Down comforter. Advice? What to look for?

I thought the ones from LL Bean were a good all around value.

LL Bean is good.

I also really like Nautica bedding and Ralph Lauren

I'm looking at the LL Bean ones now - what do they mean by 100% downproof? That the down won't escape from the fabric?

I've been happy with my Ikea comforters though, but mine are in need of a replacement now too.

The goose down in my comforter always seems to escape in very small quantities, sometimes getting into my hair.

Overstock has many down comforters and quite cheap too. I want one but I'm skeptical because they are actually too inexpensive. I suspect they might have down + feather even though it says down. Baffle box construction so down doesn't shift too much. High fill power for fluffiness. Get the right weight - you don't want to be too cold or hot.

Cheap down blankets will usually result a feathery white doom for your home. You'll end up finding the down in almost all places and will be cleaning it up for months.

Or get two different comforters: one for F/W that's heavier, and another for S/S that's lighter.

Right, and they really are downproof from my experience. I think that is why I liked my LL Bean comforters, I never got "poked" by feathers. That happens with my very expensive Polo throw pillows and it is not very pleasant.

I highly recommend the one I use by Pacific Coast, available (for only $105 for Queen size) at Costco and Costco online:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1

http://www.pacificcoast.com/jump.jsp...4&s_cid=PCFADS

I just found some nice comforters at Bed Bath and Beyond and their having lots of holiday sales if you hurry. They have Wamsutta and some other brands that seem to be pretty good quality. (I recently bought a Wamsutta bed skirt, cover, sheets, pillow cases, and comforter).

I would stay away from Nautica. I really like some of Nautica's stuff but after spending twice the amount of money on one of their comforters and bed linens (compared to other good brands) and having the comforter fall apart after a couple of washing is a real turn off. It was probably a worse value than a less expensive comforter. Plus the thread counts aren't very high on Nautica bed linens.

Try Sierra Trading Post, look for the European made items. Typically the better made comforters are designed with box wall construction to allow the down full opportuinity to expand, and made with high thread count fabric to prevent down's tendency to forcwe its way out between the threads. But a size larger than you need.........you want to snuggle and get the comforter around you so just getting the size to fit the bed will leave you disappointed.

My wife does the duvee cover thing as she likes to sew. The white down comforter we stuff the various covers with was purchased at CostCo about 4-5 years ago and seems to be doing just fine. As to the down settling at the bottom, I think it is encouraged by having the edge hang over the end of the bed. I pull the comforter up after we get out of bed and we rotate the comforter inside the cover on a regular basis.

One high-quality down comforter will serve you well in both summer and winter. In winter, we use a heavy duvet cover. In summer, we sleep under a sheet and just the down. Yeah it's white and could get dirty but I don't care. I have had good luck throwing these things in the washing machine. You have to physically un-knot the clumps of wet down. Ones with closed baffles will yield smaller clumps. Then spread it out and turn it every so often until dry. Basically you wash it as you would a sweater.

Down breathes well (unlike polyfill) so the high-quality down comforters do not make you sweat much in the summer. Perhaps the duvet cover will, however.

I also recommend STP. I bought the Black Forest down comforter and it's perfect. It's well worth whatever they want for it. I paid $240 for the queen, shipped. If you wait for one of the periodic home and bedding sales, they get priced at 50% or more off, and then you use one of the 20 or 30% coupons to get the lowest price. That said I'd pay $400 for this again in a heartbeat. Think of it as a giant bed-sized sweater and you'll realize it's a good value.

EDIT: oops, you asked for a cheap one. My mother adores the Blue Ridge Royal Damask one. STP was once much more stocked with down comforters - looks like they have sold off most of their stock for this winter - but here it is in a king.

I would shun any polyfill. Also my sister bought a cheap one, at Target I think, and hates how much of the down pokes through.