Stoov Huge Hug 3 reviewed: warm wherever

Can a blanket get a benefit from technology? The Dutch innovators at Stoov believe it can, with the Huge Hug 3 connecting infrared heating for easy warming.

Sitting out in the could is rarely comfortable, and is why we always reach for a sweater, thick socks, and maybe the favourite hoodie with an award-winning technology website printed on the front (that might just be us). Warm clothes are just how you deal with cold weather. It’s a thing.

Is it possible for technology to assist in any way?

The answer is “maybe”, and the answer could be to wear a heater attached to your body. And not just any heater, but one specifically designed to warm up your skin, not your clothes.

In the Huge Hug 3, Stoov has crafted something just like that, blending blanket and heater in a way that could actually surprise you.

What is the Huge Hug 3?

Stylised as “Huge Hug³”, the third-generation of the Huge Hug might actually be the first generation Australia has seen, and the timing couldn’t be better.

The mercury is falling, the temperature is getting lower, and it’s just about time to rug up in an oodie and blanket of sorts, particularly one we can wrap around our arms and the rest of our body. That’s what the Huge Hug 3 is, and it’s named rather appropriately, hugging your body in fabric and warmth.

What does it do?

Like any blanket, the purpose of the Hug 3 is to keep you warm, but the Dutch heating gadget maker doesn’t work like every other blanket and doona you might encase yourself with at the time.

The Huge Hug 3 (stylised as in cubed) is a 135x180cm blanket made of polyester, and can be machine washed provided you take out what’s inside.

And what’s inside, you might ask? An infrared heating pad that warms your body rather than your clothes and the air, making the whole thing feel a little safer, and also lightweight, at that.

When powered on, the infrared heading presses against your back, warming it up even through your clothes, and making you feel much warmer overall.

Sitting outside in the cold doesn’t feel like quite the burden it once was. This is warm wherever.

Does it do the job?

To do this, you need a battery or at the very least a power bank and a USB cable.

The Huge Hug 3 comes with the former, providing a USB rechargeable battery that can take its charge from the USB-C port nearly everything uses, charging fully in a couple of hours, and then being inserted in a zipper section at the bottom.

A little different from either the Big Hug XL warming blanket that goes over a chair, or even the Homey electric water-less hot water bottle we’ve seen before, Stoov is reusing its infrared heating technology, but just stitching it into the fabric differently.

Instead of a blanket you sit against or a plush bottle you hold, you’ll be wearing the Hug 3, with the panel warming you from the back out. Close up the blanket and the heat will largely stay inside, though this isn’t heat that radiates warmth in the entirety of the blanket, more keeping focused on your person.

Infrared heating means you stay warm through the skin on your back, and your body feels warm as the blanket covers you. It’s quite a nice feeling, especially when you close up the blanket by crossing it over yourself.

You can turn the sides into sleeves using what Stoov says are zippers, though they’re more just pull-cords that tighten make-shift sleeves over your limbs. They do the job, but can come undone all too easily, as can a similar cord holding the cloak at your neck.

In your home, it’s easy enough to use, and provides a walk around doona that feels like a more stylish attempt at an oodie, complete with a battery pack built in.

Controls are found on one side, with a power switch and the same subtle push button we’ve seen in previous Stoov gadgets: push once for warm and one LED, twice for warmer with two LEDs, and three times for properly toasty and an on-brand three LEDs. It’s that simple.

Once powered on for a good 30 seconds to a minute, the infrared heating system warms up and in turn you, provided you’re wearing it. You’ll feel it on your skin but not your clothes, which is kind of the point: this is a heater for you, not for what you’re wearing.

You only need to touch your back after wearing it, the obvious heat on your skin not a euphemism and instead simply a way to skip the cold.

Temperatures range from 35º Celsius to the high-50s, dependent on the setting you put the Huge Hug in. Either way, you’ll be warm, or more specifically, your back will be. The rest of you will feel warm simply because it’s a comfy blanket and you’re being warmed from your core.

In a neat change for Stoov, there’s even a USB-C port at the bottom, so you can keep on warming yourself and recharging the battery with either a power cord to a big battery bank, or alternatively just your computer. There was definitely an hour where this reviewer was tethered to his desk, kept warm by a big USB cable that was plugged in and recharging the whole thing.

That said, while warm, at times he felt like an idiot wearing a giant blanket with a heater in the back. It’s true, wearing the Huge Hug 3 was definitely warmer than without, but it can also make you feel like an idiot. A trendy idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.

That’s possibly because you’re wearing a large blanket and pulling. ties to close around your arms, meaning it can travel with you. It feels like a cloak with a heat in the back, and that’s probably because it is.

While wearing a walk-around plush infrared heated blanket has some obvious positive points, the most logical being you’re going to be quite warm as you do, there are some things Stoov needs.

What does it need?

Take the heating pad, which is smaller than it feels like it should be, covering just the back and nowhere else. The arms would be nice, too, to give off that whole-body heating experience, rather than simply the back.

We’ve gotten used to the idea of how you make the sleeves; despite Stoov saying they’re zippers, you actually get pull drawstring cord locks, allowing you to loosely bring them together with a loop, tighten, and make sleeves. Kind of.

The result means you do get sleeves, but they’re a little clunky and merely hold your arms together. The Huge Hug isn’t quite an oodie, though it does feel like the fashionable equivalent of one you might find in Europe.

Even Stoov’s battery could be flatter or made a little differently, because it can sort of just hang there as you walk and move. Sitting is fine, the clunky bit hanging down because the battery is the heaviest part. But you’ll feel it for sure when you go for a small wander, even to grab a cup of tea.

Is it worth your money?

The price is the other question mark, because at $299 the Stoov Huge Hug 3 is certainly not inexpensive.

The quality is there, with a comfortable fabric that can also be washed, thanks to an actual zipper to pull out the infrared heating section beforehand.

But it’s also a $300 blanket in an era where technology and seemingly make similar tech almost magically materialise warmth, and when it’s not alone for what it’s trying to do.

There aren’t many products offering infrared heating, but warming blankets aren’t that new and are fairly inexpensive by comparison. In Australia, K-Mart sells one for $50, while other competitors tend to sit between $80 and $150. It would hardly be surprising to find something similar from Aldi pop up in a sale.

That puts the Stoov Huge Hug 3 in the luxury sector of whatever the cordless heating blanket world is. It’s pricey, but kind of worth what you pay if sitting in something comfortable and warm is what you’re after.

Yay or nay?

We’ve seen a few generations of Stoov’s infrared heating over the years, and few really feel like they’ve nailed what was intended. Every single one delivered warmth — check — but felt like they were missing something: a blanket for your back and a bottle for you to hug. You’ll get warmer than simply sitting in the cold, sure, but not a whole lot warmer.

This year’s Huge Hug 3 is a little different. It covers you almost entirely, and warms you from the back out. It’s all the promise of the infrared technology with a little more coverage to boot.

While pricey, the Huge Hug 3 achieves what we’ve always wanted from Stoov’s gear: an actual way to keep you warm. It does what it says, and that’s the point.

If you don’t mind spending $299 on a comfier blanket, the Stoov Huge Hug 3 is a great way to stay warm wherever. Surprisingly recommended.