The Luxurious Down Comforter is about 6 inches thick and is very lofty. Alongside the fluffy appearance of the comforter, it can give you an efficient warmth for the winter as well. This product will make you feel very comfortable due to its thickness and softness. It is filled with Hungarian goose down within Egyptian cotton fabric. Take note that it appears to be thinner upon purchase. After a day or two, it becomes the fluffiest blanket you have ever seen.
Unlike the first item on this list, this product is only made of regular farmed goose down. All are excellent, depending on the warmth you need and the fill you prefer.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Essential Down has the lowest fill power of any comforter we recommend. Also, our kid tester strongly recommends washing the comforter before using it to soften up the crinkly percale fabric, which is stiff out of the packaging she much preferred the texture after a wash. Long-term test notes: After about a year of long-term use, the Garnet Hill has held up perfectly through three or four washes, many playroom fort campouts, and a lot of dragging around the house.
The color we tested Faded Rose has also stayed vibrant. The Utopia is a warm yet relatively breathable down-alternative comforter. We know real down is hard to beat for comfort, loft, and breathability.
It was better at regulating heat than several higher-priced down-alternative comforters we tried, including those from Brooklinen and Snowe , and the outer shell was softer than those of many competitors. Like the Garnet Hill Essential Down Comforter , the Utopia does come in several colors, which implies it may be fine to use without a cover. Not so with the Utopia: It has sturdy stitching with piped edges and lofty, siliconized, fiber-filled boxes.
With competing down-alternative comforters, we often woke up halfway through the night, sweaty and eager to toss off the covers. The shell feels solid yet soft and smooth.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: One of our editors purchased three of these for her kids and notes that the corner loops are small, which makes threading through duvet cover ties a challenge. Anyone who lives anywhere other than the tropics likely already has a comforter. The real question is: Do you need a new one? Though many high-quality comforters will last 10 years or longer, down can clump and shift, leaving cold pockets.
Eventually, down clusters may even fully disintegrate. See the graphic below on how to choose the appropriate weight. Before you make a purchase, though, give your existing comforter a wash and dry—you may see it magically return to its former fluffy glory.
See our care and maintenance section for more details about cleaning. In , , and , we tested a total of 22 comforters in down, down alternative, and wool, including retests of four existing picks from Riley , L.
Bean , Feathered Friends , and Utopia. We inspected each one to gauge the feel, the stitching, and the weight and loft, and in our tests we washed them to check for feather leaks and shell durability. We shook each one 10 times to see whether down clusters or feathers escaped. We paid attention to how noisy the shells were. And we spent time under each one to gauge warmth. Then we sleep-tested the most promising a total of about 16 comforters.
We focused on employing the comforters as most people would in their own homes, spending a night or two under each and using five sleep testers—including an 8-year-old child—over the course of two years.
Two of our testers were hot sleepers, and three were average-warmth sleepers. We wanted to see whether lower fill power and less expensive materials would still keep us warm when the temperature dropped. Many comforters, including three of our picks, are available in multiple weights, so you can choose one based on the amount of warmth you need.
You can also fine-tune the warmth of any comforter by changing the type of cover you use see our duvet cover picks here. To make a comforter warmer in the fall and winter, add a flannel cover, and for spring and summer, opt for a lightweight linen or percale cover.
With the exception of the Garnet Hill Essential Down Comforter which is ready to use as is out of the bag , we recommend using a duvet cover on any comforter you choose. Contact with skin oils can make both cotton and down degrade more quickly over time than they otherwise would.
All comforters consist of two outer layers of fabric with an insulating material like down sandwiched between them. Most are stuffed with clumps of fill like down, feathers, or polyfil that are evenly distributed in channels throughout the entire comforter. There are two ways to do this: the sewn-through method and the baffle-box method, illustrated by the comforter cross-sections below. What it means: Sewn-through comforters may have boxes, channels, or other patterns; these sew together the top and bottom of the comforter and prevent the fill from shifting.
The drawback to sewn-through comforters is that some cold air may seep through the sewn-through seams, and the comforter may be slightly less lofty overall.
What it means: Baffle-box comforters are constructed with vertical strips of fabric that separate the top and bottom layers of the outer shell, creating three-dimensional walls.
The baffles help keep the down lofty and therefore trap and retain more heat. Baffle-box construction is more labor-intensive and tends to be regarded as being of higher quality. But we found that many of the sewn-through comforters we tested—including our luxurious upgrade pick —were just as warm and fluffy as those with baffles. The world of down comforters has its own language, and it can be confusing. Fill power: This is the volume of 1 ounce of down measured in cubic inches—the higher the volume, the higher the fill power.
Voluminous, high-fill-power down is lightweight, making a comforter warm but not heavy. High fill power can also mean higher-quality fill. This mix is more common in lower-priced and lower-fill-power comforters. For an entry-level down comforter, to fill power is plenty. Goose down or duck down: The down in comforters comes from either ducks or geese. Duck down is generally not as fluffy as goose down because most of it comes from small ducks with small puffs of down.
Down alternative: This is a catch-all term for any non-down comforter filling. Many high-quality comforter shells are also made from sateen a softer, shinier weave, usually of cotton or jacquard, which often has a decorative weave pattern.
