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The Best Picnic Blanket for Outdoor Concerts and Music Festivals

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Picnic blankets have come along way in the past few years with the invention of the pocket blanket. These clever ultralight blankets more closely resemble small tarps and provide a waterproof, sandproof barrier between you and the ground.

Because of their ultralight construction, pocket blankets can fold up so compactly they can easily fit in your pocket or purse, making them excellent for concerts, festivals, and other outdoor events.

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Someone who wants a blanket for going to three day outdoor music festivals however, has much different needs than someone who wants it for a multi day adventure trip in the woods. Looking at all the pocket blankets currently on the market, the hands down winner for the concert goer is the YourEver Outdoor Pocket Blanket.

The YourEver Outdoor Pocket Blanket is a lightweight, waterproof, and sandproof picnic blanket that is ideal for camping, concerts, picnics, and the beach. It’s 63″x 50″ size can accommodate up to four adults. The YourEver blanket includes corner loops and pockets, a perfectly sized stuff sack with carabiner clip, and four small ground stakes with their own stuff sack. A unique feature of the YourEver blanket is a hidden 9” x 9” zippered pocket to help hide valuables and keep track of small items.

Before going any farther, I do want to make clear that the YourEver is not the best quality blanket out there. But it is one of the most affordable and has one great standout feature which we will get to below.

Just remember, gear you bring to a music festival should be somewhat expendable and not top of the line. So please keep that in mind as you read forward.

If top quality and high tech is what you are after, then without a doubt the Matador 2.0 Pocket Blanket would be a much better bet. You might also want to read our overview of pocket blankets, which offers some of our top picks for picnic blankets for more general use.

But for a cheap, functional, inexpensive pocket blanket that could last through a large number of outdoor concerts and music festivals, the YourEver is hard to beat. And because of its low price, you won’t feel too bad if it gets trashed, lost, or pinched.

YourEver Pocket Blanket Features

A low price point doesn’t mean you should give up completely on functionality and cool features.

Hidden Stash Pocket

Without a doubt, the standout feature of this pocket blanket is the “secret” pocket.

The opening of this 9” x 9” zippered pocket is cleverly aligned along the seam of the decorative colored logo panel. The zipper pull is pretty obvious though, so if you really wanted to make it more secretive, you could replace the pull with something less noticeable like a small piece of cord.

The zipper is an unidentifiable off brand of dubious quality, but it seems to function well. It does ride up on the surrounding material a bit, but it doesn’t impede its function or cause it to snag – a common issue on budget tents.

In the end, we think having a quick “stash” pocket could come in handy at an outdoor concert or music festival. We’re not making any suggestions to what you could possibly stash in that pocket though.  We’ll leave that up to you!

Corner weight pockets

The corner weight pockets on the YourEver are not incredibly deep, but they are functional. They are also thankfully located beneath the blanket rather than on the top like a few on the market. Do not buy a blanket with weighted corners on top unless you like to sit in dirt.

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Keep in mind that you can use both corner weights and stakes together if conditions are particularly windy. Fill the weighted corners first, get the blanket where you want it, then stake off the corners.

Corner Stake Loops

Most pocket blankets have a small loop of cordage or webbing in each corner. These are for staking the blanket down in high winds. For music events and festivals, corner stakes are much more useful than corner weight pockets simply because most concerts are on grass or packed dirt.

The  loops on the corners of the YourEver blanket are made of webbing, which is a nice touch. The stitching holding them on is adequate. Overall they work pretty well.

An added bonus of having stake loops on a pocket blanket is that you can more easily use it as a mini tarp to protect you from both sun and rain. Granted it isn’t a big tarp, but two people can easily squeeze beneath it which can make a sudden downpour more tolerable.

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Ground Stakes

The stakes that come with the YourEver blanket are cheap plastic ones. They are a decent design and the hook at the head is helpful in keeping the blanket attached. This stake style is also a good choice because it has quite a bit more grip in sand than a smaller, wire stake.

If you knew you weren’t going to use the pocket blanket in the sand, switching to a set of TITO Titanium Shepherd’s Hook Tent Stakes would be a worthwhile upgrade. Just remember you have to switch out the stakes if you head to the beach!

