What Is a Down Comforter?

Comforters

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a comforter as a bed covering with filling in between two layers of fabric. Down comforters have a layer of down feathers in between the fabric layers. Technically, a company can label a comforter filling as "down" as long as it contains at least 75 percent down.

Down Origins

• Down feathers keep birds warm more so than their other feathers. Down feathers have a soft and fluffy feel with no prickly barbs or hooks. Down feathers grow underneath courser outer feathers on birds to insulate them.

Benefits

• Down comforters provide a lot of warmth for how little they weigh. They also wick moisture away from the body and insulate well in a wide variety of situations. Down bedding can last for years, and many people like its fluffy feel.

Considerations

• High-quality down comforters have seams or box shapes sewn into them to prevent the down from shifting too much when the comforter moves. The seams or boxes hold the down in place, so the comforter stays evenly warm and fluffy.

  Down can also come in different fill powers, or volume of down in each ounce. A higher fill power means more space taken up by 1 oz. of down. Downs with high fill powers provide more insulation in proportion to their weight than downs with low fill powers. Therefore, a blanket made from a down with a high fill power can be lighter but just as warm as a down comforter made from down with a low fill power.

Drawbacks

• Although down makes for very comfortable bedding for most people, some do not like it. Animal-rights activists find it cruel to pluck feathers from birds to make bedding. Some people also have an allergy to down and cannot use it without getting sick.