Duvet or comforter: Technically, a comforter is a bed covering that is filled with some kind of insulation and sewn shut; it usually features a color or pattern and does not require a cover. A duvet typically contains down or down-alternative fill and is made to be inserted into a duvet cover.
However, according to Shannon Maher, the interim dean at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in the US these terms have become interchangeable. Oeko-Tex—certified Oeko-Tex—approved items cotton, in the case of most comforter shells are certified as free from substances that are potentially harmful to humans and the environment, such as formaldehyde, heavy metals, and plasticizers.
However, Oeko-Tex—certified items are not explicitly organic. Thankfully, some comforter companies are trying to use humanely harvested down only. The Responsible Down Standard certifies the traceability of down and verifies that no animals have been live-plucked. If you would like to learn more about ethical down, we have written a whole post on the topic. An exposed comforter will accumulate more body oils, causing the down and shell to deteriorate more quickly.
Down-alternative comforters are the least delicate and can generally be washed like most other bedding; follow the care instructions on the label. Down comforters, including almost all of our picks, can be washed at home or at the laundromat with extra care. Tread carefully here, though, because even though our experts may recommend that you wash your comforter, you could void its warranty if you do. When your comforter does need to be cleaned, remember to be extra-gentle.
Ideally you should use a front-loading washer, since these clean bulky items more effectively. Use mild soap, and choose the delicate setting. Sukalac has washed comforters in all water temperatures—depending on the stains—but he said cold water is best if your comforter is not heavily soiled. Sukalac likes to run one washer cycle with soap and then a second, shorter cycle without soap, to be sure the comforter is thoroughly rinsed clean.
The dryer is really the place where dust mites and pathogens will be killed off. And if you need to disinfect your comforter, Sukalac recommends that you dry it on high for 20 minutes and then lower the dryer temperature, leaving the comforter in until it is completely dry. If you have a strong allergy to dust mites, he said you could kill them off by putting your comforter in the dryer every three weeks, for 20 minutes on high heat, without washing it. Like the comforters from Buffy, the Italic comforter employs a fill constructed from recycled water bottles and has a Eucalyptus shell.
In fact, Italic says its comforters are made by the same manufacturers that are responsible for the ones from Buffy. By comparison, we found that the Italic felt a lot nicer to the touch and a lot more densely packed. Instead of goose down clusters, duck down, or some sort of hypoallergenic alternative, the comforter is filled with wool. Those prone to overheating will appreciate this.
Among the several comforters and duvet inserts Coyuchi makes, this is our clear favorite. It's a great option for anyone looking for a reasonable price point and eco-friendly sourcing. Sure, any comforter will immediately upgrade the coziness factor of your sleeping arrangements. But if you truly want to max them out, you should get a weighted comforter.
A weighted comforter is exactly what it sounds like, a duvet insert with a heavy fill material in lieu of more typical lightweight down fill. This Brooklinen one comes in a bunch of different fill weights and sizes up to California King , and checks all the right boxes.
Despite being much heavier than most other down-alternative quilted comforters, our testers never overheated or sweated through their sheets while sleeping underneath it. It is kind of an advanced bedding move, so maybe try a cheaper weighted throw blanket first before really dropping the dough on this one.
The Feathered Friends comforter in the medium weight has a luxurious hand feel. And thanks to its baffle box construction, that fill stays spread evenly throughout the entire lightweight comforter. The best cooling comforter is still likely one from Snowe, but this one is an excellent alternative.
The result is a fluffy yet breathable comforter with a buttery smooth exterior. The L. Bean permabaffle box down comforter is another alternative for extremely cold sleepers. Our testers found its weight pleasant to sleep under, but you can get something with a higher fill power and similar weight for less money. It also comes in a couple of color options.
Its down alternative offers the same level of high-end durability as our top pick, but without nearly as much loft. The result is a super breathable comforter for hot sleepers who struggle to find that Goldilocks body temperature at night. We prefer sleeping under the thicker Riley, but if you want something lighter, the Parachute is the way to go. It's hard to find an affordable comforter that pull-out couch guests will be legitimately grateful for, but this is it.
BONUS: perfect for fort-making when working from home on snow days! It feels a lot lighter cloudlike, even than other duvets of the same fill ratings, which makes it a great option for someone who tends to sleep hot. Plus, we appreciate how transparent Coyuchi is its sourcing, and that its down comes from a duck farm in Indiana. When we moved around underneath it, it made a lot of audible crinkly noises, like it was made with crumpled paper.
This is usually only the case with duvets made with down alternative options. Still, once we had settled for the night, we did appreciate the box stitched comforters evenly distributed warmth. Boasting slightly oversized dimensions to keep the shape inside your duvet cover, this is a solid option for hot sleepers who still want something on the fluffier side. We appreciate that the Buffy comforter is made with a special fill from recycled bottles, but found it to have a scratchy hand feel.
It is super breathable though, which might make it good for people in warmer climates. The Linenspa all-season comforter is another inexpensive comforter worthy of consideration. It feels a lot cheaper than the high-quality ones from Snowe and Riley we recommend immediately out of the box.
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