What Is an Ice Blanket, and Do You Need One

You set the AC to 22. By 2am you are cold. You switch it off. By 4am you are awake again, too warm, kicking the duvet to the floor.

Most people in the UAE know this night. An ice blanket is made for it. Here is what it is, what it is not, and how to tell if you need one.

What an ice blanket is

An ice blanket is a very light blanket made to feel cool rather than warm. It covers you without holding heat against your skin.

The number to look at is GSM, grams per square metre. It tells you how much fabric you are sleeping under. Ours is 135 GSM. A heavy winter blanket is often 300 GSM or more. So an ice blanket is less than half the cloth, and you feel that the moment you pull it up.

It is not a gadget. There is nothing to plug in, fill or freeze. It is fabric, chosen and finished to stay light and let air through.

What it does, and what it does not

It gives you the feeling of being covered without the heat of a duvet. For many people that is the whole problem solved. They do not sleep hot. They sleep over-covered.

It will not cool a warm room. If the AC is off and the windows are shut in August, no blanket will fix that. Think of it as the right layer for a cooled room, not a replacement for one.

Who it is for

• The one who sleeps hot. You wake up with the duvet on the floor most mornings.
• The couple who disagree about the AC. One of you under a duvet, one under an ice blanket. Both asleep.
• Anyone who cannot sleep uncovered. Some people need something over them, even in July. This is the lightest way to have it.
• The afternoon nap. A throw on the sofa that does not leave you damp.

If you are always cold at night, this is not yours. Look at a plush blanket instead.

Ice blanket, summer duvet or just a sheet

These three get confused, so here is the difference.

• A flat sheet alone is the coolest option. But it is thin enough that many people feel uncovered and wake when the AC cycles.
• An ice blanket is the step up. Enough body to feel like a blanket, light enough that heat does not collect under it.
• A summer duvet has a filling. It traps a layer of air, which is exactly what you want in January and not what you want in June.

A simple test. If you fall asleep covered and wake up uncovered, you are over-covered. Go one step lighter.

Which size to order

• Throw, 50 × 60 in (about 127 × 152 cm): one person on a sofa. It will not cover a bed.
• Single, 66 × 92 in (about 168 × 234 cm): a single bed, or your own side of a shared one.
• Double, 90 × 92 in (about 229 × 234 cm): a king bed, two people.

If the two of you sleep at different temperatures, order a Single each. It ends the argument.

How to use it through the year

May to October: on its own, over a flat sheet, with the AC on. This is what it was made for.

November to March: as the layer under a light duvet. You get the weight of the duvet and a cool, smooth layer next to you. On the nights you wake up warm, push the duvet down and keep the blanket.

The sheet underneath matters as much as the blanket. A cool blanket over a heavy sheet does half the job. Our Tencel Cooling bedding pairs well with it.

The short answer

If you sleep hot, or you share a bed with someone who does, an ice blanket is the simplest thing to try first. It is one layer, it weighs almost nothing, and you will know on the first night.

See the Ice Blanket in three colours: Cool Mint, Chill Pink and Stone Cold. Delivery across the UAE takes 2 to 4 business days, and you have 30 days to exchange it.

The Linen Company New York. Three generations, one family, since 1990. From our family, to yours.