Soft Heat Luxury Micro-Fleece Low-Voltage Electric Heated Blanket Review

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One of the luxuries to look forward to during the cold winter months is an electric blanket. Sometimes it seems you just can’t get warm enough when the temperatures dip below the freezing point, but with the Soft Heat Luxury Micro-Fleece Low-Voltage Electric Heated Blanket, you have a better chance of thawing out after dealing with the bitter cold days and nights. This blanket comes in four different colors and is available in five different sizes, including a throw size. It can help keep you warm in bed or when you’re lounging in your living room, saving you money all the while.

If you cuddle up under this warm blanket, you likely won’t have to bump up the temperature on your heater. Like many other electric blankets, this one lets you choose among 10 heat settings, and it has an automatic shutoff and a preheat feature. There’s a lot more to this blanket, so keep reading to find out what I experienced, and what other reviewers had to say about their electric blanket from Soft Heat.

What I Loved and Didn’t Love About this Electric Blanket

An electric blanket is one of those necessities when you live in a region that gets super cold winters, but you may not realize it’s needed unless you don’t really have one. I remember my grandmother using an electric blanket on her bed during winter, and I was crawling into bed with her because it was so cozy and warm, but it was also itchy, and I could feel the wires in the blanket. Recently, I purchased this one to try out and found that it’s even better than her electric blanket.

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The Material

The material of this blanket is 100 percent polyester, which is good for your safety, as it won’t go up in flames if a wire or cord is exposed because of an accident or defect. The other benefit of polyester is that it can be quite soft. This blanket is super soft to the touch, and it doesn’t peel. I’ve had issues in the past with blankets shedding, and this one just doesn’t do that.

Thickness

This is also thick enough that I didn’t even notice the wires that are placed in between the top and bottom layers of the blanket. If I intentionally try to feel for them, I do find them, but when lying underneath it, the wires are imperceptible. That makes this a great blanket to use, even without the heating element. However, the thicker an electric blanket is, the slower it will heat up, and that’s the case with this blanket.

Preheat is Slow

The Soft Heat Luxury Micro-Fleece Low-Voltage Electric Heated Blanket takes its sweet time getting to the temperature you want it to. It can be a plus for some people, but for me, I get a bit impatient. Part of it is also because of it’s powered at 25 volt, which is much lower than many electric blankets that usually use about 120 volts. So, you get a toasty warm bed at the same cost to light a typical light bulb use. That’s a big saving on my electric bill – especially because I won’t have to turn up the heat at night. For me, this was quite warm, but not everyone had the same experience. We’ll have more on that later.

Controls

Controllers for electric blankets are quite varied. You can find some that push-button controls, and others that have dials. This one from Soft Heat has one or two controllers. Depending on the size of blanket you buy, it can have dial controls. But the usual display is digital and backlit, so you can see what the setting is even at night, but you’ll have to turn the dial up or down to adjust the temperature.

As you turn the dial, there’s absolutely no sound, which could be a pro or a con. For some, this is a good thing because you won’t wake your partner with the click-click-click sound, but for others, it means having to sit up and watch as you turn the dial to make sure you choose the right setting instead of just counting the clicks.

Cord Length

One thing I was concerned about was the length of the cords since I’ve used electric blankets before that had cords coming from the controllers but were too short to reach my bedside table. I had no issue with that with this Soft Heat electric blanket.

All the cords were quite generous in length, so I was able to run the power cable from the foot of the bed all the way up to the head of the bed (tucked under the mattress) and plugged it into the wall there. Both controllers’ cords stretched to either side of the bed with a bit of cord leftover, so I could easily place one on each side. Plus, the controllers have a non-slip surface on the bottom, so they didn’t slide all over.

Features & Benefits

Sometimes there are features that are intended to be beneficial, but not everyone sees it the same way. These are the features that Soft Heat included in this blanket which should make it an awesome purchase.

Lightweight

Although this electric blanket is a bit heavier than the others I’ve had, it’s still lightweight enough that it doesn’t overwhelm you. An extremely heavy electric blanket could feel like you’re being smothered, but that’s not the case with this electric blanket.

Soft Material

The polyester material of this blanket is safe to use with electrical wiring, and it is quite soft to the touch. The brushed micro-fleece feel of this blanket is comfortable and warm. Even without the electrical wiring, this is a blanket you may want to keep in your bed to help keep you warm. Interestingly enough, you may even find yourself petting it.

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Quiet Controls

If you buy a smaller sized blanket, like a twin, full, or throw, you only get one controller. It controls the heat for the entire blanket. For the queen- and king-sized blankets, you get two controllers, and each one controls half of each side of the blanket. That makes it easy for you to set one side warmer and the other cooler, which is helpful when you have a sleeping partner that sleeps hotter or cooler than you. The dial controls are meant to be whisper quiet, so you don’t disturb your partner late at night when you adjust the heat level. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.

