Moving Blankets - How to Select the Right Blanket

On our site we offer a wide variety of quilted moving blankets to choose from. We often hear a question – what is the difference? Which moving blanket is better? How do you compare to the competitors? Is there a difference between moving blankets and furniture pads?

• Moving Blanket or Furniture pad. Moving Blankets and Furniture pads mean the same thing – it’s a quilted pad or blanket that is used for covering furniture. during the moving or storage to protect from nicks, dents and scratches.

• What kinds of blankets out there? Distributors of manufacturers use different terns to describe their product. And the same term used by different seller can apply to completely different blanket. But more or less you can break them to three different categories:

o Skins – blankets that have no padding whatsoever;

o Economy – the cheapest blanket that the seller carries, usually padded;

o Premium – padded blanket, with different type of outer fabric;

• This category can consist of several types of blankets depending on weight of the blanket, outer fabric, size, and marketing preferences of the seller. ( for example they can be called Professional, Premium, Standard, Deluxe, ProWrap, Multicolor, etc.

All padded moving blankets are quilted ( Zig-Zag stitched)..

• How do you compare the thickness of moving blankets? The thickness of the blanket generally represented by the Weight per blanket. Some manufacturers use Amount of filler in Oz per yard. This is quite confusing and I will get in more details in further articles or you can go to our site and read more.

o NOTE: Imported moving blankets are usually compressed before they shipped so they look thin. But after use they absorb an air and will get thicker – it’s like pumping up a pillow)

• What type of filler is used? Blanket for moving filled with recycled cotton. Recycled cotton is not a “Pure cotton” as some distributors may tell you. It may contain all kind of fiber including synthetic, etc.

• What is the difference in durability of the moving blanket? The blanket weight or thickness of the blanket is a factor of protection of your furniture. The durability of the blanket will be determined by the outer fabric and the binding that is used to manufacture a moving blanket. There are theree major types of fabric that are used in the industry:

o Nonwoven fabric – this is man-made material that looks like it’s a pressed fabric. You will see no woven threads. This type of material is cheap and usually “Economy “ blankets are made with this outer fabric.

o Polyester or Terylene fabric - Polyester and Terylene are exactly the same material. (See our site for more details why they have different name). Polyester is very durable and abrasive resistant material – very soft and smooth. Polyester is mildew resistant very easy to wash and dry. Moving blankets with Polyester outer fabric look shiny and “slippery”.

o Cotton – cotton is more expensive material to use. Blankets with cotton outer fabric do not look shiny. They are not Slippery. They feel more … natural.

o Mixed outer fabric – some moving blankets are manufactured with variety of used fabric, which can be mixed in unpredictable combination. – manufacturer would use whatever was available. These blankets sometimes can be very rough, not flexible and can be hard in cold weather.

About the Author

Adil Aliev owns and operates MoversSupplies.com specializing in Moving Blankets http://www.MoversSupplies.com please e-mail your comments to supportart@moverssupplies.com

Quilted Padded Cotton Videos

Bebeconfort Teknic Footmuff - Kiddicare

Quilted Padded Cotton Q&A

What is the proper way to set up a bed? I want that "showroom" look!?

Okay so I bought this entire bed set. But I don't know how exactly to set it up (Order, etc.)

Here's what I bought:

2 extra-long flat sheets
2 extra-long fitted sheets
1 extra-long reversible comforter
1 extra-long thermal cotton blanket
1 extra-soft fleece throw
1 extra-long quilted mattress pad
1 extra-long egg crate pad

Here's the order:

egg crate pad
mattress pad
fitted sheets
flat sheet
cotton blanket
comforter
fleece throw

I Really, Really Want This Saddle and Need Some Thoughts/Opinions And I Have A Few Questions...?

I don't have a lot of $$$ to spend and I am on a strict budget and I have to buy other riding supplies as well. So I found this saddle I really want in the new Stateline Tack catalog. It is a Regency Close Contact Saddle for $349.99. The ad states 'Fine leather saddle features a soft, well-balanced seat. Includes saddle, bridle, bit, girth, quilted cotton pad, stirrup irons, and stirrup leathers. Ideal for show jumping (which is what I do)'. Comes in chestnut or havana. Seat sizes 16 1/2", 17", and 17 1/2" and comes in wide and regular. First of all, is this a good deal and a good saddle? Secondly, how do I figure out what size tree do I need? I never learned that. I also do not own my own horse and would be riding other people's horses. Thanks for your help!

First off, anything under $800 new isn't going to be even half decent for show jumping, and the saddle on Amazon, without the package, is $249, so the State Line Tack deal really isn't all that great. The leather won't last you long, and it might not even fit your horse well, even in the right tree size. Also, if you do go ahead, don't ride in light colored pants/ breeches for a while, because all the dye will end up on your pants until the leather breaks in. My experience with people who have had saddles from this brand has been poor, and the saddles just aren't very comfortable and don't cut it if you do a lot of riding. You will be much better off to skip over this "deal" and get a higher quality used saddle that will last longer and is already broken in.

Here is what I have bought in terms of used tack, and, clearly, these are much better deals than what you are considering (both these saddles are close contact models):
A Courbette Pandur Special (17" seat, wide tree) in excellent condition, with a box of assortments including martingales, stirrups, stirrup leathers, four girths, and two bridles, for $350. The saddle alone retailed at about $1000 new, and the actual value of the used purchase was closer to $800.

A Courbette Stylist II (15 3/4" seat, wide tree) in excellent condition for $400. This saddle retailed around $2250 new.

Obviously, it is nice to have a saddle that is your pride and joy and you brake it in all yourself, but if you want something that is going to last heavy training, be comfortable for you and your horse, and also allow you to jump at higher levels, a quality used saddle is going to be a much better deal for you, and if invest in a better brand the saddles fit a wider variety of horses without as much additional padding, because you can either adjust tree width manually (Silhouette), or change it entirely (Bates) with some models, and others (such as Courbette) have self-adjusting panels and somewhat flexible trees that conform to the horse's back. Since you will be riding other people's horses, shoot for a medium wide or a wide tree, since a horse's back should get wider with training, and you can always add more padding, but you can't make your saddle smaller. I always get wide trees because my horse's are all wide- three curlies, a warmblood, and two drafts, and the wide tree fits all of these guys. My Courbette's have only needed to have extra padding under them on two occasions- and it was on small, very out of shape, hardly ever been ridden horses that were a very rare narrow tree.