Weighted blankets: Gravity versus Baloo

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When I went over to my sister Shelbys house I was in awe of her weighted blanket. The duvet cover was soft, the blanket itself was thin, it covered her queen-sized bed and when I was underneath it watching television shows it felt so soothing and comfortable. Her weighted blanket was a Gravity blanket, click here. I had heard of the health benefits of a weighted blanket and from personal experience know that I sleep better if I have a heavier comforter on top of me.

Fast forward, I finally had the money to buy a weighted blanket but something inside of me was saying, “make sure it is organic, etc.” even though I really liked hers and should have just bought it. Yet, through this search, I found Baloo weighted blankets, click here. They also had the most beautiful linen duvet covers in a variety of colors (I love linen!). Instead of asking my sister where she got hers and looking at the specs I just bought the Baloo weighted blanket and linen duvet cover. When I received the items I was disappointed because I had bought the size that fit my bed, which is full, but the blanket itself did not cover the surface area of the top of the bed and it did not drape over the sides even slightly, as hers did. After calling Shelby and telling her the issue I sent it back and received one that was a size larger than my bed, a queen. The blanket still did not drape over the sides but it at least covered the surface area of the bed (see pictures below). The duvet cover has tie-offs at the corners and sides for the blanket but not many (see pictures below), which made it sag a little and makes it difficult to get the actual weighted blanket on top of you. I understand it is linen and it looks better when it is draping but in this case, I just think the blanket is too much weight for the linen and/or they need more tie-offs.

Now, on Baloos website they tell you how much weight you need for your weighted blanket, which I appreciated. I listened to my sister in spite of the website’s information and got the heavier blanket instead of the lighter one. This made it very hard to move around under the blanket and to maneuver the blanket around the bed. I was wondering why she said what she said, it was because on the Gravity website the Queen/King ( that is the only size dimension for the blanket she had), it said that the blanket was 35 pounds. I realized that due to the construction of the duvet cover, it has zippers on three sides, tie-offs and buttons at the bottom with a zipper for the outside cover ( wow, I know it is fabulous!). The weight is more evenly distributed and does not feel as heavy as mine does when you are laying underneath it (see pictures below). This is HUGE! because as anyone who has ever owned a comforter and placed it inside of a duvet knows, that task can be quite frustrating especially when you are adding 20-30 lbs. to the mix. The zippers and fasteners on the Gravity blanket make this process much more efficient than Baloo.

So after a month of struggling with mine, I bought a queen/king Gravity weighted blanket on Black Friday. I love the construction of the duvet cover and the blanket, the weight is way more evenly distributed (see pictures below). The only drawback is that the duvet cover for this size only came in three colors, I chose grey which is fine, it will be covered up by my comforter anyway. It is important to note that both of these brands are non-toxic, even so, I washed my duvet covers before use. All weighted blankets do not drape over the sides as a regular comforter does so you do need a comforter on top to cover your entire bed if that is the look you are going for. I hope this helps with decision-making processes.

Now, if you are looking for a low-cost weighted blanket fo the couch, or your office, etc. there are many on Amazon!

Above: Gravity Weighted Blanket

Above: Baloo Weighted Blanket