The secret to a good night’s sleep is the right duvet. But, with so many options to choose from, from fillings to tog ratings, knowing what the best type of duvet to buy can prove a little trickier than it seems.
At Secret Linen Store, we believe that understanding the essentials will help you choose the perfect duvet that meets your needs and enhances your sleep quality. So, with that in mind, we’ve made a super simple guide to help you get your uninterrupted zzz’s every night, thanks to the right bedding combination.
In this guide, we cover everything you need to know when choosing a duvet, from selecting the right tog rating to fabulous fillings and more.
Tog Ratings Explained
All duvets come with a “tog rating”. This measures the duvet’s thermal insulation, or put simply, how warm the duvet will keep you. A higher tog will keep you warm on a chilly night, while a lower tog is much better suited to warmer weather. Choosing the right tog rating for you depends on the season and your personal preference for warmth.
Summer
(Lightweight)
Choose a tog rating of 2.5-7.5 for warmer months, or if you prefer a cooler sleep environment.
Spring/Autumn
(Medium)
A tog rating of 9-10.5 is ideal for transitional seasons when temperatures are mild.
Winter
(Lightweight)
Best for winter, a tog rating of 13.5-15 is best for chilly winter nights, or if you prefer to be extra warm and snug.
If you want flexibility, some people opt for an all-rounder that can be used all year. Our All Seasons Duvet cleverly combines a lightweight and medium duvet that can be fastened together to create a heavyweight option for the winter months, giving you a snug night’s sleep all-year-round.
To learn more about what duvet tog is right for you, visit our guide: How to Choose the Right Tog.
Choosing the Right Duvet Filling: What’s Best For You?
Once you’ve decided on the right duvet tog, it’s time to choose the right filling. There are two main types of fillings, natural and synthetic, but which one you choose comes down to personal preference.
Our natural duvets are filled with wool, either duck or goose feathers, or duck or goose down (or a blend of both down and feathers), while our two synthetic filling options are hollowfibre and microfibre.
Natural lightweight down duvets
If you’re looking for a lightweight down duvet, we recommend choosing one with a high down content. For a light duvet with unparalleled insulation, choose one with 80-100% down. The more down the filling contains, the lighter the duvet will be.
If you’re looking for the very best down duvet we have to offer, explore our Luxury Goose Down Duvets.
Let us introduce you to our Natural Hungarian Goose Down Duvet. The crème de la crème of duvets, if you will. This duvet features 100% Hungarian goose down and a high-quality batiste cover. Available in all sizes and many tog options, you’re sure to find the perfect size and loftiness for your liking.
If your budget doesn’t stretch to 100% goose down, we recommend duck down, which is a little less expensive. Our Natural European Duck Down Duvet is our top pick for a fabulous down duvet at an excellent price. This duvet is filled with Duntrack®-verified 100% European duck down for breathable warmth and softness.
Want to know more about the difference between duck and goose duvets? Visit our helpful guide for more information: Duck Down vs Goose Down: What’s the Difference?
Natural heavier feather duvets
For those of us who prefer a luscious loft to a duvet, we recommend a higher-feather-content duvet. When choosing this type of duvet, you get the added bonus of saving a few pennies, as feathers are a little less expensive than down.
Our best budget duvet pick is our Natural Hungarian Goose Feather & Down Duvet, which features a fill of 85% goose feather and 15% down. This duvet is of great quality, is a reasonable price, and is encased in our usual high-quality 100% cotton cover.
Natural and recycled feather down duvet
As a responsible B-Corp business, we are super proud to offer a very special recycled down duvet which makes brilliant use of used down that would otherwise end up in landfill. Supporting the circular economy, our Natural Recycled Down Duvet is filled with 100% recycled down, which has been collected, washed, and regenerated by our clever partners in Europe.
There is no compromise here as our Natural Recycled Down duvets offer all the benefits of our other 100% down duvets and a fill power of 700.
Natural wool duvets
Experience the ingenious filling that is our finest wool, within our fabulously snug wool duvets. Wool is renowned for its naturally insulating properties that help maintain a comfortable temperature. Thanks to its natural fibres, it keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer by wicking moisture away. The natural loft and weight of wool can create a snug and secure sleeping environment, providing a comforting feel.
The wool in our Wool Duvet is layered and encased in a 100% cotton cover, available in three weights for different seasons. This duvet has a lofty, quilt-like feel and offers excellent temperature regulation.
Synthetic duvets
Looking for a low-cost and lightweight duvet? Our synthetic duvets might be the option for you. The fillings have been picked for their premium down-like feel.
If you’re on the hunt for a big, bouncy duvet, we recommend our Synthetic Softie Duvet (aptly named, of course). Complete with matching hollow-fibre pillows, this duvet is light, lofty, and oh-so-soft. With seven togs to choose from, the hollow-fibre fabric will keep you feeling snug.
If you are a lover of down duvets but would prefer to avoid the real thing (and its higher price tag), then our Synthetic Just Like Down Duvet might be the duvet for you. This product is filled with Dacron® Comforel® Hollowfibre, a premium synthetic filling that provides a soft, lofty feel and is often chosen as an alternative to natural down. The hollow fibre structure is designed to hold air in a similar way to down clusters, providing lightweight comfort and helping the filling spring back after use, keeping its shape over time.
Recycled Synthetic Duvet
Another proud moment is the launch of our Synthetic Recycled Softie Duvet. A light, lofty duvet, which is available in all sizes and a variety of togs, is made from post-consumer recycled plastic. The plastic is collected, cleaned, and recycled before being used to manufacture bedding-filling fibres. Filled with AERELLE® Blue, which has all of the quality and comfort of a hollow-fibre duvet but made with recycled materials - what’s not to love?
Animal Welfare
As a business, we take the well-being of animals seriously and recognise the importance of treating them with kindness, respect, and compassion. We use a few animal-derived products within our range, including goose and duck feathers, down and wool.
We are committed to sourcing materials for our products that pose no risk to animal welfare, neither during the animal's life nor during production. Find out more about our policies and all our Fabulous Fabrics here.
Discover More From Secret Linen Store
You should have all the information you need to choose the duvet of your dreams.
Still wondering what the best duvet to buy is? Or what pillows to choose to complete your snug bedding ensemble? Then please don’t hesitate to contact us for further information.
Alternatively, keep up to date with all our latest expert tips and tricks on all things duvets, bedding and more on our Help and Inspiration page.
