Sunbeam Camelot Microplush Heated Throw, Breast Cancer Awareness Pink
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Tools and Hardware Reviews of Sunbeam Camelot Microplush Heated Throw, Breast Cancer Awareness Pink
Customer Review: First Thoughts
Summary: 4 Stars
Only had this about a week, but have the following observations. This is prelimary. If I find more of interest I'll edit. I'm pretty happy with it. It's a reasonable value at under $30 with free shipping.
The BREAST CANCER PINK color is not the best because it will badly show any usage and spills. Of course I knew this when I ordered it, but wanted to support the cause. I have not washed it, so can't comment on any of that aspect. This color I expect will require frequent cleaning. The warranty is 2 years. This is not easily figured out when ordering.
I bought this for a specific purpose. I live alone in a multi-room apartment, and keeping the heat up all winter is very wasteful. I am comfortable at low temperatures most would not like. With the throw, my plan is to reduce heat at least 5 more degrees, yet be comfortable during low activity. A 5 degree reduction, by utility estimates, gives about a 15% heating cost reduction. If it does that it will be a great value. When I'm active, the temperature isn't an issue. So far it is meeting or exceeding all my expectations in this respect and we've had temperatures below 20 degrees and high winds. My apartment is NOT well insulated and has single pane windows.
It has some strong points.
* The control is comfortable and easily operated with the color-coded settings clearly "readable" even from a distance with no glasses ;)
* The Material seems to be quite good.. soft and supple and a good insulator. It has good nap. It is quite soft for synthetic and has about 1/8 in. nap. Another reviewer said it was not soft, but it is much softer than say a terry cloth towel, so I'm not sure what they mean.
* It certainly cranks out the heat.. perhaps even too much (see below)
* It seems well-constructed.. it is a "sack" like a pillowcase with the conductor layer in between, but closed all around. This kind of makes it a "sandwich" of cloth with nap "out" and thread tacking to hold the sides and wiring in place. I find it comfortable, cozy and easily "managed" as you get up and down and shift around. Other items of this type I've owned had the wiring woven throughout the cloth.
* the plug at the blanket has a "snap lock" which is great as the plug stays put.
The (minor) weak points I see are
* The control, which is roughly football shaped with one side flattened, creates a problem. It naturally rolls over onto the flat side which is where the controls are. EVERY TIME I want to change settings I have to find it and roll it over first.
* The same "flip over" problem also causes the button to be "down".. and since the button sticks out, everytime the control gets jiggled it changes or turns off the blanket.. this gets to be pretty annoying.. I thought it was broken at first because it would shut off for no apparent reason.. I thought the 3 hr timer was broken.
* The cord length is just adequate.. I'd have liked about 2 more feet as the control must be readily at hand, and that takes some slack.
* The manual is a mess. It's written to support many many.. possibly dozens, of products. This makes it very confusing and difficult to zero in on the item you actually own. Even finding the details of connecting it and getting it on requires leafing through pages and sorting pictures of controls and "product lines" Even after all of that you STILL can't just look at your item and it's features. It is multi-lingual as well so that's even more things to sort through. It has a "quick start" sheet if you find it in all the stuff and wrappings.. :)
* Even on LOW the thing pours out a LOT of heat. If you're the cold type I guess this could be a plus. To me it is a slight negative.. I suppose this comes with having only 3 levels of "low-med-high-off" control. I end up having it OFF for 20% or more of the time. On high, it will drive me out.
* The 3 hour auto-off is a slight annoyance, but it is easly reset so I just mention it. Some may find it to be a plus.
* The washing instructions, although described positively as you browse on-line, are pretty restrictive.. Not a major issue to me, but just know it takes some care. You don't just "throw it in with the wash"
* The "carry bag" is cheap plastic with that cheap plastic stink.. Further it is near useless as it must be packed in a vacuum.. it is WEDGED in .. I've not tried to put it back, but it's unlikely I can.. :)
---Added Note: (1/17/10) While fooling around with my "binky" I decided to "unkink" the electric cord. It is packed TIGHTLY COILED.. If you just plug it in and go, you will find that you are always wrestling with the cord.. it is very stiff.. either it has heavy gauge wire or very stiff insulation.. probably either or both good (reduces resistance loss in wire or adds durability to the wiring) but this makes the blanket very "Stubborn" .. while kinked it always wants to twist around, and it makes the wire SEEM much shorter.. after I carefully unkinked each little fold and straightened the wire, I enjoy it much more.. a simple task takes a few minutes, but has dividends.---
All these "complaints" are minor irritations rather than real negatives. All in all, I say if you're interested in an item of this type, I'd recommend it.
