Cooling pads and cooling blankets address different parts of the hot sleeper problem. Understanding the distinction helps you invest in the right solution for your specific situation.
What a Cooling Pad Does
A cooling pad or cooling mattress pad addresses heat from below your body. You sleep on it rather than under it. It creates a cool contact surface between you and the mattress, which is particularly relevant for people with heat-absorbing mattresses like memory foam. The cooling effect happens at your back, hips, and the parts of your body in contact with the mattress.
What a Cooling Blanket Does
A cooling blanket addresses heat from above your body. It draws heat away from your skin surface on the side facing up, the side in contact with the blanket. This addresses the insulation problem that most hot sleepers experience as the primary driver of their overheating.
Which Problem Is Bigger for You?
If you primarily overheat from above, you feel too hot under the covers and kick the blanket off, a cooling blanket is the right first investment. If you primarily overheat from below, you wake up with a hot sweaty back and your mattress feels like it is radiating heat, a cooling pad addresses that directly. Most hot sleepers find the blanket problem larger than the mattress problem. But they are not mutually exclusive.
The Complete Solution
For maximum impact use both. The Stillwell Cloud as the top layer that draws heat away from above. The Stillwell Cooling Mat as the bottom layer that creates a cool surface to sleep on. Together they address the full thermal environment. See The Cloud here. See The Cooling Mat here.