Heat Settings

Like most electric blankets, this one lets you choose a setting from 1 to 10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the warmest setting. Temperature is such a subjective thing, so you may find that the low settings aren’t warm enough or too warm, even. I was quite comfortable at the low setting of 3.

Preheat Feature

There actually is no preheat feature on this electric blanket. But, you do get an on/off push button and a dial to control the heat settings. So, yes, you can preheat your bed by adjusting the controllers – you just need to turn it on 30 minutes before bedtime and adjust the heat settings to your preferred level, and later, you simply slip into your toasty warm sheets.

Auto Off

An auto shutoff feature is typically included on electric blankets for a couple reasons. One, it’s a safety feature. If you forget to turn off your electric blanket, you have no need to worry, as it will shut off on its own after 10 hours. Two, it’s a convenience since you won’t be minding to shut it off while on the bed. Additionally, this blanket includes overheat protection, so if you set the blanket at a very high setting and gets too hot, the blanket readjusts automatically, keeping it warm and not too hot.

Low Voltage

Once again, this is a two-fold feature. The low voltage of this electric blanket is meant to use very little electricity to keep your power bill low. It’s also a safety feature, so you don’t have to worry about too-high voltage running through the blanket. It’s simply a peace-of-mind sort of feature that many appreciate.

Thin, Flat Wires

Thinner, flat wires make for a flexible electric blanket that won’t be stiff, and you wouldn’t be able to feel the wires at all. Many other electric blankets include round, thick wires that are obvious in thin blankets, and they can be quite bothersome. This blanket drapes nicely over the edges of your bed, and the blanket won’t feel hot to the touch.

Five-Year Warranty

Defects happen. They’re not common, but sometimes there can be manufacturing defects. A five-year warranty ensures that your purchase is protected, and because electric blankets aren’t exactly cheap (most cost at least $100), you should be able to return this blanket if there are any issues for a repair or replacement.

What Others are Saying

Preheat

The manufacturer describes this blanket to have a “preheat and hold” feature, but that’s not quite how it works with this product, and customers have pointed that out. Preheating is simply turning the blanket on and setting it at the level you want while you’re doing your business before going to bed. Others reported that the blanket didn’t warm well enough, to begin with, but that could have something to do with the lower voltage and the amount of time you allow it to warm up.

Connection

A common issue people had with this blanket is the connection for the plug in the blanket. Many have reported that it seems flimsy. In fact, many said that the plug often comes loose and falls out in the middle of the night. Beyond that, it’s also been mentioned that the wires have also come loose in some instances.

Heating

Most users of this Soft Heat electric blanket have reported an even heating, which is important because no one wants cold or hot spots. Others, though, have said that there’s an uneven heating, leaving the middle of the blanket totally unheated, while the top and bottom of the blanket gets warm. This probably could be a defect issue.

Wire Placement

Many people want an electric blanket that heats all over, but the wires are placed just so to heat ‘most’ of the blanket. The sides, very top, and bottom areas don’t have wires in it, making it a disappointment to many users.

Length & Width

Perhaps, this is a subjective issue or has more to do with the size of your bed, but the length and width of this blanket were either perfect in most cases or too short in a handful of cases. Some people want the blanket to be wide enough to tuck into bed but doesn’t quite make the reach, while others complained that the blanket wasn’t long enough to go over the foot of the bed.

Controllers

The controllers are meant to be silent when used, but a few people noted that their controllers made noises as they adjust the heat to keep it at the level they want. For the most part, reviewers like the controllers but would prefer a push-button controller than a dial.

Defective Units

There were more reports of defects than you’d expect for this blanket, but they’re still few and far between compared to the reports of a blanket that works perfectly. Most often, the defects were related to not heating at all, heating for a short period of time, and shutting off too soon.

Conclusion

When you need an electric blanket to keep you warm in bed, you want one that works but won’t blow up your power bill. The Soft Heat Luxury Micro-Fleece Low-Voltage Electric Heated Blanket fits well over beds, heats evenly- although a bit slow, and utilizes only about 25 volts to do its job. You get to choose a color that works best for your décor, but overall it is a bit plain looking, so it isn’t quite fashionable. The feel of this blanket is soft enough, the blanket itself is lightweight, and the wires aren’t noticeable, so you may even want to use this year-round – you don’t have to plug it in.

The biggest issues with this blanket are likely the shoddy plug connection and that it heats up slowly. For the plug issue, it could be a defect, but that’s what a five-year warranty is good for. And the slow heat simply means you might want to heat your blanket up earlier in the evening to get your bed toasty warm before you call it a night. But if you’re looking for a far more stationary solution, I’d recommend checking out an alternative heated mattress pad. They’re a great option for those who prefer something to stay under the sheets and not be blanketed too much in warmth.

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