Monkey Bed’s New Urban Blanket Bags

Who: Monkey Bed – Newton, MA

What: Urban Blanket Bags

Where: Monkey Bed – The Esplanade $135 (see also the smaller Seaside $79) (These bags just went public today, so there may be a few kinks to work out with the online store)

Why We Love It: As fellow Bostonians, we know that when you catch a glimpse of sunshine, you’ve got to get out and take advantage of it. Optimizing that precious park time generally involves cramming water bottles, snacks, frisbees, books, electronics and a bulky blanket into a cumbersome bag so, that by the time you get out the front door, that is if the sun is still out, you look like you are going on a camping trip instead of a casual jaunt to the park…

Well, thankfully founder of Monkey Bed, Simeon Margolis, felt there had to be a better way and did something about it. He took the classic messenger bag and thought about all the ways you could make it better. The result? A totally tricked-out messenger bag full of features that you’ll soon wonder how you ever lived without.

Hidden inside these sleek and light weight bags is a 58″ x 68″ machine washable, zip-out fleece blanket that can handle windy days at the beach (simply tuck rocks in the specifically designed corners to keep your blanket in place) and prevents wet bottoms with its water-resistant nylon base.  And you don’t have to be an origami master to get the blanket back in the bag, you really can stuff it back in any which way.

It’s rugged, the nylon is a grade heavier than Timbuktu bags, and contains 20% recycled PET.  It’s got specially designed padded neoprene sleeves to safely stow a of pair wine bottles or water bottles. All that and there is somehow still room to slip in a 17″ laptop in another padded neoprene pocket to protect from any spillage.