A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
| I am a warm sleeper and my wife is always cold. I want us both to be happy, I am considering a down comforter, but know little about them. I have looked at several sites and the prices and advise is all over the place- I don't trust them. I thought about an electric blanket, but actually know of 2 different families that have had fires strarted with them-one fatal. I would appreciate any advise that is forthcoming-thank you. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
| With down it's just not a matter of weight, it's the fill power that's really important. The higher the fill power the bigger the down clusters and the more loft the down will have. Not only does that give the comforter a big puffy and wonderfully luxurious appearance, it also traps more air inside the comforter for more warmth. This allows you to have a lighter weight comforter--less ounces of down, but actually more warmth. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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All of their comforters use the same fill power of down, so the amount of down, represented by the weight in ounces, is the only variable that changes between their lightest weight "Florida" comforter to their "Canadian Winter" comforter. This message was modified Sep 28, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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Hey tracman, go check out Cuddledown.com. This is a great company out of Portland, Maine. They have several weights of comforters as well as the option of customizing a two sided comforter with different fill amounts for people who sleep at different temperatures. This particular comforter was featured in Real Simple magazine. There are a couple of charts on the web site helping you decide which warmth of comforter you need: http://www.cuddledown.com/jump.jsp?from=cat&itemType=CATEGORY&itemID=135 We ended up getting a summer weight comforter from them which works great for us all winter long as we are both warm sleepers (we live in Oregon). In the summer we just use a cotton quilt. Hope this helps. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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I called Ralph Lauren to ask my two questions: Q: What are the dimensions of the King comforter? A: 110" x 96" This is the width of an Eastern King and the length of a California King, so will cover both size mattresses. Q: What is the warmth level or fill weight? A: The CSR did not have this information but claimed to own one of these comforters and said he uses it all year round. I'm guessing this makes the Ralph Lauren similar to a DeWoolfson Southern Light: This comforter is ideal for southern climates or for those who keep their bedrooms moderately warm in winter or air conditioned in summer. Edit: If it's 55 oz (as m61376 says in an earlier post in this threar) of 675 to 725 fill power, it sounds more like the DeWoolfson Piedmont: The Piedmont is our most popular comforter warmth and is ideal for a wide range of climates and for use during many months of the year. It is perfect for moderately heated or cooler bedrooms generally kept at about 58 to 64 degrees F, depending on the individual. This message was modified Sep 29, 2007 by haysdb
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Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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I went in search of a duvet cover for my down comforter. Big Problem! There is no standard size for a duvet (down comforter), and therefore no standard size for duvet covers. Some king size duvet covers are as small as 102x86. Not a very good fit for a 110x96 duvet! In fact, what is needed is a "Super King" duvet cover. These range is size from 108x96 to 112x100 to 114x98 What a mess. Ironically, after looking at hundreds of duvet covers online, the cover I like best is also from Ralph Lauren. As with the down comforter, they queerly don't don't specify the size, but one would hope it's sized appropriately for their down comforters. Or would that be asking too much? |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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haysdb wrote: I called Ralph Lauren to ask my two questions: Q: What are the dimensions of the King comforter? A: 110" x 96" This is the width of an Eastern King and the length of a California King, so will cover both size mattresses. Q: What is the warmth level or fill weight? A: The CSR did not have this information but claimed to own one of these comforters and said he uses it all year round. I'm guessing this makes the Ralph Lauren similar to a DeWoolfson Southern Light: This comforter is ideal for southern climates or for those who keep their bedrooms moderately warm in winter or air conditioned in summer. I guess you missed that info. in my previous post, but the CS rep. I checked with researched it a bit for me and the fill weight is 55 oz. on the King, 675-725 loft, Siberian white goose down, so it is filled more than the DeWoolfson one mentioned. That info. is for their Avenue comforter, btw. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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haysdb wrote: I went in search of a duvet cover for my down comforter. Big Problem! There is no standard size for a duvet (down comforter), and therefore no standard size for duvet covers. Some king size duvet covers are as small as 102x86. Not a very good fit for a 110x96 duvet! In fact, what is needed is a "Super King" duvet cover. These range is size from 108x96 to 112x100 to 114x98 What a mess. Ironically, after looking at hundreds of duvet covers online, the cover I like best is also from Ralph Lauren. As with the down comforter, they queerly don't don't specify the size, but one would hope it's sized appropriately for their down comforters. Or would that be asking too much?
I bought a Calvin Klein one and it is a couple of inches less in each direction, about 105 by 93. The comforter fits nicely into it and the slight difference doesn't seem to be an issue. Ebay has some good deals in case you're interested. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
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m61376 wrote: I guess you missed that info. in my previous post, but the CS rep. I checked with researched it a bit for me and the fill weight is 55 oz. on the King, 675-725 loft, Siberian white goose down, so it is filled more than the DeWoolfson one mentioned. That info. is for their Avenue comforter, btw. In fact I did miss it. I updated a couple of my earlier posts with updated information, including the DeWoolfson comforter it's probably more equivalent too, the Piedmont. I called RalphLauren and asked the dimensions of the duvet cover I like. The cover is 107x92, 3" narrower and 4" shorter than the comforter/duvet. I guess this is no different from stuffing a pillow inside a pillow case that's actually a bit smaller than the pillow. The pillow simply compresses, as will the duvet. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
| I learned with my duvet covers that they look best if they are a little bit smaller in size than the down comforter in order to fill it out with that puffy look I like. I love my Ralph Lauren Down Comforter. I used to have to sleep with so many covers on in the winter time but now I know I will not need much else other than this very warm comforter with the duvet cover. It is puffy and my allergies do not bother me. I was able to wash it with no problem. I am very happy with my purchase. |
Re: A bit off the subject- Down Comforters
| Coincidentally, the duvet cover I found that I like best was also from Ralph Lauren. I looked everywhere Google took me, but ended up back at Ralph Lauren. That is nice though since one would assume their duvet covers would be a perfect fit for their duvets. |