Editor's Note
Recently, I registered with Hubba.com as an "influencer." Basically, an influencer is someone who has built a reasonable following of a select audience demographic via some sort of media outlet. In my case, my audience is RVers, campers and outdoor adventurers and my media outlet is this blog as well as my full-time job as the editor for two trade magazines covering the RV and campground industries.
Heres how it works: I'm given access to products whose manufacturers want publicized via influencers like me. I get to pick and choose which of these products I think might be of use and interest to you. I'll correspond with the product manufacturer to get some more info, then create a posting.
Sometimes I receive product samples to review and sometimes I don't. When I do receive a sample, the postings will be labeled "Gear Review." When I don't receive a sample, the postings will be labeled "Gear Spotlight." I'll always be up front about such things, and I'll always share my honest opinion.
Gear Spotlight: Technical Picnic Blanket by Prometheus Design Werx
Let's get this out of the way right off the bat: At $189, the Technical Picnic Blanket by Prometheus Design Werx is a bit steep. And if all it was only a "picnic blanket," I would agree with you.
But the Technical Picnic Blanket (TPB) is so much more than a run-of-the-mill picnic blanket. It’s a serious piece of backcountry equipment (as an under-tent groundcover or shelter tarp) that will quickly find a permanent spot in any backpack, but it's equally useful for an RVer who simply wants a mat outside the motorhome door.
Actually, in talking with Patrick Ma, the CEO of Prometheus Design Werx, which is an outdoor gear and apparel outfitter based San Francisco, the company’s Research & Development team came up with the name of Technical Picnic Blanket with “a bit of a chuckle.”
“While there are many $40 ‘picnic blankets’ available on Amazon and big box retailers like Target and Walmart, ours is certainly heads above the rest. We used ‘picnic’ in the product name mostly as a tongue-in-cheek thing, but our product is made with premium technical and heritage materials that are far more rugged, durable, versatile, and it’s also made in the USA,” Ma told me.
What It Is
Inspired by the classic “cowboy bedroll,” the TPB is updated with modern, lighter, technical materials such as silnylon (nylon + silicone = silnylon). Its 54-inch by 84-inch footprint rolls up into a 6.5-inch by 11-inch stuff sack (that’s included), and it has six paracord tie-outs to be used as staking points for securing it to the ground (or trees, for that matter, if it's to be used as a shelter tarp).
On one side is the custom milled, lightweight yet durable, 30D nylon ripstop ground liner, which is impregnated with silicone to repel water and coated with polyurethane for extra protection against the elements.
On the other side is 14-ounce wool Melton sourced from a U.S. supplier that has been in operation since 1922. The dense, tightly woven fabric is soft to the touch and uses 15% nylon fibers to add that extra touch of durability to the 85% wool content.
The nylon side is dark green, and the wool side is charcoal gray.
“We’ve used it hiking, backpacking, overlanding, the beach, watching fireworks and meteor showers, and lining the floor of our tent when snow camping,” the product description states. “The seasoned outdoorsman knows that wool insulates even when wet and we’ve found that the weight of the wool Melton we selected to be a great balance between packed trail weight and all season use.”
Bottom Line
Sure, it’s pricy. But given its extreme durability and tons of uses – from recreational to outright survival – the Technical Picnic Blanket just might be worth every penny.
For More information
Click here to be taken to the Technical Picnic Blanket page on the Prometheus Design Werx website.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/prometheusdesignwerx
Twitter: @PDWLife https://twitter.com/pdwlife
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/prometheusdw
Instagram: www.instagram.com/prometheusdesignwerx
And here's a video review of the Technical Picnic Blanket by BlackScoutSurvival:
No comments
Post a Comment