How To Choose the Right Duvet
Choosing the right duvet comes down to two things: the right tog for the season and the best filling for temperature regulation. This guide explains tog ratings, compares wool vs synthetic, and helps you pick the best duvet for how you sleep.
The Basics
- Hot sleeper: lower tog + breathable filling (wool helps regulate temperature)
- Cold sleeper: higher tog or layered duvet + blanket
- All-year option: medium tog + wool for temperature swings
- Best for allergies: wool resists dust mites naturally
Tog explained: what it means for warmth
A duvet tog (thermal overall grade) measures how much warmth a duvet provides. Higher tog duvets provide more insulation, while lower tog duvets feel lighter and cooler. While it’s tempting to choose the highest tog for comfort, true sleep comfort depends on selecting the tog that works with your body and sleeping environment.
This is especially true for natural, temperature-regulating materials like wool. Standard tog ratings assume constant room and body temperatures — conditions that rarely exist during a normal night’s sleep.
What duvet tog do I need?
Best duvet tog for summer
You won’t find fixed tog ratings for our products – as we’ve established, wool’s insulative properties vary with the temperature. Instead of a single rating, we provide an approximate tog range, ensuring your wool duvet adapts to your body’s needs and maintains a comfortable sleep environment all year-round.
Best duvet tog for winter
For winter, opt for a duvet with a tog rating between 12 and 15. These higher togs provide the warmth and cosiness needed for colder nights. Depending on whether you run hot or cold when sleeping, this translates to warm in our weight level system.
You can also opt for our All Season Deluxe and Organic Washable ranges – if you want that year-round option. Our all season duvets feature light and medium duvet attached by poppers. This gives you greater freedom if you want to invest in a solution you can use all year round.
Wool Vs Feather & Down
Wool
Wool is a hygroscopic fibre that manages both heat and moisture simultaneously. A wool duvet breathes which means it doesn't have a fixed tog, but a fluctuating tog equivalency. So, if you're buying wool for the first time, it gives you a better idea of what to expect when you snuggle up under the covers.
Feather & Down
Feather and down duvets act like a flask, trapping a fixed amount of still air (for example 10.5 tog). When you overheat, heat and moisture can’t escape easily. Slow moisture movement increases humidity, leaving you feeling hot and clammy — and reaching for the one-leg-out manoeuvre.
Which Duvet is Better For Sleep?
Down has long been seen as the 'luxury' choice for bedding, but when it comes to real sleep and comfort, it comes with compromises. While down is soft and insulating, it tends to trap heat and moisture, often leading to overheating, sweating and restless nights. Wool, on the other hand, is naturally breathable, temperature-regulating, and moisture managing; creating a drier, more comfortable sleep no matter the weather.
The 'Man-Made' Option
Synthetic Fillings
Synthetic duvets are primarily made from polyester-based fibres. They are popular for being lightweight, easy to care for and cheaper, though they lack the natural breathability of organic fibres.
- Hollowfibre: These fibres have a 'hollow' centre, designed to trap air and provide warmth
- Microfibre: Much finer than hollowfibre, microfibre is designed to mimic the silky 'squishy' feel of down. It is often the choice for those seeking luxury on a budget.
The 'Breathable' Option
Natural Fillings
Natural fillings are derived from plants or animals. They're materials that have evolved in nature to regulate temperature, so they're generally far more superior at managing heat and moisture than man-made alternatives.
- Feather & Down: Taken from ducks or geese, these are the traditional choice for 'loft' (fluffiness). Down clusters provide high insulation, while feathers add weight.
- Wool: A high-performance 'active' fibre. Wool is unique because it doesn't just insulate; it thermoregulates. It is also naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to dust mites - ideal for people affected by allergies, such as asthma.
- Silk & Cotton: Less common in the UK as a duvet filling, silk and cotton are flatter, denser natural fibres. They're excellent for very hot climates as they provide minimal insulation but high breathability.
How Do Wool Duvets Perform Against Other Fillings?
Breathability
Temperature Control
Allergy Friendly
Longevity
Sustainability
Wool
Active moisture wicking
Regulates to your body
Naturally hypoallergenic
10+ years
100% renewable & biodegradable
Feather & Down
Natural but insulating
High thermal retention
Prone to dust mites
5 - 10 years
Natural but slow to degrade
Synthetic
Traps heat and sweat
Can lead to overheating
Prone to dust mites
3 - 5 years
Not biodegradable
If that’s not enough to convince you, there’s scientific evidence to show the power of wool. A recent Bangor University study found that wool outperformed feather and down, down and synthetic fillings in a variety of areas – from insulation and temperature consistency to moisture absorption and transmission. Read our full blog on Bangor University’s duvet study
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Wool Regulates Body Temperature
As soon as you snuggle down for the night, wool gets to work, ensuring your temperature remains consistent. It's the only fibre that can absorb moisture and release it back into the air - creating a personal 'microclimate' that is ideal if you struggle with night sweats, hot flashes, or a partner who prefers a different temperature.
