High-Tech Comfort with Infinity Blanket

Certain Santa Barbara folks always find a way to blend surf culture with everyday life. Here’s another example: Joey Krueger — a project manager and innovator at Yaasa Studios — has manufactured a warmer blanket by tapping insulative features found in the lining of wetsuits. “Joey noticed that the lining in wetsuits not only keeps you warm but also has infrared properties,” according to Yaasa CEO Johannes Sauer. “He thought we should create something like that [and make] it more accessible to more people.”

Enter the Infinity Blanket. It’s a blanket that, according to Sauer, not only keeps you warm, but increases blood flow, which can help improve sleep and aid in injury recovery. The secret is in its celliant fibers — used in wetsuit lining — which absorb the infrared light your body emits and recycle it back to you, for added warmth. Speaking of recycling, each blanket is produced using about a dozen recycled plastic bottles, blended with certified organic cotton, and manufactured to be pleasing to the eye and touch. “We are a lifestyle brand that makes furniture and décor and accessories, so design is one of our most important motivators,” explained Sauer. “People don’t just buy something for function alone anymore. It has to look astonishing. So we tried to create something that pairs with any décor you might have at home.” The blanket’s versatility manifests in a color combination of light grays and creams.

Sauer admitted a bit of hesitancy at first. “People look at this and say, ‘Oh, I don’t believe this works,’” he explained. “But we have conducted 19 clinical studies [through] a couple of universities, so this is not hocus-pocus. This is real, legit science, and it’s just amazing.”

See yaasastudios.com.