Goose Feather Duvets

High quality goose down comforters provide the best insulation available short of space age engineered fibers.  It’s no wonder then that a good white goose down comforter is not cheap to buy.  There are many different terms in describing a down feather comforter and it is important to understand what these different words mean.  The quality in down bedding can vary greatly and poor quality down comforter sets will lose feathers constantly, won’t keep you warm and the poor quality down in these blankets will poke and scratch at your skin.  Choosing the wrong type of comforter to save a few bucks can result in buyers regret in a year or two.

Why use down feathers to fill blankets?

Feathers are the outer covering that grows from the skin of birds and animals in the class of Aves.  Feathers and plumage are one of the most complex outer coverings found in modern animals.  In most birds, the entire body is covered in feathers. However, the type of covering differs depending on the area of the body.  Avian feathers provide thermal insulation, waterproof protection, and their light and fluffy nature aid in flight.

The use of feathers from ducks, geese, and chicken have long been used as filling inside clothing and bedding in colder climates.  This tradition started in Europe where the winters are cold and long.  However, not all comforters and duvets filled with feathers can be called down comforters.  The feathers are separated by class, quality, and the animal which they come from.  For a comforter to be considered down bedding it has to satisfy several criteria.

There are two different types of feathers from birds.  The different types are separated into vaned feathers and down feathers.  Down feathers are the softer, fluffier, and lighter feathers that grow underneath the vaned feathers.  These feathers are softer and the best quality for filling down comforters because unlike the exterior vaned feathers, down feathers don’t have hooks or a sharp and tough shaft that can poke and scratch your skin.  Not only are they gentler, but because down is fluffier, this type of feathers can trap a lot more air and provide better heat insulation for an extra warm feather filled blanket.

Why are comforters made from white goose down so warm?

Because of down’s excellent insulating qualities, down feathers are used in high quality bedding like blankets, duvets, and goose down comforters, pillows, and even mattresses.  The type of down preferred is goose or eider.  Eider down comes from a special type of sea duck that’s found only in the northern hemisphere and luxury eider down comforters can cost more than white goose down duvets.  The down from geese and eider ducks have the greatest loft out of all the birds and this is what makes them the best materials to make the best quality down comforters.  Loft describes the ability of the down feather to shrink and grow from when it is squashed to fully expanded.  This is what gives down feathers its famous ability to trap enormous amounts of air that provide excellent warmth and insulation.

Now that you know that down feathers make the best quality blankets, you know what to look for when if you want to buy quality down comforters.  Remember, the best quality down bedding is white goose down comforters, especially Siberian white goose down duvets and Hungarian goose down comforters but even better are eider down duvets.  However, nowadays most feather filled blankets on the market are made from white goose down and finding eider down comforters can be difficult.