While searching on Amazon for an unrelated item, a listing for a weighted blanket caught my eye and I was intrigued.
At the time, I didn’t know much about weighted blankets and hadn’t really heard about them before.
Our family often uses regular blankets to watch TV or to curl up with at night in addition to regular bedding and comforters.
I know my youngest son likes to have lots of blankets on him and the heavier the better, something I hadn’t really thought about or wondered why.
He already sleeps very well and solving a sleeping problem was not on my radar.
Having said that, I still thought this type of blanket was something that our family could use.
I started to research them more and found that they are an excellent way to promote a more restful sleep by simulating the feeling of being hugged.
Therapists have been recommending them for years to help with those that suffer from PTSD, ADHD, anxiety, insomnia, autism, etc.
They were gaining in popularity because it was a non-medicated way of treating one of these conditions.
I personally believe that we are an overmedicated society and any solution or assistance to a health problem that can be done without medication should be the first method chosen.
I’m not a therapist or expert, that is just my opinion.
Again, no one in my family had any of the above issues.
I was intrigued to purchase one of these blankets to simply enjoy the relaxation and sensation of having weighted pressure and to see if it actually made a difference for sleeping.
Why I Chose the Rocabi 15lb Premium Weighted Blanket
I am certainly no expert when it comes to purchasing bedding, but I did find myself heavily researching this category of blankets before I purchased.
To be frank, I researched weighted blankets so extensively that I thought it was worth creating a blog about them and thus you are reading this article today! 🙂
So how did I settle on purchasing this particular Rocabi weighted blanket you may ask?
First, I was drawn to the grey pattern of the blanket and its contemporary design.
I thought it was a neutral enough color to be used in most of our bedrooms or on our couch. It looked like a nice blanket, a color that I was drawn to.
Secondly, after going through various models shown on Amazon, I saw that Rocabi’s feedback was extremely positive and Rocabi took the time to answer many questions that customers had about the blanket.
They were thoughtfully explaining features and benefits of the blanket as well as answering every question that was being asked of them.
Lastly, it just looked so darn comfortable! The premium look of the blanket with the plush/minky feel was a big seller for me.
There were less expensive options, but I didn’t mind paying slightly more for better fabric and material that my family would find comfortable and enjoy.
My Video Review
What Weight and Size to Purchase?
In doing my research for this purchase, I learned that you should buy a blanket that weighs about 10-12% of your body weight.
If I was buying this blanket for myself I would have gone with the 20lb version, but since this was going to be used by the entire family I opted for the 15lb as that was sort of the middle ground weight that would be good for either my kids, my wife or myself.
They currently offer three different weights: 15lb, 20lb and 25lb.
With the Rocobi, it comes in a size of 60″x 80″ which is fine for one-person sleeping or for a couple of people to use as a blanket while watching TV.
Weighted blankets are meant to cover your body and not your bed.
This is not supposed to be bedding or to replace your comforter, its purpose is to be on your body during sleep.
The best way to think about it is that when the blanket is not in use it should be folded and placed at the end of the bed.
Or kept in your closet until bed time, although with the weight of these blankets I would find that would be a chore each morning and evening.
Having said that, it may be a good exercise and will do me some good to frequently move this blanket around!
Should You Buy the Optional Cotton Cover?
I didn’t, but I kinda wish I had.
Because I had never purchased a weighted blanket before, I didn’t know if I was going to like them or not so I didn’t want to add unnecessarily to the cost of my first weighted blanket purchase.
The polyester cover it comes with is really nice, plush and will work fine for most people.
The optional cover is 100% cotton and is more breathable, so it is the ideal cover to use during the Summer or in hotter climates.
So ideally you could use the minky cover it comes with during the winter and the optional cotton cover during the Summer.
I’m not positive if I can just buy the cotton cover on it’s own, so for the small upgrade in pricing I would recommend purchasing the Rocabi cotton cover with the weighted blanket as a combo.
It’s probably more cost effective as well since its already shipping with the minky blanket and included as a bundled package price.
