Bottom line

Wildhorn Sand Away is one of the largest blanket we looked at, but the surprising part is how light and small it packs (approximately 1.3 lbs in a cylinder pouch of about 5.5 in diameter and 8.5 in length).With all that said, we found it to be solid value for money and a smart buy. Overall rating 95 / 100.

FunN'Sun beach towel blanket

Most of the blankets we listed are made of modern materials that are all about repelling sand, drying quickly and, in some cases, being waterproof. The FunN'Sun is different and will be the choice of people looking to stand out but still prefer the cozy feel of a towel to the parachute nylon fiber. It's top-to-bottom premium microfiber.

We did see some great microfiber blankets (we'll talk about one more in a minute) but the colors are usually not much fun. There's a reason behind that - if not treated to be color-fast, microfiber tends to bleed color (especially when greens & red are combined with white). That's why you'll see it used mostly in one color pieces or combos of akin colors, like hues of blue and turquoise.

If you want to stand out and be the talk of your beach section, the FunN'Sun will do it. It comes in two sizes (towel - 64 x 76 and blanket size - 64 x 76) and 10 vivid color combos. What we especially liked about is how color-fast it is. This aspect is usually a problem, especially in lower price ranges, since the blanket tend to bleed color.

Microfiber is a combo fabric (between polyester and polyamide) and, over the last decade, we have seen a surge of low quality fabrics on the market. We're basing this on other blanket types we've tested and reviewed over the years, but the criteria is the same.

The color-fast issue we mentioned above might not be much of an issue for one-season blankets of akin colors but if you want to get a blanket with whites included without breaking the bank. The blankets that don't bleed in the white-vivid combo are much more expensive but we've seen no significant difference in the quality compared to the FunN'Sun.

Last but not least, the FunN'Sun is one of the most popular choices among users since the range of colors appeals to beach-goes of all types and sizes, from surfers to families and couples. It has hundreds of review on Amazon - you can see them all by following one of the links below.

SportLite Extra Large

The SportLite Microfiber large beach blanket is the highest rated in the category of user satisfaction and packing size. The thin microfiber packs extremely small and, in that quality, it has no real competition - it's as seamless and as ease to carry and use as they come.

Microfiber is so popular that we have even seen some companies trying to imitate the look and feel with other fabrics (like plain polyester) and pass it as micro. In the case of a beach blanket, the first thing you'd notice with one of these is how poor the insulation from the heat of the sand or pebbles is and that it doesn't absorb water.

If the imitation of the product is well-finished you won't even be able to tell until you try to dry water from your body. If it just pushes the water around, you probably have a polyester fabric on your hand "posing" as microfiber.

Bottom line

If the blanket genuine microfiber, the quality is determined by the denier and % of material. We found the SportLite to be super absorbent and great at heat insulation from the sand.

The result came as no surprise since SportLite is known for their beach products (it's the brand that makes the official towels for the LA Lifeguard Association).

To be clear, there's nothing revolutionary about this SportLite, there are dozens of good microfiber blankets and beach throw out there. The main difference here is the quality of the microfiber and the "value for money.

We do know of similar products, but a vast majority of them costs much more than this SportLite. This brought their rating in the "Value for $" down and knocked them right out of the Top 5, making the SportLite the only bproduct among the top picks that's made of microfiber.

Kahuna Next Gen sand proof beach blanket

The Next gen by Kahuna is a similar product to the iShoyu and will appeal to people with similar taste and needs (the main advantage being the sand-proof material).

Again, the material & sand-repelling properties are similar, as you can see in the ratings below. You'll notice that we don't rate the products made of parachute nylon fiber in the category of "color-fast." That would make very little sense since the material simply does't bleed color and that's true even for product of significantly lower quality than the Kahuna.

The main (objective) PROs of the Kahuna are the drying (takes only minutes), the ability to repel sand. On the subjective side, we have to say that we prefer the triangular patterns and colors of the Kahuna, but that's just us.

Kahuna defines their blankets as "giant" or "over-sized" but there is significant difference in the size (10x9" vs. 8x8"). If the size of the IShoyu seems like too much, you'll find the Kahuna to be just right for one or two people (without folding it).

You can see what owners are sharing about it by following the links below.

Round beach blanket by Dock & Bay

The only round beach blanket on the list comes from one of the most trusted companies in the industry "Dock & Bay." It currently has by far the highest number of reviews from all the listed products.

The material is microfiber and you can choose between 10 round cross and 6 round maze patterns. Another company that was bold enough to combine colors that can bleed with whites. We already talked about the additional treatment this entails before the products can hit the stores.

Sizes: Large, Extra Large & Round (the circle is 75 " in diameter).

What stands out about the Dock & Bay is the fact that this round beach blanket is the only on the list that has a 30-day return policy and full year of warranty. We've seen no better return and warranty policy. In fact, you rarely see one at all with products like this.

Kudos for that, Dock & Bay.

Turkish beach blanket by Cacala

Turkish beach blanket is a throw made of 100 % Turkish cotton. They're light, the tight weaving leaves little room for stretching which also means they don't dry as easily as the modern material listed here.

Typically, a person getting a Turkish beach towel will know exactly what they're looking for. Th feel of the fabric is hard to explain and the closest we can get is that it resembles a slightly more rugged cotton throw.

The right weave and the color-fast cotton allow for the most expressive range of colors. Our top pick here, the Cacala Turkish beach towel, is available in 24 colors and measures 59 x 79 inches.

Most of the categories we used to rate the products don't really apply to Pestemal throws (another word for a Turkish beach towel) so we'll only reporting on the user satisfaction rating here.

Giant GO sand-free waterproof beach blanket

GO is a different product compared to blankets we talked about thus far. While parachute fabric and microfiber are designed to be quick-drying, they have no backing or layers that would be waterproof.

The material of the GO is Oxford Polyester (Ripstop), the GO offers more insulation and the moisture of the surface underneath (whether it's sand, grass or ground) practically has no chance of "breaking through". On the other hand, the top finish is still quick-drying.

The blanket is kept in place with either sand-pockets (which will be enough for a trip to the beach) or small stainless steel pegs you can use to secure the blanket even better by attaching the corner loops.

Oxford ripstop polyester is a peg stronger than parachute nylon fiber and is likely to last longer. Since it's a different type of material, you'd see the rating of "water absorbent" change to "waterproof." The ratings we reached are below.

Beach throw blanket - Seashore woven by Manual Woodworker

This beach throw blanket is probably the most stylish product on the list and will be the choice of people who prefer the luxurious woven "feel" to that or microfiber or parachute fiber.

Strictly speaking, this throw is more about the looks and feel than being water or sand-friendly, because it's all-cotton.

It's top-to-bottom US-made and we measured the size to be approximately 40 x 50 ".

User satisfaction rating: 93 %

Bottom line

This throw is in a category of its own and most of the quality ratings don't apply, so we're only reporting on its owner satisfaction rate.

You can read what users are saying about by following one of the two links below.

Reference info on choosing the best beach blanket - types & materials

Types by material used

Parachute nylon

Probably the most popular type of sand free beach blankets today are the ones made from parachute nylon. The main reason behind the trend are the sand-repellant and quick-drying properties of the materials.

The material is at the "sweet spot" between comfort, weight, toughness and longevity.

It retains color very well and doesn't change, which leaves room for using vivid colors and patterns varying from cute (soft pinks that most women will like) to and expressive for the youngsters. The nature of parachute nylon also allows for small and light packing.

Polypropylene

The main PRO of blankets made of polypropylene are the longevity and toughness. The secondary benefit is the stylish look and feel similar to that of a woven beach throw blankets.

Polypropylene is waterproof and the little water absorbed dries quickly. It's also naturally resistant to temperature changes and makes for a great insulator from the scorching heat of the summer beach sand.

Microfiber

None of the materials we talked about above compares in softness to the cozy feel of micro fibers.

It's only natural that they make one of the best beach blankets if you think about the absorbing properties of microfiber cloths. The important part here is knowing how to recognize the real thing from cheap imitations. It's one of the few materials that allows for a circle stitching to hold well and most of the round blankets are made using microfiber.

If you get that part right, you'll end with soft blanket that will last for summers with minimal changes.

Fleece and polar fleece

Because of the similar properties, fleece often plays the role of wool and offers a great substitute for those who are not fans (or are allergic) of the prickly wool fibers. It's used for beach throw blankets, especially its sub-type polar fleece.

Polar fleece is a bit more rugged and stronger than regular fleece, hence the more common use for clothes and clothes. The direction of the fibers defines the stretching - it usually stretches more along one of its dimensions (depending on the weave).

Compared to wool, it's far lighter and easier to wash and clean.

Oxford Ripstop fabric

Oxford ripstop is used for backing of waterproof beach blankets. Not only does it make them waterproof and more durable.

It's typically paired with parachute nylon on the top, making the bottom waterproof while the top remains breathable enough to dry easily, especially under the beach sun.

Cotton - used mainly for beach throw blankets

Most of us remember the days when all you could see on the beach were cotton towels. Cotton is absorbent but retains water and sand. In that quality aspect, it's fair to say that it's not as beach-friendly as other modern materials.

Today, it's used for cute beach blankets - the kind you'd use for a picnic and not rarely on its own for a full day on the beach.

More about our review process and ratings

We already talked about the basics of the methodology we use to rate the blankets, but in the section below we'll dig deeper and explain the nitty-gritty of it all - from the moment we decided to review the products to the moment we first had a list of Top 10 best beach blankets.

One of our editors is a Materials technology engineer and, in guides like this, it's usually him and a few of his colleagues (that we bring in for the project) who make the initial picks.

What are "initial picks?"

The initial picks are the products that passed the first "filter" and qualified to be looked into closer.

In this case, the broad list included over 120 products (based on user satisfaction data). The shortlist are the blankets we analyze and review in more depth. In this case that list consisted of 20 products.

For this guide we had no unscheduled testing so far.

Our review and rating algorithm is a "living" thing. That's especially true for this guide since the products and quality aspects are unique and the methodology we use to rate, say, heated electric blankets, hardly applies.

For this guide, it was back to the drawing board and the changes were more than tweaking since we had to include categories we've never used before like the blankets being "sand-free" (you might see this aspect referred to as "sand-repellent") and waterproof.

Ask us anything

If you reached our page and still have doubts about what you'll bask in for the few summers to come, drop us a line anytime (the comment section is below). We'll do our best to help.

If we don't know the answer, we'll find out and get back to you within 24 hours.

Bob, James and Katia aka. the blanket review team at TheSleepStudies

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