It's good to see all of them side by side, and the differences might make the decisions easier for some people based on their own needs. However it's probably worth pointing out that the "efficiency" is not quite as mentioned in the video. The efficiency of each of these is 100%, they all convert 100% of the energy they use into heat. So if one of them draws more energy, it's no more or less efficient, it's just more powerful. In reality we should be able to calculate the Watts per SqM to work out how warm each would be. This means a bigger blanket may draw more power, but actually be only as warm as a smaller blanket drawing less power. The difference is it will warm a bigger area (possibly well worth the extra size for a couple or for someone who likes to spread out on the bed). Where the power usage matters is (as you mentioned Phil) is the battery capacity. If you have a blanket that draws 4A and you run it for 10 hours, you will use 40Ah. If you have a Mercury then you only use a very small 12% of its capacity. But if someone has one of those orange batteries (LOL) then they would use about 45% of the capacity. The idea that it will warm the rooftop tent (or any other space) is also completely correct. While 50w is not a lot of heat, it's still enough to take the edge off the air and make it more comfortable. But "comfortable" temperature is entirely subjective for the individual.
Some great points you bought up Paul. Thanks for the comments, Paul. Today, winter has arrived. Woohoo. I can start testing these blankets from today. Although warmer weather back by end of week.
I glad we brought the kickass blanket the we have use in -7 temps and we have only used on the lowest temp setting and the 45 minute cutoff is a good feature as if it runs all night it’s to hot if you get cold switch it on again it heats up in a couple of minutes and the size is perfect just below our shoulders and finish’s just below my knees and only 2.4 amps winner 🏆 for me cheers mate great clip hi Terry G 🇦🇺👍
I've been using a conventional mains powered double electric blanket in the ARB swag for years. I used to run off of an 300w inverter built into my old battery box and now the bluetti. Works great, just wish I could find a fitted 12v powered blanket for the swag.
@@CamperKev it's going to depend on the blanket, though mine drew about 3.5a from the battery with one side on max and around 7a with both sides flat out.
Thanks Phil , good review . I have an Aldi blanket and works well to warm up before going to bed . I like the look of the Kickass and the idea of cut off. 👍🍻🍻
Hi Phil. The current rating of the Drifta blanket (and possibly others) is probably calculated at 12 volts. Your Lithium battery maybe charged as high as 14.2 volts, or at least in the high 13V range. This would explain the lower current draw, during your real world tests. Thanks for your review. I enjoy your channel.
I think luke has said you can put the drifta one under the sleeping bag or on top.. I think Id prefer the drifta one cause its not timed.. if you had to wake up every 45 min of the kickass one just to turn it on would be a pain.. I saw a video of a guy using one in -12c in usa and it was timed for 3 hours and he was so annoyed having to turn it back on every 3 hours. The bcf one is same as kickass except size.. the kickass is 142x98, bcf one is 150x110 out of all of them the bcf one would be the biggest i mean out of the kickass and the drifta one.. Tho one difference of the drifta one is that luke has stated the supplier advised you can hand wash in a tub with detergent as long as the power supply is kept dry.. kickass says not to wash it, and the throw one is same.
That's my fear. On the really cold nights being woken because the 12v blanket will not stay on longer than 45 minutes. The BCF blanket sounds like an improvement if it's larger. Problem it to has the 45 minute cut off.
Yeah good job Phil, nice review, but ur use of the term efficiency here is out of context for this application as PP has mentioned. I do & dont like the idea of the timer function of the Kickass blanket, but it could be very beneficial for people who dont have a decent battery supply as these blankets could use a bit if left on all night, a good solution would be a few more timer modes, ie: maybe hourly increments up to 8 hrs, along with the 3 heat settings would be gr8. A solution for using the other blanket types that are always on would be to add a dimmer control or PWM so you could trim its power usage as required so it doesn’t get too hot & uses less power overall & allows you to dial in a more precise heat range, if you ever found that the blankets are not really getting hot enough, this i where travel buddy owners can get out their 12v-15v converter and plug it in for some extra heating ability at the price of a bit more power draw. TFS. Cheers
