Sick of the Snuggie yet?

Long and short

The Snuggie swamped a 4-foot-10-inch staffer.

This article is the archived version of a report that appeared in the July 2009 Consumer Reports magazine.

That ubiquitous sleeved blanket (two for, you guessed it, $19.95 plus shipping) has been lampooned everywhere, but has anyone tested it? We have. Here's what we found: When washed, it sheds. We removed a sandwich bag's worth of lint from the dryer screen with each cycle. After 10 wash-and-dry cycles, the fabric had bare spots between pills and clumps. The Snuggie passed the Consumer Product Safety Commission's flammability test for children's sleepwear, which means that it's harder for flame to spread than with your average clothing. Many of the 11 staffers who wore the Snuggie had trouble walking, and smaller people found its sleeves too long. Several staffers said it left their backside uncovered, so it felt like a hospital gown. On the plus side, the Snuggie did keep other body parts toasty.