After seeing our heating bills for December and January after daring to put the heating on for a couple of hours a day, we’ve knocked the thermostat right down and are doing things the old fashioned way - hot water bottles, candles and the all-the-rage oversized hoodie blankets that continue to take the nation by storm.
I’ve grown quite the collection of these over the past 12 months, including an affordable Dreamscene one that’s only £13.99 on Amazon, as well as a weighted one from Online Home Shop, retailing at £26, which I wear in rotation with my snuggly dressing gown.
But quite often I’ve still found myself feeling the cold, and wondered if these sherpa fleece wearable blankets are a matter of ‘you get what you pay for’, with some brands costing up to £100. And I think you probably do.
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Last weekend, I went on a Valentine’s getaway with my partner to a Western themed log cabin in Lincolnshire called Deadwood Cabins. While I knew they had a log burner and some electric heaters, I really hate being cold, so I packed my new Kudd.ly oversized hoodie blanket to ensure I’d be nice and snug while we binge watched the latest season of You on Netflix.
Kudd.ly oversized hoodie blankets come in nine different colours or patterns, and their one-size-fits-all design will fit anyone from the age of 10, up to a 6XL. They aren’t particularly cheap, retailing at £89 - which is a similar price to most Oodie’s, the brand’s closest competitor. However, I couldn’t believe quite how brilliant it was until I put it through its paces.
Made with a breathable MicroCool teddy fleece exterior and a soft sherpa fleece interior, the hoodie has quite a bit of weight to it and is much thicker than the others I own, feeling plush and cosy. I ordered the grey one, which is adorned with white stars that have a cool secret feature that I only discovered days after returning from our stay.
At the cabin, the temperature was around 6 or 7 degrees, so during the day, we’d had the open fire roaring. As night fell, I got into my pyjamas and my Kudd.ly, settling down to watch Joe Goldberg - or Jonathan Moore - continue his mission to find ‘You’.
The Kudd.ly blanket was insanely warm, so much so that we stopped throwing fuel onto the fire and let it die out. It was extremely toasty and there was no need for the additional heating.
Naturally temperatures dipped throughout the night and the residual heat from the fire was long gone by morning, but I made my morning cuppa and went to sit on the decking, and was still super snug both indoors and out in the Kudd.ly.
As well as being thicker and warmer than alternatives I’ve tried, the front pocket is also much larger than its rivals, and is perfect for movie night, fitting in tonnes of snacks. Kudd.ly said: “The pocket is so big, you could even carry your cat in it (though we don’t recommend it unless your cat is actually a baby kangaroo).”
Days later, after wearing the Kudd.ly oversized blanket around the house, I hung it up on the back of my bedroom door and switched the light off to get into bed, and initially thought my eyes were tricking me - but with this particular design, the stars actually glow in the dark, which I thought was a really cool ‘hidden’ feature that kids would find particularly fun.
The Kudd.ly has fast become my weekend uniform - in fact, I’ve barely had it off my back, which has done wonders for my heating bills since I’ve not had to touch the thermostat all week.
While the Kudd.ly hooded blanket is more expensive than alternatives on the high street, it’s a cut above the rest when it comes to quality, and not only kept the cold at bay, but genuinely kept me toasty and warm. It’s the perfect combination of a pullover and my favourite throw blanket, and just goes to prove that sometimes, you do have to pay a little bit more for the extra benefits.
If you fancy trying Kudd.ly for yourself to try and keep your heating bills down while staying cosy in the house, you can shop the oversized hoodie blankets here.
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