Side by side.

• Position: What's New? Winter Gear & Food Fest - Dual control electric blanket - Brief Article

* Winter months often bring strife when it comes to weather conditions in the bedroom. Invariably, one member of a couple likes the window open; the other, closed. With coverings, it's often the same--thick down comforter vs. lightweight wool blanket. When it comes to electric blankets, the conflict can be irreconcilable, as the battle is joined over the temperature setting. Now, however, the bedroom wars can reach detente thanks to the Polartec Heat Blanket from Lands' End, Dodgeville, Wis.

The savior is a simple-sounding, though technologically complex process of dual controls. Each side of the bed can have its own temperature level set by remote control. In other words, the heat-seeking member can raise his or her side to tropical warmth, while the one who prefers to be a cool can either dial down the heat to a barely detectable level or turn it off completely, allowing the cozily warm Polartec to do the job all by itself.

The blanket is soft and lightweight, and comes in a quintet of decorative colors--dark camel, deep forest green, brick red, mineral green, and cornflower blue. Inside, a network of fine filaments transmits the heat to the designated zone. The filaments are so thin and flexible that the blanket can be folded, sat upon, and even machine washed and dried without damaging them.

The remote control base unit that plugs into the blanket is solidly...