Can someone recommend a Decent Duvet?

beachbeth

About 2 years ago I bought what I thought was a really, good quality duvet for our kingsize bed from Debenhams. It was in the sale and was about £80. Its 15 tog and is actually two duvets that you can separate so that its cooler in the summer. It has goose feathers in it and has now gone quite flat and we are finding we are too cold at night. OH has been cold at night even in the summer and now that the winter has arrived Im cold too. I have bought a cheap kingsize duvet to throw on top thinking this would help but it hasn't. I shake the duvet to try and incorporate the air and this helps a little bit but not enough. The feathers are in sections so they don't all fall down to one end.

We haven't even got to the really cold weather yet so I want to be prepared with a lovely, thick, snuggly duvet. Should I go for another feather one or one with synthetic filling. Can anyone recommend a brand. I don't mind spending the money if its going to be warm but don't want to spend another £80 for something that is just going to go flat!

Haffiana

I can't comment on synthetic as I don't use them, but if you go for natural;

Go for a very high down content, not feather. I would say that a duck down duvet is better than a high feather percentage of goose feather in a goose duvet, so don't assume goose is always better. Feather is heavy, and nowhere near as good as down at keeping you warm.

Most duvets have both feather and down in them, so first of all rule out any that are called "feather and down" and only go for "down and feather". The percentage should be on the box - 85% and over of down is the best quality. A bog standard natural duvet is the reverse of that, with 85% or more of feather, and best avoided.

There are grades of down, which are measured by 'loft' - roughly the amount of space a given weight of down occupies. The greater the better - so a good duvet will be very puffy and fat, but very light. It is worth popping into a shop such as John Lewis and comparing their various grades of pure down duvets, so that you can get an idea why one that costs £400 is truly better quality than one that costs less. The difference is probably academic for most people (me included!), but it will help you assess quality if you see what looks like a bargain somewhere else!

A good duvet is expensive, and needs treating carefully. Never lie on top of a duvet, or pack it into a vacuum bag as you can damage the contents. The feather gets crushed, and the loft is damaged. It is the air spaces between the feather/down that keeps you warm, which is why a flat duvet is hopeless at keeping you warm, as you have discovered!

Duvets need airing, just like mattresses do, so do not rush to make the bed in the morning, but leave the duvet rolled back at the end of the bed for a couple of hours, so that the bed is aired before the duvet is replaced. An adult can sweat up to a pint of liquid in the night, and that sort of humidity in the mattress and duvet can make you feel cold no matter how many layers you put on the bed.

I always wait until the sales for things like duvets to be honest. I usually end up with a Special Purchase John Lewis one, because no matter what the supposed savings of other brands, in the end a good quality one will cost more or less the same everywhere.

bcl999

I have the All Seasons Soft Touch Dacron one from M&S (there are a few reviews from people who have bought it on the M&S site) which I use in spring, summer & autumn. I don't actually use it combined in winter as I find it too heavy due to the 2 covers, which is something I never considered when I bought a combination one. I use a 15tog goosedown one in winter.

I actually prefer the Dacron one to the goosedown (except for the weight due to the 2 covers). This is the 2nd Dacron one I've had and I can definitely tell the difference between Dacron and other synthetics. To me, it seems lighter (more sort of buoyant) on top of me and keeps it's fullness better than other synthetic ones I've had. I've had it for maybe 5 years and it's nowhere near needing replacing yet.

Did you wash your feather duvet by any chance? My last goosedown one was supposed to be washable if done in a large laundrette-size machine and then tumbled till dry. I followed the instructionss precisely but it was never the same after it.

Diane60

Bought a 13.5 tog goose feather & down duvet last year from Duvet &pillow warehouse. (King size £38 approx) It is excellent. They have all types of duvets. Check them out, I found the serice from them was very good. they have customer review for some products on the site too.

kitekat

I would agree about buying a down duvet,and if you can afford it go for all down without feathers,they are the bees knees in warmth and comfort.Feather duvets are weighty and so make some people feel they are warm,but down is lightweight and gives the best heat.I never felt warm with previous feather duvets i had regardless of the tog rating.

jaks111

thanks for this i recently bought a all seasons one 2 duvets clip together im sure it said feather but it was far to heavy so i passed it on to my daughter and i have gone back to a hollowfibre one so do i need a down one then are they lighter

thanks

kitekat

jaks111 wrote: »

thanks for this i recently bought a all seasons one 2 duvets clip together im sure it said feather but it was far to heavy so i passed it on to my daughter and i have gone back to a hollowfibre one so do i need a down one then are they lighter

thanks

Down are definately lighter and warmer.

jaks111

kitekat wrote: »

Down are definately lighter and warmer.

ok thanks does any one know any good deals do you still stay with a high tog for warmth

thanks again

Clowance

We have just got through 2 weeks with no heating (boiler broke) by putting a fleece blanket over the existing basic duvets bought from supermarket - hollowfill or something. This made them lovely and warm and is not heavy. Seems to stay in place ok too (and I am a restless sleeper).
I bought a so called summer weight one this year as well but found it was just as hot as the 13.5 tog winter one! Normally use a sheet with or without a fleece blanket in summer, wish I had stuck to that.
Fleece blankets also wash and dry easily. HTH

Enterprise_1701C

We have a microfibre All Seasons duvet - we have never been able to use it clipped together as it would be way too warm, we only changed from the light one to the heavy one this weekend and it is still a little too warm! We have had it about 3 years, bought it when I decided we would be better off to have a king size one on our regular size bed so I would actually get some cover!!

Would highly recommend microfibre, it is light and warm and snuggly - I think we got ours from the duvet and pillow warehouse too.

Incidentally, this is without the heating as we have not yet turned ours on.

beachbeth

bcl999 wrote: »

Did you wash your feather duvet by any chance? My last goosedown one was supposed to be washable if done in a large laundrette-size machine and then tumbled till dry. I followed the instructionss precisely but it was never the same after it.

No, never washed it. It just went flat all by itself even though I regularly shake it up.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I have more of an idea of what Im looking for now!