Mountainhill Italian Wool Blanket, Officers' Model, Reproduction

Oh, those classic Italian army blankets, you remember them? They were the dog's bollocks in their time, but now sold out and gone. Well someone didn't just stand there, but went off and made a reproduction. These are made by Mountainhill, and they’re otherwise just like their other blankets we stock, but in the Italian army blanket colour scheme fit for oh-so-many purposes!

The original Italian army blanket cranked up some kind of a minor cult status among bushcrafters and history fanatics all the way from Wild West maniacs to the World War reenactors. The charm of this blanket came from the soothing brownish color scheme with lighter stripes, large wool content and also the traditional-looking weave pattern. These were also just the perfect material for making blanket coats (capotes) and worn as improvised clothing. We have also field tested the original Italian blankets way back and concluded that they're thin, coarse, and cold, but undeniably pleasant looking, especially when neatly rolled on top of your pack.

This is a reproduction of the officers' model. At first we wondered what the star symbol was about but indeed it's also present in the original officer blankets of the Italian army. So there. We just can't get over the fact that officers had their own blankets.

Materials and care

The next revelation might not come as a surprise: These are warmer and slightly thicker than the originals, but at the cost of having "only" 80% wool. The remaining 20% is recycled polyester. Despite the difference, these work just like all-wool blankets. Even care is the same: air every now and then, wash rarely if ever. If needed, dry cleaning is ideal. If you want to wash these, do it in cold water and hang them to dry.

Size info

Length and width approx. 210 x 155 cm (82" x 61"), so these are big. The size can vary just a tiny bit from one blanket to the next. Weight: c. 2 kg (4.4 lbs) so these aren’t the magical elf cloaks for ultralight hikers but the good ol’ stuff from the time when people could still carry things.

New production

Made by Mountainhill. These are all factory new. The price isn't bad for such a nice blanket.