YETI Lowlands Blanket - Water-Resistant Outdoor Blanket with Carry Bag for Camping, Picnics, Beach & Travel - Perfect for Backyard, Tailgating & Sports Events

Listen, I get it. It's a $200 blanket. How could it possibly be worth it?I had been searching for the better part of a year for the perfect picnic/camping blanket and had ordered and returned 3 different brands before I finally decided to give Yeti's crazy expensive product a try. Here's how it stacks up against the competitors.- The fabric on the "blanket" side is superior in every way. It is soft and comfortable, but durable. It's more or less waterproof itself, and wicks away moisture when someone spills on it. It stays clean, and everything from dirt to dog hair is easily brushed away. I don't know what magic fabric they chose for this side of the blanket, but it's perfect. Oh something stained it? No sweat. Spot treat the stain and throw the whole thing in the wash. Boom.- The waterproof cloth on the underside of the blanket is a miracle. It's pliable like the blanket fabric and seems to be woven out of some ingenious tech material that feels simultaneously thick and impenetrable yet also loose and flexible. It makes the entire product feel like a single, solid heavyweight unit instead of two incompatible materials bolted together. Many competitors felt like a tarp and a cheap felt blanket poorly sewn at the edges...see below.- It seems obvious that when combining the two materials you would want them to feel like one cohesive blanket, but all the other budget options struggled to achieve this. The fabric part of their blankets would separate from the waterproof part and you would end up with a jumbled mess. The Yeti blanket has stitched together the fabric and waterproofing sides across the entire body of the blanket. You can see this stitching on the diamond thread patterns across the fabric side. They keep the product feeling sturdy and durable. No jumbled messes here.- The carrying case is wonderful. It's made out of what feels like the same material as the waterproof side of the blanket and has a great strap that is easy to sling over your should when carrying it to the park. The zipper opens the bag WIDE which makes fitting it in easy. There might be a correct way to fold the blanket but I never have to worry about it. Just get it folded or rolled to the length of the bag and stuff it in. There's plenty of room.I might be able to go on about this but I'll stop there. This is the perfect picnic blanket. Period. If you are a bougie idiot like me who can afford to spend $200 on a blanket, don't skimp. It's actually worth it.