Update December 18, 2018:Outdoors has a mild lanolin smell but indoors the smell is stronger.Recommend purchasing a wool freshener. This has a very strong unpleasant scent even after days of being aired out. I purchased a wool freshener used for baby nappies in cold water on a rinse cycle. We have sunny weather this week above 50 degrees so I’ll let the blanket air dry. I’m smell sensitive and had no breathing problems with this blanket- but thought I’d help the next smell sensitive person jump forward. I love to camp and am planning a January car camping trip. I don’t want to be stuck in the car with the smell of this blanket should the weather worsen and I have to retreat to the car. Outside, the smell is barely noticeable. The manufacturer says don’t wash it, but dry cleaning is not an option. I remain enthusiastic about this blanket. I do not like any scents even perfumes. There are some natural scents found in nature that I like and other I don’t. I don’t like the strong scent of this blanket. Skunk is a natural scent and I don’t like it either. If you are sensitive to smells, do yourself a favor and purchase a wool refresher or take it to the dry cleaners. The manufacturer recommends dry cleaning. After washing in cold water rinse-soak- spin cycle with Sonett wool care purchased on Amazon, the chemical smell is still in the blanket. I am washing the blanket a second time on the rinse cycle only with Sonett wool care then hang outside to dry and will update the results. I can’t be the only person who needs an outdoor wool blanket. I learned the hard way that wool requires special care after washing a 40 year old military wool blanket in regular detergent then dried it in the dryer on high. What a mess.Original review: The Explorer wool blanket is a good, budget-friendly gift for the hiker, car, van, or rv camper in your life and back up blanket for the home. If you like to sew, you could embroider or appliqué something to personalize the wool blanket. I ordered the tan earth colored blanket. After field testing this blanket I plan to personalize this blanket.The wool blanket is a good gift to yourself to use as an emergency blanket for the car or in the home.I like the flat smooth feeling against the skin. The itching is minimal. The scratching is caused by a few hairs sticking up. My plan is to use a sheet or sleeping bag between my skin and the blanket.Another plus is that there is stitching on all sides which minimizes itchy sides.The lanolin scent is mild. I placed my blanket outside for an hour to air out, but the smell is okay out of the bag. I have another wool blanket that took weeks to air out because it had a chemical smell like moth balls. The Explorer lanolin smell was much lighter. I use an inhaler and am very sensitive to smells, but had no trouble with the lanolin smell of this Explorer blanket.For the price, this Explorer blanket is a good value. I purchased a cheap blanket from the Amazon website in the past and could not bear the smell out of bag, so I can say the Explorer blanket can be used right out of the bag. If the blanket is a gift to someone with a sensitive sense of smell, yes, this blanket has a slight lanolin odor that cannot be washed without ruining the blanket. A person who values natural textiles will understand. A person who does not value natural textiles won’t.This is not a machine washable blanket.Researching the care of wool is important so you understand why the manufacturer does not recommend machine washing. From what I know about many textiles including wool, the manufacturers recommend “dry clean only” so that people don’t ruin the textile then blame the manufacturer.Wool can be hand washed with a product that replaces the lanolin, placed into a spin only cycle in a washing machine, then laid flat to dry to help it keep its shape. But - most people won’t take the time to do all of that work. Instead, most people will throw the wool blanket into a washing machine with regular detergent where it will be agitated and tear the fibers apart, add a fabric softener which further degrades the wool fibers, let it spin, pull it out, then wonder what went wrong when they find themselves looking at what seems to be a creature from outer space. They proceed to throw the blanket into the dryer and wonder how a large blank suddenly looks like a shriveled hot mess. Oh yes, I’ve made that mistake, so I totally understand why a lovely card arrived with the Explorer wool blanket that clearly and simply explained the care of the Explorer blanket. Please take a small moment of time to read the care instructions. The care is easy once you understand the “why.”I am pleased with value of my purchase. Thank you for taking the time for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful.