The 9 Best Travel Blankets

Red-eye flyers who want real warmth from a bag the size of a water bottle should start with the Rumpl Travel Puffy. It's a quilted blanket with synthetic fill made from recycled plastic, and a clip lets you wear it like a cape. It goes in the washer and carries a three-year guarantee. Rumpl made it for planes, trains and cars, not cold nights outside, and it covers your lap and shoulders rather than your whole body.

For a cheap, soft blanket that rides on a rolling suitcase, the EverSnug Travel Blanket covers the basics. The plush fleece folds into its own zippered cover, which becomes a soft pillow, and a sleeve on the back slides over a luggage handle. It's long enough to tuck around a seated adult. Fleece doesn't squash down, so it takes a lot of room in a small bag, and the pillow cushions without holding up your neck.

Insulated pockets for your feet keep the Gravel Layover in place when you doze off in a seat. Snaps let you wear it around your neck, a zip chest pocket holds a phone or earbuds, and it stuffs into a small sack. InsideHook's writer took it on long flights and road trips and found it warm down to about 50 degrees. The price is steep, and its measurements differ from one seller page to the next.

The KingCamp Ultralight Blanket brings the puffy style to campers on a smaller budget. A ripstop nylon shell with a water-repellent coating wraps a synthetic fill, and snap buttons turn it into a shawl you can wear around camp. It's roomy enough to share or use as a picnic mat. It rolls up bigger than a water bottle, so it suits a duffel or car. No outside reviewer has measured its warmth yet.

Hot sleepers and warm-climate travelers get a light layer from the Cocoon CoolMax Travel Blanket. The thin knit pulls sweat away from skin and dries fast, so it works over a questionable hotel sheet, on a stuffy flight or around your shoulders on a breezy evening. It stuffs into a small zip sack that slips into a daypack, and it can go in the dryer on low heat. On its own, it won't keep you warm in a chilly cabin.

Flyers who want a blanket and pillow in one pouch, without much weight, can look at the Pavilia Travel Blanket Pillow. Its cover has two zippers, so stuffing the fleece back in goes quickly, and a strap that comes off clips it to a suitcase handle or a bag. Everything goes in the washing machine. The fleece is thin, so it suits a cool cabin more than a cold one, and tall adults may find it a little short.

Wear the Tirrinia Wearable Blanket like a poncho: the fleece wraps your shoulders, and pockets at the bottom hold your feet. A zip pocket on the front keeps a phone handy, and the blanket packs into an attached pouch that doubles as a pillow. The mink-style fleece feels soft and warm on a long ride. The trade-off is bulk, since it's heavy for a carry-on and wears more like a robe than a light layer.

Road trips, tailgates and campsites call for something tougher, and the Arcturus Military Wool Blanket fits that job. It's mostly wool, which stays warm when it gets damp and shrugs off rough use, and it's big enough to cover a twin bed. Unlike many wool blankets, it can go in the washing machine. Wool can feel scratchy on bare skin, and the weight and bulk keep it in the trunk instead of a carry-on.

Picnics, beaches and park concerts are what the Matador Pocket Blanket 4.0 is built for. It's a thin, water-resistant sheet that folds down to deck-of-cards size. Corner pockets fill with sand and loops take stakes, so it stays put in wind, and it seats a small group. It adds no warmth, and the slick fabric takes practice to fold back into its pouch on a breezy day.