The Best Heavyweight Down Alternative Comforters

Down comforters have great insulating properties and are made with the natural down and feathers sourced from birds such as duck and geese. However, for a variety of different reasons, not everyone wants to own and use a natural down comforter. It doesn’t matter if you are worried about animal cruelty, have allergies, or are looking for a cheaper alternative; you need to know that down alternative comforters are the next best thing to choose, sometimes even a better choice than down comforters even.

Best Heavyweight Down Alternative Comforters

What Is Fill Power?

The weight of a comforter will be determined by how much fill is inside of the product itself. For the most part, fill power is used to describe a property of natural down comforters and it is a reflection of the volume taken up by one ounce of down. Comforters that have a high fill power typically provide better insulation properties, which makes them warmer compared to other options.

For the most part, down alternative comforters don’t usually have fill power but there are brands who choose to include this in the product description in order to give the customers a sense of the heat potential of that certain product:

• Comforters that have a fill power below 400 are mostly intended for summer use or, if they are used during the winter or some other cold season, then they should be layered with other blankets.
• Comforters that have a fill power between 400 and 599 are not very suitable for winter use either, as they are mostly purchased to be used in the other three seasons.
• If you’re looking for something a bit warmer, you can choose a comforter with a fill power between 600 and 799. People tend to sleep cold are much more comfortable with using such a product.
• For those who want the best loft and insulation, there is always the option to choose a comforter with a fill power that’s over 800. These are considered the true heavyweight winter blankets and they are not intended for summer use, unless you plan to sleep with your air-conditioning unit turned on.

Stitches on a Down Alternative Comforter

The stitching of a comforter is often an aspect that not a lot of people pay attention to. However, the stitching of the comforter can determine the quality of the product, can hint you on the abilities to prevent the loft from shifting location, and can grant you information of the insulating abilities of the product:

• Sewn-through stitches mean that the top and bottom of the comforter have been sewn together in order to create individual chambers, each hosting equal quantities of fill. By creating these tiny boxes, this type of stitching will prevent cold spots which would occur if the comforter wasn’t stitched at all. However, this particular type of stitch doesn’t have a great ability to maintain loft, so it doesn’t render what most of us would call a “puffy” comforter.
• Gusseted stitching is affected by the top and bottom of the comforter being connected to one another around the edges with the help of additional strips of fabric. Gusseted comforters more generous in terms of loft because the fill has more room for upwards expansion.
• Diamond-quilted comforters have stitches in the shape of a diamond and they connect the top and the bottom of the comforter. They are very similar to sewn-through stitches as they don’t allow the fill to move from one side to the other.
• Baffle-box stitching is reflected by individual compartments that are created with separate pieces of fabric connecting the top and bottom sides of the comforter. While this type of stitching also makes sure that the fill of the comforter stays in place, it also gives the fill more room to move around, which eventually leads to owning a comforter with more loft.

Other Important Buying Considerations

Regardless of whether you are looking to buy a lightweight or heavyweight comforter, there are a couple of extra things that you should know before paying money for such a product:

• Heavyweight comforters generally have high insulation power, which means they are unsuitable for all-year-round use. This means that during warmer months, you will have to put away the comforter whilst making sure that you don’t compress it too much. This is why you should avoid keeping the comforter in a vacuum-sealed bag. It is a better idea for you to fold it and store it in a dry closet, or perhaps use a cotton storage bag that doesn’t stuff the comforter too much.
• One of the main reasons why people choose down alternative comforters is because they’re easier to wash compared to products that are made from natural down. However, this doesn’t mean that every down alternative comforter can be washed in the washing machine. For the most part, brands that do allow machine washing will always specify this on the label of the product or the presentation page. If your comforter can be washed in the washing machine, you will most likely have to use a program with cold water, a delicate setting, and mild detergent. Some of the comforters that allow machine washing will require you to tumble dry them on low heat and avoid the use of bleach. It is always better to use a front-loading washing machine if you’re trying to clean the comforter in order to prevent excessive bunching.
• Just because you are buying a down alternative comforter doesn’t mean that you will always come across very cheap products. If you are limited by your budget, you can purchase an affordable download alternative comforter for as low as $25 and as high as $75. Budget comforters are generally limited to synthetic fills and don’t provide a lot of warmth and loft. If you’re willing to spend as much as $150, you can perhaps buy a comforter that’s made entirely from natural down or a down alternative product with quality fill material. High-end comforters can cost hundreds of dollars and, if you’re looking for an alternative within this price range, you can buy something that’s filled with high-quality silk or even wool.

Having obtained some of the need-to-know information before buying a heavyweight down alternative comforter, it’s time to explore our options and see what this generous online market has in store for all of us.

You may want to check out: Can You Wash Down Alternative Comforters?

Bottom Line

As you can see, there are plenty of heavyweight down comforters that might actually help you get through winter for the upcoming years. However, you should also consider the fact that some of the best heavyweight comforters that provide excellent insulation are those filled with materials such as wool, which are both expensive and hard to come across.

For the most part, buying a heavyweight down alternative comforter isn’t difficult when you consider how many different products the market has to offer. The real question is: do you have to be patient to browse as many of them as possible before making a buying decision?