plain blankets. But let’s not instantly say, “This should be WAY cheaper.” Because it’s probably not true. They aren’t ordering these out of a catalogue from some manufacturing giant that makes them for 10 cents each. Keep that in mind.
OK let me get down off my soapbox for a second here and back to the blanket. It’s great. It’s well put together and thoughtfully made. If you want a great blanket to serve all sorts of scenarios you might get stuck in (Oh! Another one - sleeping in a car in Cork because you got separated from your buddies and couldn’t find the BnB), the Layover travel blanket really doesn’t have any competitors that I’ve seen. Certainly not competitors that aren’t copying the original.
Gravel sells direct - so head on over to their site to check it out.
Head on over to our Travel Accessory Reviews page for more reviews on accessories like the Gravel Explorer Slim review, or the Matador NanoDry Towel Review.
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