Certainly if you are a ‘warm’ sleeper, I would highly recommend the optional cover as it’s 100% cotton and more breathable.
The inner weighted blanket is already cotton so when you have the optional cover on, your entire blanket is now cotton for breath-ability.
Keep in mind, I have not actually tried or tested the optional cotton cover so I cannot give you a recommendation or feedback on how it feels or works.
Unboxing
The box arrived within a couple of days of ordering and the first thing I noticed was how large the Amazon box was! Did I order some super huge blanket?
Funny thing is you know you’ve ordered a weighted blanket, but it doesn’t really sink in until you see the box labelled ‘heavy’ and you go to pick it up and you realize – yeah, that’s at least 15lbs all right.
What was really puzzling to me, and only Amazon would know this, is why they shipped the actual product within a much larger box – like a substantially larger box.
It’s irrelevant to this review, I just found it curious and was wondering what the reason would have been.
Were these boxes specifically more sturdy to handle heavier items? Is it easier for delivery? We may never know.
The actual product box was just the right size and opened up fairly easily.
Inside was the Rocabi weighted blanket encased within a branded carry bag which I thought was a nice touch.
It kept the blanket nicely contained and was super simple to pull out of the box.
The best part was that I didn’t have to discard more packaging – i.e. no plastic wrapper or bag to throw out.
Upon first opening up the carrying case I could see the blanket was nicely folded into the carrying bag and you could see the nice raised plush fabric – sort of looked like raised dots throughout and was super comfortable to touch and feel.
I couldn’t remember when I purchased the blanket if this plush minky raised fabric was supposed to be the inside or the outside?
After thinking about it for a few minutes and unfolding it I realized that it was supposed to go against your body and be on the inside, which made sense.
Once I was able to see the exterior of the blanket, I thought the pattern looked really nice up close.
It had some geometric thing going on with triangles and such that actually looked pretty cool and was pleasant to the eye.
I was still amazed at the weight of it.
The 15lb blanket was the lightest option they sold and you could get them in 20lb and 25lb models so I could only imagine how heavy that box would have been!
Earlier in this article I explained the weight options in more detail and what I learned about choosing the right weight.
First Impressions
I like the fact that it came right out of the box ready to use.
For those who are fussy you could throw it into the wash before using it, but I really didn’t care about that as it smelled clean and new for my liking.
Note, you are supposed to bow tie the inner weighted blanket to the outer cover.
There are six points at which they tie together so that the inner blanket doesn’t shift around and keeps nicely within the cover.
I didn’t bother doing this originally, but once we washed the outer blanket I made sure to tie it correctly.
There are clear instructions on the Amazon product listing which show you how this works.
Right away you realize how heavy this is compared to a regular blanket.
It’s actually a chore to move it around and may be difficult to lift for some people, although once you have it in your bedroom of choice chances are you aren’t moving it much.
It does have an immediate feeling of quality to the blanket. It’s very soft and looks as good in-person as it does on the product images online.
While it didn’t occur to me immediately, I did eventually find that it was two pieces.
The interior is the weighted blanket with the sewn in pockets while the cover could zip off and be removed for washing as required.
The weighted blanket inside the cover is actually very nice on its own as it sort of looks like a quilted blanket.
It feels like a normal blanket as well, but as I understand it, you are not really supposed to wash the interior blanket very often. Best to keep the cover on it.
My Family’s Reaction to the Blanket
I think everyone’s reaction was – wow that’s heavy. We only purchased the 15lb model, so I can only imagine the reactions to the 20lb or 25lb blanket.
My son immediately gravitated to it (no pun intended) and was the first to ask about trying it out.
Everyone remarked about how soft it felt and that it was more attractive than they were expecting.
I hadn’t really shared pictures of the blanket with them, I had just told them that I had ordered the blanket.
No one had really seen a weighted blanket before, so this was definitely a new experience.
First Night
My youngest son used it the first night (he’s 10 years old). At first I wondered about the weight ratio being too much, but it didn’t bother him at all.
