If you don't have a winter duvet or if your existing winter duvet is of an uncertain age, this winter duvet buyers guide will help you find the perfect duvet to snuggle up in this winter.
How do you choose the perfect winter duvet?
There have been some great innovations in bedding and duvet manufacture in recent years. This means that there are probably many more choices available to you since you last bought a duvet. So if you are unsure which duvet Tog rating and which filling is for you, then you are not alone.
The good news if you're not sure how to decide what is best for you is that you are in the right place. This winter duvet selection guide has been put together to help you decide which duvet tog rating, which filling, which covering and even which duvet size is for you.
The TOG rating
When you look at the selection of duvets we have here on Sleepy People and in other retailers, you'll notice they all have a Tog rating. To keep things simple, you can think of the tog rating as how well the duvet insulates against the cold. The higher the Tog rating, the warmer the duvet.
The standard duvet Tog rating scale runs from 1 through to 15. However, you'll never actually find a duvet with a Tog rating lower than 4 in the UK.
4 Tog duvets are most often used as cot duvets for babies over 12 months of age. It is really important that you don't use a higher Tog or adult duvet on infants of this age. Never use a duvet of any kind on an infant UNDER 12 months of age.
4.5 Tog and 6.0 Tog duvets.
The lowest adult bed size duvet you're likely to find is 4.5 – this would be suitable for the hottest of summer months Tog rating 6 duvets are popular in the UK climate.
7.5 Tog and 10 Tog duvets.
Spring and Autumn duvets tend to fall into the range of 7.5 Tog to 10 Tog offering more warmth than summer duvets.
13.5 Tog and 15 Tog duvets.
Most importantly for this article the most common winter duvet Tog ratings are 13.5 Tog and 15 Tog.
So now you know what how the Tog rating system works and the most common duvet Togs for winter you can go ahead and choose a duvet right? Well yes you could, but there are some more things you will want to consider before ordering your duvet. Read on to find out more.
Environment
The type of property you live in probably wasn't the first thing on your mind when you were thinking of which duvet Tog to choose for your winter duvet. It is however, a really important thing to consider.
A Modern house
If you live in a new modern property with good insulation, full central heating and double glazing, you might find a traditional winter duvet Tog of 13.5 or 15 Tog is simply too warm for you to get to sleep. We all know how uncomfortable hot summer nights can be and how difficult it can be to get to sleep on them. For this reason, a cooler duvet, perhaps one with a Tog rating of around 10 would be better for you, especially if you share your bed with a partner.
An Old House
Whilst many older properties have been modernised to include cavity insulation, central heating and double glazing, the construction methods and materials used are simply not as efficient at keeping heat in as new build properties. In older houses you're most likely to be comfortable under a 13.5 Tog duvet or possibly a 15 Tog duvet if you are prone to feeling the cold.
A Stone Built Cottage or Farmhouse
These older, traditional build properties might be full of character, but they're very difficult to keep warm in winter. Also by their nature they tend to be situated out in rural and countryside settings, where night-time temperatures are usually few degrees colder than than those in towns and cities. In these properties a 15 Tog duvet is our top recommendation for staying toasty warm in bed during winter.
Ok so, now we know about Tog ratings and have taken into consideration the type of property we live in, what else is there to consider when choosing our winter duvets?
Duvet Filling
The type of filling that goes into our duvets has seen the most innovation and change in recent years giving us a wide choice of filling types. Here's our guide to choosing the right one for you.
Natural fillings - Natural fillings are usually Goose or Duck feather. These duvets offer a luxurious feel and are often preferred by lovers of a heavyweight duvet. Feather and down duvets can cause some problems for allergy sufferers.
Hollow fibre - A new type of synthetic duvet filling which as its name suggest is made of hollow fibres that are very good at trapping lots of air making them very efficient insulators. When used with an anti-allergy covering to protect against dust mites, hollow fibre duvets are particularly good for allergy sufferers.
Micro fibre - Another new filling type for duvets, micro fibre fillings feel very similar to to natural fillings of goose and duck feather, though they tend not to feel quite as heavy as a natural filled duvet. The most expensive micro fibre filled duvets are always cheaper than the cheapest natural filling duvet meaning they are good for those who want a luxury feel but are on a budget.
Outer Covering-Just when you were thinking we must have covered all the choices of duvet types, we come to the outer covering, which is also a very important choice for finding the perfect duvet.Even though we use a decorative cover for our duvets to protect them and style our rooms, the covering that is used to hold the duvet together still affects how the duvet feels. It's also a really important consideration for allergy sufferers.
Cotton duvet outers. Cotton is widely considered to offer the coolest and smoothest feel to the outer covering of a duvet. Cotton is usually the outer-of-choice on all luxury range duvets. Being a natural fibre, cotton is fine for most allergy sufferers, though not necessarily as good as manmade anti-allergy coverings.
Synthetic duvet outers. Duvets with a synthetic outer covering are usually a little cheaper than those with cotton covers. If you're an allergy sufferer make sure that the duvet you choose specifically states it is an anti-allergy duvet – this means it will have the extra tight weave cover that makes it hard for dust mites to penetrate.
Micro Fibre duvet outers. Not only is micro fibre available as a duvet filling you can also choose duvets with a micro fibre cover. These duvet covers have an ultra smooth feeling – you'll even notice this through the external cover you put on.
Duvet Size
Last but not least in our things to consider is the duvet size. Obviously you'll choose the duvet size by the size of the bed you sleep in. However, if you sleep with a partner you may want to choose a larger size duvet when choosing your winter duvet. A larger duvet size will help keep those cold draughts out if you live in a cold house.
Choosing a bigger duvet size is always a good idea if your partner hogs all of the duvet. With a larger duvet there will hopefully still be enough duvet to cover you too.