Another decent (and super cheap) stake upgrade if you are going to be in somewhat looser soil or wet ground would be these Groundhog style 7075 Aluminum Tent Stakes. Keep in mind that you only need 4 and this is a pack of 12. You will have plenty to upgrade the main stakes on your tent or give some to friends who have pocket blankets.

Stuff Sacks

Like all the budget pocket blankets, the stuff sacks for both the blanket and the included stakes are separate and could be easy to lose. I wish all of these cheaper pocket blankets had a stuff sack integrated into the blanket like the Matador, but then again they probably wouldn’t be budget blankets anymore with that level of detail.

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But again what is great about the YourEver blanket is the zippered pocket. You have a great place to stash the stuff sacks for both the blanket and the tent stakes. Plus there is plenty of room in there for a few wallets, phones, and other items.

Both stuff sacks that come with the YourEver blanket have spring cord locks, which is a nice touch – especially on the ground stake stuff sack. And that stuff sack for the stakes is really great because the small, plastic stakes it come with hold a lot of dirt if used in wet soil.

Oh and the crappy carabiner included on the main stuff sack is total garbage. I wish companies would either include something of better quality or just leave it off altogether and put the money into the product. I don’t mean to be harsh about those cheap carabiners, but trusting them is a surefire way to lose the piece of gear they are attached to. Especially at a music festival where you are walking for miles through dense crowds.

Material and Construction

This is one of those grey areas in the world of cheap pocket blankets, simply because some brands don’t make it clear what materials they use. The YourEver is clearly advertised as Silnylon and without a doubt it is. What this means is the material is coated with silicon to make it waterproof.

This is a big deal if you are laying your blanket down in wet grass or mud or are using an additional cloth blanket on top. You can also feel more confident that things will stay dry if you roll that cloth blanket up in your YourEver blanket if there is a sudden downpour at a show.

The negative about the material YourEver uses is that it does not appear to be ripstop, which is more resistant to rips and tears. Ripstop also costs quite a bit more. I have seen a few pocket blankets that were uncoated ripstop and if I had to choose between the waterproof coating or the ripstop for concerts, I would choose the waterproof every time.

Basically Silylon is a smart, affordable way to make sure your butt stays dry.

Stitching

The stitching on the YourEver is not the cleanest and when I first got the blanket I assumed it would unravel in no time, but so far so good. It’s ugly stitching, but it seems to be tight.

Again we are talking about an inexpensive piece of gear here, so I don’t care how pretty it is. I just want it to hold up.

Dimensions

Length: 63” (160 cm)

Width: 50” (127 cm)

Area: 3,150 sq in (8,001 cm)

Pocket length: 9” (22.9 cm)

Pocket Height: 9” (22.9 cm)

Zipper Opening: 4.75” (12 cm)

What’s Included:

  • 1 waterproof pocket blanket with “hidden” pocket, 4 corner weight pockets, and 4 anchoring loops made of webbing.
  • 1 stuff sack that holds everything on this list.
  • 4 plastic ground tent stakes.
  • 1 small stuff sack just for the stakes.
  • 1 crappy clip carabiner.
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Available Colors

Currently the YourEver is available in four colors: Vivid Orange, Military Green, Granat Red, and Blue.

Price

Probably the most appealing thing about the YourEver Pocket blanket is the price. At the time of this writing, it was the most inexpensive of the above. But prices tend to change over time and with different color selections so please check Amazon for the current price.

The Perfect Cloth Picnic Blanket Covering

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If you are still looking for a more comfortable but cheap blanket to lay on top of your YourEver pocket blanket, this rustic farmhouse throw on Amazon is the perfect size. Measuring 50” (127 cm) by 60” (152.4 cm), it will cover the YourEver blanket perfectly and give you some padding, comfort, and style at an outdoor concert or event. Like the YourEver, it is also super cheap, so you won’t feel too bad when you spill that glass of Cabernet on it. Check Amazon for current colors, patterns, and pricing.

Final Thoughts on the YourEver Pocket Blanket

To be clear, this is not the best quality pocket blanket out there and definitely not the most durable. But it is decent, waterproof, and its size and cool integrated stash pocket makes it a great choice for outdoor concerts and music festivals where functionality at a low price is key. You’ll appreciate having it, but won’t be in a panic if it disappears at a show.

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