The most flexible heated blanket

Verdict

A really intelligent little bit of engineering, the Stoov Large Hug makes use of infrared heating to heat you in a managed and environment friendly means. It’s a good way to maintain heat on chilly days, whether or not you’re inside on a chair and even out tenting. First rate battery and working prices that put a sizzling water bottle to disgrace make this a superb selection for anybody.

Introduction

Irrespective of the way you do it, heating your total residence makes use of numerous energy, and you may nonetheless really feel chilly. With the Stoov Large Hug heated pad, you possibly can heat your self with this battery-powered infrared heater.

Easy to make use of, nice worth and with first rate battery life, this can be a sensible addition to any residence, however significantly for people who really feel the chilly.

Design and controls

• Alternative of two batteries
• Three energy ranges
• Mechanically cleanable cowl

The Stoov Large Hug appears very similar to every other blanket, even rolling up for simple storage and carrying round. There’s a large selection of covers, and the Large Hug is out there in normal (40 x 110cm) and XL (45 x 135cm) editions. There’s no distinction in efficiency, simply that every is designed to suit a distinct chair dimension.

Unroll the blanket, and it has two distinct sections; one is a seat, and the longer bit runs up the again of a chair and flips excessive.

Within the flip-over part you’ll discover the battery compartment, which may take one in every of two batteries. By default, you get the Commonplace Battery (2600mAh for as much as 4 hours of utilization), however there’s additionally a bigger battery (4500mAh battery, for as much as six hours of warmth). If you happen to’re going to go for the larger battery, it is sensible to purchase it on the level of buy, as you solely pay £20 further; in any other case, you should buy the usual battery for £34.99 and the larger one for £54.99.

I believe the bigger battery is value it, though it’s value mentioning which you could plug the charger into the Large Hug and use it whereas it’s charging. If you happen to’ve bought a mains socket close by, then the usual model could nicely do you.

Management of the Stoov Large Hug is straightforward. Simply press the management button on the facet to show the heater on to most energy (indicated by three purple icons, and outputting warmth at 42°C), after which hit the button once more to cycle via medium (39°C, two dots exhibiting) and minimal (37°C, one dot exhibiting) warmth settings. After only a brief wait, the heat begins to return via.

Press and maintain the facility button, and the standing LEDs gentle as much as present you the tough cost stage: three lights means it’s a minimum of 70% charged; one gentle signifies that there’s 30% or much less cost.

The skin cowl has a zipper, and is machine cleanable at 30°C; the interior electronics and heating ingredient can’t be washed.

Efficiency and battery life

• Glorious warmth manufacturing
• Good battery life
• Low cost to run

Utilizing infrared warmth, the Stoov Large Hug heats you equally to how the solar warms us. Reasonably than convection warmth, which warms the air first, infrared straight warms you. That makes the Large Hug quick and environment friendly to heat up.

As you possibly can see from the thermal photos under, the Stoov Large Hug has two heating components: one the place your again goes and one on the bottom, so that you get warmed from each instructions.

It’s a pleasing feeling that warmed my total physique. I attempted the Stoov Large Hug inside, in a cold workplace on a chilly day, and out of doors round a campfire, and it saved me noticeably hotter and extra snug than counting on heating alone.

Actually, whereas the highest heating stage was good for getting me warmed up, I discovered that always bought too heat on this setting, so dropped the extent all the way down to the mid or low setting as a substitute. Because the Large Hug is so good, I discovered that I may stay with the room set to a cooler temperature than in any other case.

Battery life is about, as Stoove states. On the best setting, I bought round 90 minutes of use, rising by an hour on the center setting and simply over 4 hours on the bottom setting. With the bigger battery, you possibly can count on the excessive setting to provide you over two and a half hours, and over six hours on the bottom setting.

With the usual battery, I discovered that it took 30Wh of energy. On the present capped fee of 27p per kWh, which means a cost prices round 0.81p. Compared, boiling a 1.5-litre kettle to fill a sizzling water bottle prices round 4.05p.

A sizzling water bottle additionally offers you no temperature management: it begins highly regarded after which cools down; the Stoov Large Hug outputs fixed warmth till its battery has run out. Because the Stoov Large Hug is so low-cost to run, it means which you could cost it 5 occasions for the price of one sizzling water bottle. That’s greater than seven hours of use on the excessive setting.

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