#HTE

Rumpl Blankets Just Got Smaller, Warmer & Adventurier

Rumpl has been making fun indoor-outdoor blankets since a successful Kickstarter campaign launched them into production a few years ago. Since then the SF company has grown from a small lifestyle brand to a small lifestyle brand with multiple offerings. The most recent release is the Down Puffy Rumpl, a lighter, warmer, and more compact version of their classic blanket, achieved using duck down. Opinions on down insulation run hot, so I chatted with co-founder Nick Polinko to hear why they took their line of water-resistant and machine washable blankets into duck country. 

C77: After solving early concerns about sourcing and CNC stitching, you guys have been really consistent with your designs. Why did you choose to make a version with such a different fill? 

NP: When we released the initial product there were two general mindsets in the industry. One is all about this synthetic, everything made from petroleum byproducts, type of insulation, the other thinks down is the only way to go. So when we launched a lot of people just assumed we were using down, but there are a lot of difficulties in working with down. A big one is the price–it’s 2 to 3 times more expensive per square, so to do a queen or king sized blanket, just materials-wise you’re often looking at a $300-$500 blanket. 

So we were like, let’s do down the way down should be done, which is all about compressibility and portability. If it’s not mobile there’s no reason for it to be down. Synthetic is cheaper, and does roughly the same insulation job, but if you’re taking this thing with you, you want it as small as possible and as warm as possible. So this version is a travel companion you don’t really think about, it’s just there, and so you end up using it 10 times more than you thought you would.

Did you know what type of down you wanted from the jump?

In the last couple years waterproof down has started becoming more approachable, and we made a decision early on to use it. There are a bunch of cool videos that show if you dump a bag of feathers into a jar and shake it, normal feathers will turn into sludge, but waterproof stuff just stays together and afloat. Being a travel blanket, where you don’t know the conditions you’re going to be in, it makes total sense to expect this blanket to get wet, and that you’ll want to use it even if it does get wet, so getting that premium in the water resistance category was a huge factor.

What were some of the limitations of working with the new filling?

We wanted to take our CNC quilting stitching to a down product, which hadn’t been done before. That was probably our biggest challenge, balancing our look and a traditional pattern. There’s a reason they’re square baffled! The exact amount of down per square is known and very controllable, and we kind of had to break those rules. The design you see now is a square baffle but all the squares kind of rotate and turn. That had to do with keeping all those baffles somewhat equal, and keeping each square evenly filled, otherwise you’re going against the insulation! You’d be fighting hot and cold spots on the blanket. It was a fun design challenge to take an equal square area and twist and bend that without changing the area per shape. That was hard: how do you make something with the same area, repeated, look unique and organic and flowing? 

Any other features you’re proud of?

The decision to use the roll-top, because it’s just one minimalist compression sack. [The blanket] is stored less compressed, which is what you want for down, since if you store it packed it’ll lose its springiness over time. The bag is designed so that it doesn’t hurt the down, but then when you want to grab it and take it with you, you can scrunch it down and go, just roll and it compresses by about 50%. It saves weight and there’s less moving parts. The whole finished product looks really tidy, plus it can clip to your backpack or car or use it as a little handle. It’ll just roll with you, which just reinforces the idea that this is meant to be picked up and carried. 

You guys pride yourselves on using tech and performance fabrics, but that’s still notably different from what people expect from their home goods and textiles. Do you think that’s likely to change?

These materials were designed for really hardcore purposes, and the end result is that they’re really good! Nylon, polyester, fleece… all these things have been tested and they’re extremely rugged. Some people might say that it might be unnecessary to use that kind of thing in the home, but we think that the things you use every day need to be durable, and have that day in day out quality. We’re all about changing people’s mentality on quality–if you’re gonna get something you want to get the thing that’s going to last, not the thing that’s going to explode or break apart. You want to enjoy it every day. 

Our superfleece is the embodiment of that. We’re taking premium fleece used in high quality jackets, and putting it into your bed blanket. Why do I need a rain-proof, waterproof bed? Well… there’s a lot of stuff that gets spilled in a bed. There’s a lot more action in your bed and everyday life than you probably realize. 

Do you have a favorite use for them?

Having a security blanket that kind of rolls with me everywhere means I’ve found a lot of uses that I wouldn’t have expected. Like impromptu picnicking, which kind of sounds dorky, but if you need lunch and don’t want to deal with a restaurant you can grab a sandwich, grab the blanket, and all of a sudden you’re picnicking! And we’re in SF where you’re at risk of being cold at any point during the day. Jeans, t-shirt, jacket, year round. 

What’s something you hope they’ll help people do more?

I think this new more portable version is going to allow people to go deeper and lighter, to take it places they might not have normally. Like if you’re trekking and don’t have a hotel for the night, maybe you end up sleeping on the beach with your blanket, and it becomes one of your favorite memories, like “We totally got shut out but we ended up partying on the beach and it was the best night of the trip!”

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The Down Puffy Rumpl (which sounds like a fancy drink) features the same 20D Ripstop nylon with DWR as the original synthetic fill design, and packs down to “around the size of a cantaloupe.” More info at www.gorumpl.com.