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Summary
After using the cotton YNM weighted blanket for the last three weeks, I particularly like how it has very even weight distribution due to the small pocket size for the glass microbeads. It contours well to the shape of your body, providing the relaxing hug effect they are known for. Both the internal blanket and dual-sided cover feel soft on the skin, with robust stitching to keep the beads in place.
It’s a bit too warm for me to use in addition to our normal duvet, but fine on its own. My partner really likes the warmth of the extra layer when she uses it – unless it’s a particularly hot night. So if you’re a naturally cold sleeper, or live in a cold region, you might like this one.
Pros
- 2-inch square pockets create even weight distribution.
- Good quality cotton exterior.
- The beads don’t rattle or group in the corner.
- 16 ties to keep the cover in place.
- Warm and snug feel.
- Many weights, dimensions, colours and patterns.
- OEKO-TEX certified materials.
- Affordable price.
Cons
- May be too hot for some people.
- The ties could be more strongly stitched.
- The tiny zip is fiddly.
Full review and video transcript
Below, you’ll find an almost word for word transcript of my video. I’ve made some minor edits for clarity and to make it easier to scan through.
Introduction
The YNM is the 14th weighted blanket I’ve tried out in the last 5 years, and I have to say, compared to some of the fancier brands I’ve tested, I thought it was actually pretty good value for money.
And honestly, in terms of doing the main job of a weighted blanket, which is to provide deep touch pressure stimulation and feel relaxing, there’s no real difference between the YNM and brands such as Gravity, Bearaby, or Baloo.
Where I think the difference lies is in the materials used, the quality of some of the stitching here and there, the breathability, and also the aesthetic appeal. However, there are some areas where it does really well. For example, the number of customisation options, the amount of choice that you’ve got, and also some very tight pockets to contain the micro beads.
In the photo below, you can see the packaging the blanket and cover arrived in.
The main weighted blanket section
There are several styles of YNM to choose from, but I went for the cotton weighted blanket with glass microbeads and a dual-sided cover. You can just get the weighted part if you want to save some money, but it’s much easier to clean if you use a cover.
Even though I have a king-size bed, I actually chose the 48×72 inch twin size because I’m not such a fan of massive weighted blankets. This one weighs 6.8 kilos, or 15 pounds, which is less than 10% of my body weight. Personally, I prefer a slightly lighter weight anyway, and it also means my partner, who’s quite a lot lighter than me, can use it as well. The cover I got is dual-sided, with navy blue polyester minky on one side and bamboo Lyocell on the other.
The weighted blanket itself is significantly better than a previous YNM weighted blanket I tried in 2019. The cotton exterior feels much softer to touch than that one, which is another reason you could get away without using a cover.
I was really impressed by the small pocket size for the glass microbeads that create the weight. It’s unusual for a weighted blanket to have 2-inch square pockets; many are made with 4 or 5-inch squares in my experience.
Below, you can see the small pockets of the internal weighted blanket. Each one contains lots of tiny glass microbeads and some polyester fiberfill to help them stay spread out and not accumulate in the corners. It also stops them from making noise when you move the blanket.
I found it creates very even weight distribution across the whole body, and the beads don’t bunch up in the corners, which is great because it’s very annoying when they do. The polyester fill also keeps them in place, and the blanket doesn’t make a rattling noise when you move it.
The stitching seems pretty good, though perhaps not as robust as those with double stitching, such as the Baloo. Still, I haven’t had any issues with beads escaping. And the loops to attach the cover are also strongly stitched.
Dual-sided minky and bamboo lyocell cover
Looking at the cover, the one I have is double-sided. One side has polyester minky and sensory nodes. It feels very soft to touch and my partner seems to enjoy running her hands over the nodes.
The reverse is bamboo lyocell, which is smoother, doesn’t have any nodes, and feels cooler to touch. However, I don’t think it makes much sense to say that this side is for hot sleepers because at the end of the day your body heat still has to travel through the material of the entire blanket.
The cover has ties to attach to the weighted blanket, and while the loops seem strongly stitched, the ties was the one place where I thought the stitching could have been a bit neater and stronger. This isn’t a unique problem for the YNM though, and I’ve noticed this with several other weighted blankets in the past.
On the plus side, there are 16 of them, even for a twin size, which is fantastic as it keeps the cover in place well and reduces the likelihood that they’ll tear off.
The zip to seal the cover is very thin and concealed, and it took me a while to even find which edge it was on. While a concealed zip looks neat, I found it’s a bit fiddly and can snag on the fabric if you’re not careful with it.
