Down Substitute Covers Can Save You Money
The majority of people realize that to get a hold of a real quality down comforter, one might have to spend hundreds of dollars. Down is not an easily harvested material. It requires raising geese until maturity which can take months or years. If farmed geese are not available, then a lot of labor must go into finding a source of wild geese to supply the down.
The source of down is in the undercoat of waterfowl, most often geese but also sometimes ducks. The top coat is known as the flight feathers which most people can identify and understand. Flight feathers are oiled, stiff and have the characteristic elongated feather shape. Down is much softer and comes in a little clump known as a plumule. The two may be mixed in products for attaining the right stiffness.
A little family of just four people means that three or more comforters will be required every night. Children also tend to wear down any sort of bedding, whether its the cheap pillows or the pricey comforters. The result is a lot of money goes into bedding. To save money, families might want to consider down alternatives.
The key properties that need to be replicated in the alternative are the loft and softness of down. The loft or fill-power is essentially a measure of how much volume a certain weight of material takes up. A high loft material, pound for pound, is much more voluminous than a low loft material. Down is high loft because just an ounce of it can fill 400 to 1000 cubic inches (uncompressed).
Not all down alternative comforters will be cheaper than traditional down comforters. There are a number of alternatives which are made of materials just as rare and precious. For example, soft alpaca wool derived from the coat of the South America alpaca can be as expensive in comforters. Nor are expensive alternatives restricted to natural fills, as the patented and trademarked Primaloft is a premier polyester alternative that is thought to be very close in warmth and loft.
In order to economize and save money, consumers should focus their attention on the polyesters, which comprise almost the entire synthetic market. In addition, consumers should try out products from each of the many companies that offer this product. The reason is that the synthetics are often made in-house, with proprietary technology. Some companies have excellent alternative fill whereas others have yet to master the techniques.
Fortunately many manufacturers churn out high quality down alternative comforters and bedding now. Two examples are Stearns and Foster and Beyond Down, both of which make comforters.
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