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Wool is Naturally Hypoallergenic
Dust mites and mould thrive in hot, damp conditions. By actively releasing the moisture it absorbs from your body as you sleep, wool creates a dry hostile environment that stops allergens and irritants from growing. Our wool duvets have been awarded the Allergy UK Seal of Approval for this very reason.
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Wool is Super Strong
Wool fibres are naturally crimped, meaning they act like a tiny, resilient spring. You can sleep under a wool duvet night after night, year after year, and it won't lose its loft or develop the 'clumps' and cold spots common in synthetic or feather and down alternatives. In a world of fast homewares, our duvets are crafted for years of great sleep.
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Wool is Sustainable
We only use 100% British wool (the best kind!). It’s sourced from sheep raised on a diet of water, grass, and fresh air at ethical farms that meet the Five Freedoms outlined in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. With our pioneering Wool ID® programme, you can trace the wool in your duvet back to the very farm it came from.
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Try Wool, Risk-Free
Wool will change the way you sleep for the better, but don’t take our word for it. With our 30 Night Sleep Trials, you can try one of our wool duvets – if you don’t love it, you can return it for a full refund. No questions asked.
The Investment: Why Wool Costs Less Over Time
1
p
Wool's* cost per sleep
1
p
Feather and down's cost per sleep
1
p
Synthetic's cost per sleep
*Based on Woolroom's Deluxe Washable Duvet
The true cost of a duvet lies in its lifespan – how many nights' sleep it’ll provide before you need to replace it. By taking similar quality king-size duvets, with different fillings, and looking at their average expected lifespan and the average RRP, we’ve calculated a cost per sleep (CPS) – to give you a rough idea of why wool is an economical choice.
Wool’s strength and longevity is its superpower – we don’t call it ‘nature’s miracle material’ for nothing. With the proper care and use, a wool-filled duvet can provide years and years’ worth of natural, healthier sleep.
| Filling Type | King RRP | Expected Lifespan | Cost Per Sleep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium Synthetic (Polyester) | £200 | 5 Years | 10.9p |
| Luxury Down (90% Hungarian) | £285 | 10 Years | 7.8p |
| Woolroom Deluxe Washable (Med) | £229 | 10+ Years | 6.2p |
How Do You Clean a Duvet?
Washing a traditional duvet is a logistical nightmare. When you get to the bigger sizes (particularly King, Superking and Emperor), they become incredibly unwieldy. They simply won't fit easily in a standard domestic washing machine drum. It leaves you with one of the following choices:
- Professional Cleaning: Carrying a heavy, bulky duvet to the dry cleaners and paying a significant fee for a professional service.
- Hand Wash: If you do manage to wash a synthetic or down duvet by hand, drying it is even harder. If they aren’t dried perfectly - which can take hours in a large-capacity tumble dryer - down can clump and rot, while synthetic fibres can lose their structure.
The beauty of wool is that it’s naturally self-cleaning. Wool fibres manage moisture so effectively, they don’t trap the sweat and bacteria that make other duvets feel ‘stale.’ Most of the time you don’t need a washing machine at all.
Instead, you can simply hang your duvet out on the line on a dry, breezy day. The sun’s natural UV rays refresh the fibres, while the fresh air whisks away odours. It’s a natural, chemical-free way to keep your bedding fresh without the struggles of a washing machine.
Find out more about how to clean a wool duvet.
Shop our full range of wool duvets to discover a world of healthier sleep, naturally.
What If You Do Need to Machine Wash Your Duvet?
We know that life happens – coffee spills, the muddy paws of pets and messy children can make washing your duvet absolutely necessary.
Our Deluxe and Organic Washable ranges are specifically designed to be machine-washed. When it’s time for a deeper clean:
- Use a Wool Cycle: Select the delicate wool setting on your machine (usually 40°C).
- Specialist Care: Use a specialist wool detergent. Unlike standard detergents, these are designed to clean without stripping the natural lanolin from the wool.
- Woolroom Laundry Essentials: To make it even easier, we sell our own Wool Duvet Wash specifically formulated to keep your bedding in peak condition for years to come.
Shop our full range of wool duvets to discover a world of healthier sleep, naturally.
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