While they are pricey, the best goose down comforters are a purchase that is worth every penny for several reasons, no wonder these comforters are more expensive than regular items. The high quality of the insulation here provides excellent comforters able to keep you very warm during the coldest seasons and with the comfort of light weight bedding pieces.
We listed some of the best of these comforters available today in the market and all you need to know about how they work and how to find out when you are facing an outstanding product.
Best Goose Down Comforters with Reviews in 2018
Pure Linens 1200 Thread Count Striped White Goose Down Comforter
This single size Pure Linens comforter is a goose down comforter of high quality, made of 100% ply Egyptian cotton with a 1200 Thread count profile for its enveloping fabrics. This outer mesh of cotton is also sold by the brand as an hypoallergenic material, even though is not clear how, since organic materials like cotton and goose down require a periodic clean up to work as bacteria-free. When it comes to the goose down, the outstanding quality could not be different. This Pure Linens piece is made on goose down 100% legit and has a fill power superior than 750, which makes it a comforter quite insulated and of high thermal profile.
Also, this goose down comforter includes a side-gusset profile that enhances breathability while keeping you warm. The gusset is an inner layer right behind the cotton cover and is sewed all along the comforter, so it does not matter what side of the comforter you want to use, you will always count with this extra insulating layer.
This goose down comforter is sealed with a box-stitching profile. That feature makes the whole comforter structure quite safe and resistant, so you will be able to clean it on a machine wash method and you can do that with warm water. The dimensions of this models are 106 by 90 inches, weighting 50 oz. So far, it is only available in white color.
Egyptian Bedding LUXURIOUS 1200 Thread Count GOOSE DOWN Comforter
Our second suggestion is the Egyptian Bedding LUXURIOUS. It is as well as 1200 thread count goose down comforter that has a quite similar profile to the Pure Linens item, the big difference here is the fact you can get this goose down comforter on several different sizes, from Queen to King, California King and Twin. For comparison, note that the King profile of this model has exactly the same dimensions of the Pure Linens single size comforter.
For the Twin and Queen model you get comforters slightly narrower, white the California King is slightly wider.For everything else these two models are almost identical: they feature a white Egyptian cotton for the outer fabric, sewed on box-stitching profile, so you can safely wash it and will not damage the overall quality of the product. The fill power here is as well superior to 750 and the whole comforter weights exactly 50 oz as well.
Topsleepy Goose Down Filling Bedding Comforter
For tighter budgets, the Topsleepy item is one of the best options on goose down comforters as it features materials with a slightly modest quality in comparison with the other comforters we have seen. However, this is another comforter that you can find in several different sizes and with the same white, box-stitched profile of the previous models.
Instead of using Egyptian cotton, this Topsleepy comforter is made on an affordable fabric of cotton microfibre. Instead of just a traditional thread of cotton, the fabric here is processed into a microfibre of cotton to deliver a silky satin feel. Even though it feels synthetic, it is the natural thing with the same breathability of the cotton and extra comfort. With this profile the thread count here is dropped to 300 without compromising the comfort and natural qualities of the cotton but can shorten the final price, which is a great cost benefit.
The goose down filling here is perhaps the most demure of the features. This comforter has a down of 500 fill power, comprised of 50% goose down and 50% goose feathers.
Like with the best goose down comforters, this model can be washed with no worries using warm water. The recommendations though are to let it hang dry out under direct sunlight.
Puredown White Goose Down Comforter
The next comforter of our list is a Puredown model developed with a goose down filling of 600 fill power. While the manufacturer is not very clean on the percentages on what is goose down and what is feathers, the ratio here is believed to be a bit higher than the Topsleepy model because the more goose down, the higher the fill power.
Like the usual weight of this king of comforter, this comforter is just 37 oz heavy, slightly lighter than the other models.
The outer covering fabric is a standard cotton 500 thread count. Perhaps the big difference here apart from the thread count and the fill power is the stitching. This model has a baffle box design, a bit more discreet and smoother than the box-stitch, but with a quite similar design.
The colour here is also something else: it is sold in a single white-and-grey striped texture. You can find this goose down comforter either on Queen, King or Twin sizes.
SNOWMAN White Goose Down Comforter
The last item of our list is the SNOWMAN comforter available in three different sizes, either Queen, King or Twin. This goose down comforter is perhaps one of the most stylish of our list. It features as well a baffled box stitching even though it is more prominent and bold than the Puredown model. Since it is sold only on white colour, it makes for a better aesthetic result with the fluffier stitch.
