Everybody in our office weighed in…
Endless research has proven that weighted blankets, such as Bearaby’s 100% Organic Cotton Napper, trigger pressure points to prompt the release of serotonin (the happy hormone, precursor to melatonin) and a subsequent decrease in cortisol (the stress hormone) to ease anxiety, stress, and support people with a slew of other diagnosable conditions. All that’s required is snuggling up!
Two industry leaders, Bearaby and Silk & Snow, have risen to become the cream of the crop. The only question left is which weighted blanket to choose? …We’re here to help.
Meet the Contenders
Our team has kept up with Bearaby for several years now. The brand started with its legendary weighted Napper blanket, but has since expanded to plush weighted stuffed animals, whimsical engaging Hugget pillows, a therapeutic Warmables collection, and more.
Bearaby was founded by Kathrin Hamm in 2018 after she had a borderline euphoric nap under a weighted blanket. Since then, Bearaby weighted blankets have been praised by celebrities (e.g. Olivia Rodrigo and Mindy Kaling) and publications (i.e. New York Times and Women’s Health) alike for their impressive functionality, aesthetic design, and sustainable production methods.
Then, we have Silk & Snow. Established in 2017 by co-founders Albert Chow and Kenneth Mo, the company carries a variety of bed-related products, from nightstands and bedframes to mattresses, sheets, and towels. Their range is impressive, but left us wondering whether a lack of specialization might impact their individual products. Only one way to find out!
After some research, we decided to order Bearaby’s best-selling weighted Cotton Napper in Evening Rose (20lb) and Silk & Snow’s Hand Knitted Weighted Blanket in Tempest Blue (20lb). Equal weights allowed our team to focus on comparing what we like to call “The Big 4”: quality of materials, feel, price, and customer experience.
Materials: Bearaby
Both brands boast the OEKO-TEX® Standard 100 certification, which confirms the absence of harmful chemicals or synthetics. Silk & Snow tauts the word “natural” but never “organic,” whereas Bearaby makes their organic materials impossible to miss. From what we saw, this was an understandable distinction to stress—Bearaby’s cotton is 100% GOTS-Certified and Fairtrade International Certified.
Try as we might, we couldn’t uncover any elaborations on Silk & Snow’s natural cotton. The absence of further description ultimately made Bearaby the crowning winner of this category.
Winner: Bearaby
Feel: Bearaby
The optimal weighted blanket is strong enough to support its namesake weight, and to feel (and look) good while doing so. At first touch, the Bearaby Cotton Weighted Blanket was buttery soft with durable, smooth loops of cotton fabric. Their 100% organic cotton is prewashed for extra softness, so it’s got the same appeal as a hearty vintage T-shirt that’s been broken in for you.
While testing their heft and resilience, it was difficult not to notice that the loops of the Silk & Snow blanket were definitively thinner than those of Bearaby’s blanket, so much so that lifting the blanket with one hand quickly plied it out of shape. The result was similar to that of a hand-knit garment you wear gingerly (if ever) for fear of damaging it. For a blanket designed to ease worries, this was a disappointing caveat.
Bearaby’s blanket was thicker and, despite being the same weight, felt sturdier. This may be due to the fact that the Bearaby blanket measures slightly smaller and, by extension, is heavier per square inch compared to the Silk & Snow (the sizes are 45” x 72” and 51” x 72”, respectively, for their 20lb blankets). Any blanket thrown on the couch for communal use has to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use… and we weren’t as confident about the Silk & Snow blanket’s ability to do so.
Although the Bearaby Cotton Napper and Silk & Snow Hand Knitted Weighted Blanket appear to have the same knit design, we also learned that Bearaby’s is a patented, proprietary pattern. It felt pretty significant that Bearaby’s approach to “knit” was met with such enthusiasm that they had to stake a permanent claim over the innovation (!) to avoid copycats.
Between the impressive strength and sumptuous aesthetic of Bearaby’s Cotton Weighted Blanket, our team ultimately decided they took this category.
Winner: Bearaby
Price: Silk & Snow
We’re all thinking it: just how much money is reasonable to shell out for a quality weighted blanket? The Bearaby Cotton Napper runs from $199 to $299 in price. Silk & Snow’s Hand Knitted Weighted Blanket, on the other hand, starts at $150 and ends at $260. The blankets we purchased cost $279 and $245, respectively.
Though slight, the $34 difference was worth noting. The more money we save, the happier we are! Silk & Snow nabbed this category.
Winner: Silk & Snow
Customer Experience: Tied
Bearaby offers free Fast Shipping on orders of $50+, and all Silk & Snow orders ship free. For our (weighted blanket) purposes, this meant that both orders shipped free. Love to hear it!
Both brands also offer 8 colors to pick from, which we appreciated from a personalization standpoint. In terms of blanket maintenance, both models are machine washable on a cold cycle (delicate or permanent press only) and can be hung to dry.
Experts from each brand recommend picking a blanket that’s roughly 10% of your body weight. Including Kids’ Sizes, Bearaby’s Cotton Weighted Blanket come in 7 different weights (5lb, 7lb, 10lb, 15lb, 20lb, and 25lb) while Silk & Snow offers 5 weights (8lb, 12lb, 15lb, 20lb, and 25lb).
All in all, Bearaby and Silk & Snow ran pretty neck-and-neck for this category, so we closed out our comparison with a tie.
Winner: Tied
In Conclusion, We’re Team Bearaby
Maybe you saw this coming? While it’s true that Bearaby Weighted Blankets run at a slightly higher price point, it’s clear that the old adage is still accurate: you get what you pay for.
Bearaby’s 100% organic cotton meets a long list of industry standards, reflective of thoughtful product design from start to finish. And that’s just on paper. In real life, holding both weighted blankets in our hands, Silk & Snow’s just didn’t create the sensation of a voluminous, supported hug. Bearaby’s did…
And their 300,000+ loyal customers would back us up. The science, the standards, and rave reviews can’t all be misguided. If you’re looking for a way to spruce up your home with an emotional boost and an aesthetic addition, Bearaby’s Cotton Weighted Blanket is your best bet: 100% The Suite-certified.