The electric blanket isn’t exactly a “high tech” gadget, but Stoov’s take could just change that. Is the Stoov Big Hug the warmth you need on cold days and nights?
A sizeable blanket made to loosely sit over a chair, Stoov’s Big Hug feels like it would be the evolution of the electric blanket. Battery Heating Blanket For Camping
It’s soft and friendly. It’s almost the sort of thing you would throw over yourself to keep warm, except it’s not a standard electric blanket with heating element wires inside.
Rather, the Stoov Big Hug (and Big Hug XL) are fuzzy rugs of sorts that can be placed over a chair and warmed using infrared heating to warm the body directly, as opposed to the space around the heater. They come in difference sizes, with the Big Hug being 40x110cm, while the larger Big Hug XL is 45x135cm.
Two battery options are offered for either model: a small 2600mAh and a larger 4500mAh battery, essentially providing between 1 and 3 hours of heat or between 3 and 6, respectively.
Editor’s note: for the purposes of this review, we’re looking at the Stoov Big Hug XL with the 4500mAh battery. The Big Hug and Big Hug XL are practically identical, except for the size. They’re both designed to keep you warm on a seat, but one is bigger than the other.
Heating is the name of the game, and Stoov’s aim is to warm you up from the bottom and back out, doing so with infrared heating. In a blanket, this approach makes sense because you should feel the heat when it’s powered and switched on, and when you’re sitting on or against it.
Stoov’s approach here uses carbon fibre for the infrared heating element, with two heating elements in the Big Hug and Big Hug XL: one where the back goes and one where your bottom sits.
We received the Big Hug XL as the temperature began to fall, but in the past few weeks as the crisp cold temperatures of winter truly set in, our ability to review (and subsequently rely) on this gadget has increased.
To make it work, you basically charge the battery, plug it in, and drape the Big Hug over a chair, powering the whole thing on with the physical power switch. Inside the label of either Hug model, there’s a push button that lets you jump between one of three heating settings, with three dots being the warmest and one being the least aside for “off”.
Select one and the Big Hug will warm up the infrared heating element on the inside, providing a light cushion that warms up, and may provide enough heat to help you weather even the coldest nights.
Grab a charged battery and you’ll be able to use the Big Hug remotely for a few hours, but you can also plug the Hug into a wall plug and go without the battery. If you sit next to a desk all day in a cold, cold office, you may take this option, as it keeps your proverbial toasty all day long. Easy.
And warm it gets: sitting outside in the cold while having a nice cuppa or even an adult beverage or two, there’s only so much warmth you can get from drinking, or even holding your bevy.
The different settings heat at different levels; at its hottest with three LEDs, you’ll find a maximum of 42ºC, while the mid-setting maxes at 39ºC and the lowest at 32. If you like it warm, the three dots is what you’ll be going for, but you may find yourself switching the settings when you’re all good and toasty.
Stoov’s Big Hug ensures your back and backside are comfy in the cold throughout. It may mean easing back on the excess clothes you need for bundling up.
There are things we’d definitely do to improve the Big Hug, though, and one of them is the charger.
What neither you nor the world needs now is another port that isn’t USB-C. And what Stoov offers is exactly that: a charge pack without USB-C.
Granted, it’s just a small circular port that could provably be easily replaced by a visit to an electronics hobbyist store, but that isn’t the point.
We have USB-C replacing every common port now and have had for several years. It can be high power and certainly serves the 18W needed for the Stoov Big Hug/Big Hug XL, and yet there’s still an awkwardly un-standard charge port here. Boo.
Possibly the one obvious negative is the price: from $239, the Big Hug XL isn’t cheap for what basically amounts to a portable electric blanket. There’s more going on than it being just and electric blanket, but not much more. The slightly smaller Big Hug makes its case a little easier, priced from $204, which feels a little easier on the wallet overall.
Stoov’s Big Hug is like an electric blanket in principle. The practicality is that it comes off less risky than an electric blanket; the technology includes an 8 hour maximum use timer, sensors for overheating protection, a thermostat, and because the heating element relies on infrared heat, it doesn’t feel quite like any other electric blanket.
In theory, it’s like an electric blanket. The practical nature of the Stoov Big Hug is that it’s about the best and most modern take of an electric blanket we’ve seen yet.
That being said, it’s still quite pricey, particularly given that any other electric blanket runs for between $30 and $80, while the Stoov is practically three times the cost. It’s a whole lot more mobile, but the battery you buy tends to push that cost even higher; opt for the large battery with twice the power and you’ll add $40 to the cost.
The price is a dilemma, for sure, but the result is still pretty special: a luxurious way to stay warm during colder days and months.
The Stoov Big Hug is the electric blanket made modern and a real treat. A little on the pricey side, but a great way to stay warm when you’re outdoors. Recommended.
Dual Control Heating Blanket Leigh :) Stark is an award winning technology journalist with over 16 years of experience, having appeared at the Financial Review, Popular Science, GadgetGuy, and on TV, radio, print, and web.