Cleaning
One practical point I like is that both the cover and internal YNM blanket are machine washable and can both be tumble dried too. But as I said, removing the cover and just washing that is much easier on your washing machine.
That does mean that you need to untie and tie it all up again though, which can be a slow process. I timed myself reattaching the cover, and it took just under 5 minutes. The trick is to turn the cover inside out first, lay it on top of the blanket, tie the ties, then reverse the entire thing. If you’re unsure about that, I have another video explaining the process of attaching a weighted blanket duvet cover.
How comfortable the YNM weighted blanket feels
Okay, let’s talk about how comfortable it is to lie under the YNM weighted blanket. First of all, the material feels really soft – both the internal weighted section and both sides of the cover.
The 6.4 kilo weight seems to work really well for both my partner and me. I know choosing the right weight can be a bit confusing, but I typically find a lighter weight than 10% of my own body weight works well in bed.
In bed, I really like how well it conforms to my body. I can definitely feel that sense of pressure across the entire body, which is what you need to get the hug effect. However, I can still change positions with no problem and drag it into place in the middle of the night without too much effort.
How warm it feels
My main criticism of the YNM is how warm it feels. If you’re looking specifically for a warm blanket, it’s not going to be a problem. But if you’re a hot sleeper, there’s all the polyester fill of the internal weighted blanket, the cotton exterior of that section, and then minky on one side of the cover. Even though there’s bamboo lyocell on the other side, which does feel cooler to touch initially, it does very little to mitigate the heat buildup of the entire weighted blanket.
Below, I’ve removed our duvet and am just using the weighted blanket. In colder months, or for cold sleepers, the combination of duvet and weighted blanket might feel nice and warm.
For me personally, this isn’t one that I would use all night long on top of even a moderately thick duvet because it just ends up feeling too warm. It’s fine for naps or lying on the bed without a duvet, but it’s just too warm for me with even more bedding.
My partner generally likes the warmth of this blanket, but as the summer’s approaching, even she tends to shift it to one side in the middle of the night if she’s using it on top of the duvet.
Why we use a twin size weighted blanket on a king size bed
We have a twin size weighted blanket but a king size bed and I just want to explain why. Really, the answer is quite simple. What I’ve found is that if you share a queen or a king size weighted blanket, for starters, you don’t always agree on when you want to use it.
And even if you do agree, it might be that at 3 o’clock in the morning, one of you wakes up and just feels a bit too warm or uncomfortable, and then you end up pushing it towards your partner and creating this giant wall of material in the middle of the bed.
And while that might be great if you want to stop them from invading your side of the bed so you can sleep in peace, it also makes it quite tricky to snuggle up in the middle of the night. So for me, even though it ends up being more expensive buying two individual sizes, I just find it’s much more convenient because then you can choose when you want to use it and for how long on each given night.
Customisation with the weight, size, colour, and pattern
An area where I think YNM does really well is with the huge range of customisation options, and that’s both with the internal weighted blanket and with the cover.
For example, in the UK at the moment, they range from a 36×48 inch 5 pound blanket all the way up to an 88×104 inch 40 pound blanket, with many options in between. There are also many different colours and patterns to choose from, so you can do a better job of matching it to your bedroom colour scheme than I did!
Price
As for the price, at the time of filming, the exact combination of blanket and cover I have would currently cost £139 in the UK or $95 in the US, for example, so it is a bit cheaper in the US. There are even more budget-friendly weighted blankets on Amazon, for example, but some premium brands that cost much more.
Sustainability
One area to keep in mind is that some of the premium brands, like Baloo and Bearaby, are more focused on sustainability in the materials and manufacturing process. And while it’s good that the material of the YNM blanket is OEKO-TEX certified, I’d like to see more specifics.
Note: I don’t mention it in the video, but the only specific area I could find was the label being made from recycled plastic. The YNM website has some brief words about sustainability, but no specifics on what they do exactly.
Verdict
My final verdict then is that this particular weighted blanket from YNM looks and feels good, does what a weighted blanket is supposed to do, which is obviously important, and is good value for money considering how expensive they can get.
My partner and I both enjoy using it, though we have found it’s a bit warm to use on top of a duvet. So if you’re a hot sleeper, you might want to look at a chunky knit weighted blanket instead, as they tend to have air holes. But if you’re a cold sleeper or looking for a warm blanket that will provide the relaxing hug effect that these are known for, you might like it.
I particularly like how well the small pocket sizes keep the beads in place and the fact that there are 16 ties to keep the duvet cover in place even on a twin size. And it’s great that there are so many options to customize the weight, fabric, colour, and patterns. So overall, I think this is one to consider if you’d like a weighted blanket without spending too much.