Customer Review: Good Value--VERY soft blanket!
Summary: 4 Stars
I love my blanket!! It is SO soft and just the right size to cuddle up in a recliner or sofa. There are 2 things that Sunbeam could work on, tho. 1) The one button temperature control is very close to the plug-in on the blanket, so I have to flip the blanket upside-down to have the control up near my hands. 2) I have noticed that if the control drops on the floor during adjusting or what-have-you, the temperature will change. The control is so sensitive that you have to get comfortable and then adjust the control carefully and not make any sudden moves to bump the control out of the temperature you had selected. Just what I needed--a blanket with an attitude...LOL All in all, I like the blanket enough to deal with it--and the savings ($30 and free shipping) pays for the aggrivation...Customer Review: Great Gifts
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my mother-in-law and my mother before it got cold and they LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. They are perpetually cold, so this works for them and is a nice size. Now that I gave them the perfect gift already what am I to do for Christmas???Customer Review: Great Product
Summary: 5 Stars
Sunbeam SlumberRest Camelot Microplush Heated Throw, Breast Cancer Awareness Pink My daughter received this product and loves it. She let me try it out and I decided, on the spot, I was going
to purchase one for me. I bought the pink Susan B. Komen in pink and I
just LOVE it. It keeps me nice and warm and is so soft. I highly recommend this blanket. It comes with a two year guarantee (which needs
to be mailed in) so if it turns out you have a problem (which I DO NOT)
notify them.
Customer Review: Great Throw
Summary: 1 Stars
This is a great throw. The color is a pretty soft pink. What I love most about this throw, is that, one could throw it on the couch, without people realizing that it is an electric blanket. It looks just like a normal blanket. It is not hard and ugly like my older electric blanket.
As for the heat setting, well let's just say I'm always cold. Yes, I live in California, but I am still always cold. With this throw, there is a low/medium/and high setting. The high setting is too hot for me. I usually leave it on low, and in the winter some nights I'll go to medium. I know at least one other reviewer said that they could barely feel the heat. The only thing I can say to that, is that they must have gotten a defective blanket, because this things gets plenty hot enough.
My two biggest gripes about this product are that 1) like others have said, it is way too easy to accidentally bump the control, and have it change the heat setting. All it takes is for one's leg to barely touch the control, and it will change. Sometimes I would put it on low, then suddenly find that it is now on medium or high cause I accidentally touched it. They should not have made the control so sensitive. And 2) again, like others have commented, the cord is put in a bad place. They only have one place to plug in the electrical cord into the blanket and it is in the middle of the bottom of the blanket. They should have attached it to the side of the blanket, so that it wasn't constantly getting in the way of people's feet. I am always moving it around because it is constantly hitting my feet. And also, they should have made the cord longer.
Overall, I would recommend the throw, though they could have made it better.
UPDATE: ABOUT A YEAR AFTER I BOUGHT THIS THROW AND ORIGINALLY GAVE IT 4 STARS, THE THROW STOPPED HEATING; THE CONTROL JUST KEPT BLINKING LIKE IT DOES WHEN IT IS PLUGGED INTO THE WALL BUT GETS UNPLUGGED FROM THE BLANKET. EXCEPT THAT IT IS PLUGGED INTO THE BLANKET AND IT STILL BLINKS. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING, UNPLUGGING IT FROM THE WALL, THEN PLUGGING IT BACK IT, MAKING SURE THE CONNECTION WAS SECURE WITH MY BLANKET; ALL FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS. I AM UNDER WARRANTY BECAUSE IT IS A 2 YEAR WARRANTY, BUT DO I REALLY WANT TO SPEND ALL THE MONEY SHIPPING IT BACK, TO JUST GET ANOTHER THROW THAT IS LIKELY TO HAVE A SIMILIAR PROBLEM. I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE, AND YOU COULD TELL THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO MANY OTHER PEOPLE. DON'T BUY THIS BLANKET! IT WAS GOOD FOR A YEAR, BUT SOONER OR LATER IT WILL STOP WORKING AND YOU'LL JUST HAVE A THROW WITH CORDS IN IT THAT DOESN'T HEAT.