From optional extras to outdoor must-haves, fire pit blankets have come a long way since they first became available.
You’ll find tons of scenarios where they come in handy, from keeping sand out of your food at the beach to adding extra warmth to your fit pit setup during a particularly chilly night.
Fire pit blankets come in various sizes and are constructed using simple wool, synthetic material, or down used as lightweight insulation.
In a nutshell, they are built to withstand outdoor elements.
To enhance your outdoor experience, we’ll look at five of the best fire pit blankets to keep you warm during a simple backyard BBQ or a week-long camping trip.
Comparison Chart
Best Fire Pit Blankets Reviews
1. Kelty Galactic Down Blanket
Kelty has done it again, this time with a piece of camping gear that rivals and undercuts its competition.
The budget-friendly Galactic Down Blanket is a modern, down-filled fire pit blanket that offers more warmth than the typical synthetic-filled options.
Product Highlights
The Galactic Down is the perfect size to drape around the shoulders or lay over the lap on cool nights spent outdoors.
The 550-fill traceable down that fills it offers more warmth than synthetic filling. It’s also more compressible and, thus, folds snugly around you easily.
This go-to outdoor blanket for low temperatures comes with a stuff sack, which you can stuff the blanket into with ease.
This makes it a great packable addition to your outdoor fire pit setup or cold-weather sleeping space.
What truly makes this camping blanket stand out is the unique galaxy-inspired design.
When you curl inside this blanket under a clear, starry night sky, you will feel one with nature, one with the galaxy.
The Good
Our favorite thing about this camping blanket is its outer-space-inspired design.
In simple words, it adds a new layer to the outdoor experience you don’t normally get with other blankets.
Plus, it’s soft, compressible, and big enough to swaddle.
It’s a down-filled blanket for the price of a synthetic one, which is the cherry on top of the cake.
The Bad
While 2.8 pounds doesn’t sound heavy, it can be when talking about blankets.
That shouldn’t be too bad in the grand scheme of things, but it should be enough for some to take notice.
Pros:
- Unique, space-inspired design
- Large enough to wrap around the body
- Down blanket for the price of a synthetic blanket
Con:
- Quite heavy at nearly three pounds
2. Pendleton Yakima Camp Blanket
If you haven’t heard of Pendleton before, it’s known for producing top-notch blankets and offering them at a premium.
Quite recently, it has developed a reputation for selling fashion accessories for various occasions, like beach days, concerts, and everywhere else you go to relax or hang out.
The brand continues its streak of memorable creations with the ultra-soft and fashionable Yakima Camp Blanket, your go-to throw blanket for the outdoors.
Product Highlights
Whether you want to disappear into the wilderness or your own backyard, the heavy-duty wool-based Yakima makes excellent company.
It can boost your camping experience in many ways.
You can use it to keep you and a loved one warm by the fire, minimize dog mess in the trailer, and bring that nice and toasty feeling inside the tent.
The blanket has a dreamlike texture and softness that makes you want to relax around it.
That’s not normally a quality you would associate with something so resilient, but this is what makes the product so unique.
Given its throw-blanket size, the Yakima comes with quite a hefty price tag.
Yet when taken care of properly, it should last you for years no matter how frequently it’s used.
Yes, you definitely get what you pay for and more.
The Good
The Pendleton Yakima’s ultra-soft texture stands out more than any other feature.
You will want to wrap yourself around its featherlike softness and drift off into dreamland.
Some enjoy it as they relax with a cup of hot cocoa while having a scintillating conversation with a friend around the fire pit.
The Bad
If you like sharing your camping blanket, this might not be the blanket for you.
It’s too small, like throw-blanket-size small, and may not offer adequate protection from the outdoor chill for more than one person.
Unless you are sharing it with a child, the blanket is ideally a solo banket.
Pros:
- Ultra-soft
- Great for various purposes
- Modern, fashionable
Con:
- Throw-blanket-size small
3. Arcturus Heavy Military Wool Blanket
If you’re looking for a camping blanket you can use for literally anything, look no further than the Arcturus Heavy Military Wool Blanket.
This essentially all-purpose blanket is one of those heavy-duty wool options you can bring anywhere and use for anything.
That’s why many people in the military and law enforcement swear by it.
It’s great for emergencies, particularly in life-or-death scenarios involving seriously low temperatures.
Product Highlights
The Arcturus military blanket is made of 80 percent wool, weighs around four pounds, and stretches to an area of eight by six feet.
It’s as sturdy as they come and built to withstand harsh environments like a bed of rocks or pine cones or damp uneven soil surfaces.
This is a blanket where literally anything goes.
Pack it up for an intense, week-long expedition to the mountains, or wrap it around you and a loved one as you warm up by the backyard fire pit.
You can also leave one in the car in case there’s an emergency that would require it.
Whatever you use this blanket for, we guarantee that you won’t have any trouble with the cleaning.
Even after an entire weekend of rigorous use, you just throw it into the washing machine, and voila! It comes out good as new again.
In fact, the blanket may even acquire a softness it didn’t have after a few washes.
The Good
The best thing about this expansive military wool blanket by Arcturus is its multipurpose quality.
When we say you can use it for almost anything, we really mean it.
No matter how intense your journey was, the blanket is bound to come out at the end of it unscathed.
You just toss it into the washing machine, and it should come out looking and feeling softer than new afterward.
The Bad
Given the material it’s made of and its size, the blanket’s four-pound weight is understandable.