He tends to sleep with fleece pajamas in the winter, so after about 15 minutes underneath the blanket, he realized it was getting way too hot.
He changed into cotton pajama shorts and shirt and voila, perfectly comfortable and happy.
The next morning he said that he had an excellent sleep and barely moved.
The blanket didn’t come off and the extra weight was not an issue. He was interested in using it again.
Second Night
This time my other son (13) used it for the night. His experience with it was not positive…
He was more curious than anything else, but since he was close to the end of his bed the entire night and tends to be a kicker, he had the blanket slough off on many occasions and was frustrated with it.
I would recommend that if you’re going to use a weighted blanket, you need to sleep in the center of your bed or away from the sides.
The blanket needs to rest on each side of your mattress so its not falling off the side.
My Overall Opinion After Many Nights
It’s an excellent blanket and I am impressed with how comfortable it feels when sleeping with it.
No one in our family really needs a weighted blanket for therapy reasons, however, it can certainly enhance your sleep comfort.
I can attest that it’s enjoyable to have on your body and is probably liked most by my youngest son who has been sleeping with it every night since we got it.
The quality of the material and its soft plush feel is what I like most about the blanket.
I do highly recommend this Rocabi model if you are looking at purchasing a weighted blanket.
So, What Actually Makes the Blankets Heavy?
The Rocabi’s inner shell/blanket has quilted squares that house these polythene pellets.
They are sewn into the fabric within quilted squares which evenly distributes the weight.
This is actually pretty ingenious because the pockets ensure that the pellets can only go as far as the square they are sewn into, so the weight is spread out evenly over your body giving you that feeling of being hugged.
You can’t feel the pellets as they are very tiny, so you really don’t know that they are in there except for knowing that the blanket is heavy.
You can hear them move around when you move the blanket, but the noise is very faint. It kind of reminds me of a bean bag chair, but is much quieter than that.
What Does Minky Fabric Mean?
Minky fabric is 100% polyester plush fabric that is similar to fleece but softer and thicker.
It gets its name from the feel of real mink (I’ll take their word for it!) and is as soft as cashmere. Think baby blankets and accessories that are super soft to the touch.
Minky fabric is an ideal material for sensory blankets and the inner dots on the blanket help with this sensory as well as look great.
It will be interesting to see how this material holds up with long-term use.
Washing the Rocabi Blanket
If you use your weighted blanket frequently, then you’ll want to wash the cover regularly as you would if you were using a comforter on your bed.
It’s fairly straight forward to unzip the outer cover and remove the inner shell.
When you’re doing this for the first time, you don’t need to untie anything as it comes untied from the factory.
Rocabi states that both the inner blanket and outer cover can be washed on cold, however, they only recommend you wash the cover regularly – not the inner blanket.
This makes sense as the inner blanket is the one that holds all the weight and you shouldn’t need to wash that very often when you have a cover protecting it.
Once you’ve washed the outer cover, I would recommend that you hang to dry on a rack instead of using a dryer.
There is nothing to say you can’t use a dryer, however, I tend to be more cautious, especially with this minky type fabric.
I’m sure it would be fine, but to make the cover last longer I would recommend hang drying.
Conclusion: What I Liked and Didn’t Like About This Blanket?
Overall I am very impressed with my first weighted blanket purchase and I was happy to buy this Rocabi model.
You need to be aware that this blanket can fall off easily if you are a kicker at night or you’re using it close to the end of the bed.
The extra weight of the blanket gives it momentum if its not balanced on your body and it can begin sliding off if you’re not careful.
This would happen with any weighted blanket and is not a criticism of Rocabi.
It would have been nice for the optional cotton cover to come with the base purchase as I think most people will want this during the Summer months.
I do understand that listing it as an optional combo is probably important for the price point when marketing this blanket against its competitors.
If you’re someone who gets hot at night sleeping, the optional cotton cover is an absolute must.
In conclusion, I believe this product is a solid option for a weighted blanket and most will be happy with this purchase.