The right duvet helps you fall asleep and stay asleep. What makes a duvet ‘the one’? The following features play crucial roles.
4 features of the perfect duvet
Retains body heat,
but is never too warm.
Filters away moisture
and allows good air circulation
Is light and flexible, making it easy
for you to move
Is made from high-quality materials,
like down and cotton.
The quality and price of a duvet depend on its filling and cover, as well as the size and level of insulation it can provide. All of these factors should suit your specific needs. Here’s where you find out which duvet size is the right size, which tog rating is right for the best night’s sleep and what quality of materials you can expect for your budget.
1. How warm do you want to be?
A duvet’s tog rating tells us about the level of warmth it can offer; the higher the tog, the warmer you’ll be. Tog stands for ‘thermal overall grade’.
4-5 tog:Cool duvet. Great in the summer or throughout the year if you tend to overheat during the night
6-tog: Relatively cool duvet for spring through to autumn. A good choice for well insulated bedrooms.
9-tog: Year-round duvet for bedrooms that don’t get too hot or cold.
Warmteklasse 4 dekbedden: Warm duvet for the winter months, or throughout the year if you enjoy a warmer bed.
12-tog: Perfect for the coldest winters and if you tend to suffer from the cold
All-season duvet, all-seasons duvet or combi duvet: 2 different tog rated duvets in one product. Can be used attached or separated – one light summer and one medium warmth spring/autumn duvet that, together, keep you toasty and warm during the winter months.
2. Size a duvet according to your height and your bed
A duvet must be one length and width size larger than your bed. Taller than 180 cm / 5 ft 10”? You’ll need a duvet measuring 220 cm in length. The most common duvet sizes are:
240x220cm (beds >160cm wide)
140x200cm (single bed)
140x220cm (extra-long single bed)
More about duvet sizes
3. Match duvet quality to your budget
The features we looked at earlier differ from duvet type to duvet type. These features usually affect the price.
The best quality duvet
Down duvets are top of the best duvet list. Down and feather fills are not the same. For example, down duvets are up to three times lighter than feather versions. If you’re looking for a summer duvet, cotton is another option. Wool duvets are as warm as down but double the weight and nowhere near as soft or luxurious. Down duvets are also top of the quality list and this makes them the most expensive. However, as they last up to three times longer than a synthetic duvet, cost is spread over a much longer period. It’s not only the filling that determines the quality of a duvet, but the cover (ticking), too.
Buy a duvet that fits your budget*
Duvets ≤ € 200 (quality/price: average to high)
Duvets € 200 – € 395 (quality/price: high)
Duvets ≥ € 395 (quality/price: sky high!)
*Prices based on 140x200cm size
Thermal value of a duvet
The quantity of down filling inside a duvet affects both its quality and price. To be called a down duvet, it must contain at least 60% duck or goose down. The remaining filling is nearly always goose or duck feathers. If you want a top quality, lightweight duvet, opt for at least 90% down. A 100% down duvet is half the weight of a duvet containing 15% down and 85% feathers.
A duvet’s thermal value and quality is measured by its fill power. The higher the fill power, the larger the down cluster. A down cluster is a group of filaments attached to a central point, a bit like a dandelion seed head. Large clusters keep hold of more warmth than small ones.
70% Recycled dons (verkopen we niet)
100% duck down duvets
100% goose down duets
Masurian goose down duvets
Meer about fill power
The difference between duck and goose down
Duvet weight and flexibility
Your duvet’s ticking – the woven fabric cover that keeps the filling in place – is just as important as what’s inside. Ticking determines how flexible and snug your duvet feels. It can also affect duvet weight. Pure cotton ticking has better air circulation than ticking made from synthetic materials. A heavier ticking material can be up to 1.5 times the weight of a lighter mix, particularly important when you opt for a double duvet. Nearly every down duvet ticking is made from cotton.
The longer the cotton fibres in the ticking fabric, the higher the quality and price. English Cotton Count measurements (indicated as ‘Ne’) tell us how fine ticking yarn is. Ne41 denotes the number of 840 yard lengths per pound of thread – in this case a pound of thread can be stretched to cover 34,440 yards – nearly 20 miles! Surprisingly, this seemingly fine thread makes for a relatively stiff duvet cover. Nm59 or Batiste ticking is luxuriously soft, supple and light. High quality down duvets should always be covered with high quality ticking but unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Quality control and ethical down
Downpass-certified duvets undergo stringent controls. An independent body ensures:
- the environment in which ducks and geese are kept is of a high standard
- the down and feathers they produce are collected using humane methods
- the down and feathers are of high quality.
Duvets without Downpass certification might contain other fillings; manufacturers may advertise 60% down-filled covers as down duvets, giving the impression these are 100% down. They might use down and feathers gathered using inhumane live-pluck methods.