That said, it’s still quite heavy and might not be the most comfortable blanket to carry around.
Pros:
- Large, warm, and resilient
- Easy to clean (machine-washable)
- Can be used just about anywhere
Con:
- Heavy
4. Horizon Hound Down Camping Blanket
The Horizon Hound Down Camping Blanket presents down at its most premium.
It oozes with warmth and envelops you in plush, puffy goodness until you drift off to dreamland.
This ultra-soft down blanket can keep you toasty during a particularly chilly night when campfire or fire pit flames don’t quite deliver enough heat.
Product Highlights
Need an extra layer of insulation in your cold-weather sleeping setup? If so, this is the blanket for you.
The Down Camping Blanket by Horizon Hound holds all the features of a pricey sleeping bag in a single camping blanket.
It’s made of tear-resistant ripstop nylon fabric, is compact and lightweight, easy to compress, and water- stain-resistant fabric.
Furthermore, the blanket is DWR-treated and, thus, capable of holding up in harsh environments.
The Good
Horizon Hound brings the premium feel and warmth of down into your backyard through the Down Camping Blanket.
This super-plush and puffy comforter adds a layer of insulation to keep you toasty on chilly nights spent outdoors.
The Bad
Horizon Hound is relatively new to the picture, so not many people trust it just yet.
Judging by how well its products work, we see that changing sooner rather than later.
Pros:
- Easy to clean (machine-washable)
- Easy to compress
- Compact and lightweight
- Super-plush and puffy
Con:
- From a relatively new brand
5. Rumpl The Original Puffy Blanket
Nothing relaxes you quite like spending time outdoors.
The problem is that a drop in temperature can change things drastically, especially when you’re the coldest one of the bunch.
It is in scenarios like this that the Rumpl Puffy Blanket becomes a literal godsend.
Product Highlights
The Original Puffy Blanket by Rumpl is a synthetic-filled, warmth-infused covering that brings love, life, and laughter to outdoor experiences.
When the chill of the night starts to overpower the warmth of the campfire, this blanket adds a layer of insulation to sustain that toasty feeling.
It also compresses to a size small enough to fit into your trunk’s hidden compartment.
Weighing a little over two pounds, the blanket isn’t too heavy to weigh you down, either.
The Original Puffy Blanket’s tough ripstop nylon is snag-resistant. Plus, its DWR finish keeps moisture from being an issue during damp early mornings.
In short, it’s built ready for any occasion.
The Good
Our favorite thing about this blanket is its strong ripstop and water-resistant fabric.
It will neither snag on your pet’s claws nor absorb moisture from the damp ground.
The Bad
For a synthetic-filled blanket, this one’s attached to quite a high price tag, which may turn off some shoppers.
Pros:
- Packs small
- Moisture resistant
- Compact and lightweight
Con:
- Expensive for a synthetic blanket
Buyer’s Guide
Not all fire pit blankets are made the same, so what should you consider when buying an outdoor blanket?
1. Weight
More often than not, a lighter blanket is preferable if you’re not doing any intense outdoor stuff.
That said, if you’re not carrying it farther than your backyard, a heftier blanket should be fine, especially if it makes up for its weight in other areas.
2. Material
When it comes to fire pit blankets, you want to make sure you get one made of 100 percent wool.
Nothing beats wool when it comes to providing warmth, as it traps air in between its fibers and repels moisture.
Fleece comes in at a close second. Cotton is a good option, too, though it may feel a bit heavier.
3. Weather
Before choosing a blanket, ask yourself what type of weather you’ll expose it to. Is it sunny, cold, rainy, or windy?
If you see that it’s about to rain and still want to spend time outdoors, you may want to pick out a waterproof blanket to help keep you warm and dry as you sit by the fire pit.
If it’s cold, go for a heavier cotton wool camping blanket that traps the warmth inside and keeps you comfortable amid the chilly environment.
4. Allergies
Some are allergic to materials like wool, polyester, nylon, or acrylic.
Make sure your chosen outdoor blanket doesn’t contain any material that could impact your skin or health negatively.
Fire Pit Blankets FAQs
1. How do I wash an outdoor blanket?
Most outdoor blankets are machine-washable, so you can just toss them into the machine and choose the lightest setting.
2. How do I dry a waterproof outdoor blanket?
Once your camping blanket is clean, toss it in the dryer and tumble dry using the low temperature or warm setting.
Make sure not to include dryer sheets in the load.
3. Is a wool blanket warm?
Not only is a wool blanket incredibly warm, but the material it’s made up of has been used to keep people warm since the beginning of time.
4. Is a wool blanket waterproof?
By trapping air between its fibers, wool blankets don’t just keep you warm. They also repel moisture.
Using a wool blanket, you can stay warm and dry even in wet situations.
5. Do outdoor blankets provide good insulation?
These types of blankets are outstanding heat insulators
It has been proven time and again how wool blankets are especially great at keeping you warm on a chilly night.
Which Fire Pit Blanket Should You Go For?
While none in our list of the best fire pit blankets will disappoint, you want to be sure your choice contains materials you are not allergic to.
If allergies aren’t an issue, you won’t want to miss out on the complete and utterly unique experience the Kelty Galactic Down Blanket provides.
It’s not just a warm, comfortable blanket to keep you dry; it is an experience in itself.
In the perfect setting—under a clear, starry sky—it could bring a kind of magic to the outdoors you never knew was possible.