The outer layer made on 100% cotton is a 600 thread count mesh and the goose down is sold as a 700+ fill power. This SNOWMAN comforter is also hypoallergenic and credited by the manufacturer to be dust mites resistant. As a plus, it already comes with its own adequate storage bag, a woven zipper bag which is also useful for transportation of the comforter.
The only minor caring details you have to pay attention to is on the cleaning process. The manufacturer states the comforter can only be cleaned through dry clean method, so you should not wash it with water and usual clothes detergent. You can find the SNOWMAN goose down comforter available on King, Queen and Twin sizes.
What is a goose down comforter? What are the differences from regular comforters?
This kind of comforter gets its name from the material source that works as a filling for the comforter: the goose down. As geese are not chicken and their livestock is less prominent, the down of this animal is of higher worth, so the first difference you will notice on these comforters is the price that can be 5 to 10 times more expensive for the same size of a regular comforter.
The down is a set of inner feathers of the goose, closer to their body, which is responsible for their most critical insulation to keep them warm, while the outer feathers are what makes them do not gain heat from the exterior, keeping the cooler to their natural temperature.
So, with goose down, the comforter becomes a quite efficient thermal layer to do not let your body heat escape. This material works much better than many materials, something else that adds to its value.
What are the benefits of purchasing a goose down comforter?
While they cost more than regular comforters, the goose down products are a much better way to insulate your body with a lot of extras. First, they leave your skin breathe. As down is an organic material, its microscopic structure has a complex array of chambers that leave space for water molecules sublimate while the heat is kept from escaping. The outer cover of these comforters is made mostly on cotton or breathable materials to ease that process and this is necessary because since the down is quite efficient to trap heat, transpiration is also elevated. The cotton covers keeps the transpiration from becoming sweat and turn the experience uncomfortable.
Second and very important thing, is the fact goose down is a quite light material. A King set of this kind of comforter weights around 50oz. For the power of insulation that the goose of this size comforter provides, you would require almost 110oz of polyester, a quite common material for the filling of regular comforters. There is no need to say that it is much more comfortable to sleep under light materials than a ton of fabrics to keep yourself warm, so this is a quite stand out feature for goose down.
For last, among many other advantages, this type of comforter can be washed as well with warm water. Many synthetic materials from regular comforter do not bear warm washing cycles and can be harder to clean up to remove bad odours, for example. This type of comforter can be washed either on warm or cold water cycles, and some models can be washed as well on dry clean methods – depending of the solvents involved in the dry cleaning.
Goose down also do not require direct sunlight exposition to hang dry, as well as it can tumble dry.
What the best goose down comforters feature?
When it comes to this type of comforter, things are a bit more complicated than usual to find out the best product because there are some features you need to know before hand for comparison between models:
Goose Down / Goose Feather Ratio: While technically down and feather are all, feathers, when a comforter claims to use feathers that adds some negative points to the overall rate of quality for a goose down comforter. As we said previously, the down is excellent to keep the heat trapped, but the feathers are meant for cooling, a barrier against the exterior heat. Some comforters will feature both materials because the feathers per se are as fluffy and comforting, but they decrease the insulation capacity of the comforter overall so you have to keep an eye on that.
Stay away from comforter that feature a 50/50 ratio for example. On the other hand, goose down comforters are partially out of trouble if they feature a ratio around 35/75 because their fill power will be guaranteed, which is the next topic we are going to talk about.
Fill Power: The quality of the goose down comforter is measured ultimately by the fill power, the amount of cubic space that 1oz of the filling will cover. When you have a mix of down and feathers, that ratio lowers proportionally to the amount of feathers included per once. That is why for higher ratios like 75 and up of down, the insulation quality can be guaranteed at some extent.
The industry states a measure code for that power, where a fill power of 400 to 450 is a medium quality power, 500 to 550 is considered good, 550 to 750 is very good, and over 750 is granted an excellent fill power for comforters.
Not only the amount of down plays a part here, but also the original quality of the down. Some downs that are not of goose source, like the Muscovy duck are even higher than 900 – as well as very expensive and rare to find normally.
For last, a goose down comforter that features 50oz with a 750 fill power output will be lighter, warmer and fluffier compared to a comforter with 70oz that features a 550 fill power. It is at last about the quality and not the quantity.
Outer Cover: For last, here the preference is always for organic materials like the cotton. As we said previously, the goose down is quite efficient to keep the heat trapped, but transpiration can turn the experience into a sauna in your bed. The cotton will release the natural water from the skin transpiration and avoid the uncomfortable feeling of sweating under the sheets.
Cotton is, for this and other natural qualities, a more expensive material but it is worth every penny. Also, it is more resistant to endure several washing cycles than other synthetic materials.
Abby Larson
