Let’s Talk Bedding Blog Supercomfort.com

What’s the big deal about higher fill power?

Fill power measures the number of cubic inches that a single ounce of goose or duck down occupies before placement in a comforter or pillow. Clients often want the puffy, billowy look that the high fill power down provides, but may be hesitant about the higher prices. Higher fill power down is scarcer and more coveted than lower fill power down so the price is higher. The cost of a single ounce of 800 fill power premium down can easily be many times more than a single ounce of low grade 500 fill power down.

So besides the look of the down, why should anyone pay more for higher fill power down? First, it’s more durable and longer lasting as higher fill power down has larger and stronger clusters of down. Over time, they’ll retain their loft and fluffiness better than lower grade down. If down loses its loft, it loses its insulation value. Also, higher fill power down is more breathable and thus is more comfortable. Low grade 500 fill power down tends to compress more, and that’s bad for your body’s circulation and for keeping your at a comfortable temperature. High grade 700-800 fill power down lofts up more, and allows for better air circulation and it feels lighter. Thus you can be more comfortable at a wider range of temperatures with high grade down. Great examples of high grade down can be found at our Luxury & Hungarian Goose Down Comforters section.
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What makes a down comforter fluffy: Fill Power or Fill Weight?

Hello,

A question we’re often asked at Supercomfort.com is whether you need fill power or whether you need fill power to have a fluffy looking comforter. Fill power is an indicator of the quality of the down, measuring the number of cubic inches that one ounce of down occupies before placement in a comforter or pillow. Down is rated on a 500-800 fill power scale, and higher fill power means higher quality and loft per ounce. The other term, fill weight, measures the number of ounces of down, so fill weight just indicates quantity and not quality.

The short answer is that you need both fill power and fill weight for a fluffy comforter. If you took the highest loft 800 fill power down but only had 1 ounce fill weight, the comforter would have essentially zero loft. Higher fill weight (ounces of down) will tend to make the comforter look fluffier when using the same fill power down. In other words, a comforter with 700 fill power down will look fluffier if filled with 50 oz fill weight compared to a comforter with 700 fill power down but only 30 oz fill weight. The higher fill weights tend to be warmer as well. At the same time, a comforter with 700 fill power down and 50 oz fill weight is going to look fluffier than a comforter with 600 fill power down and 50 oz fill weight.
For example, in our premium 750 fill power Hungarian goose down comforter product line, the queen size summer warmth comforter has 30 oz fill weight. The queen medium warmth has 42 oz fill weight, while the queen winter warmth comforter has 58 oz. As you step up to higher fill weights, the fluffiness or loft factor increases and so does the warmth level.

Welcome to the Bedding Blog from Supercomfort.com

Today is the launch for our Bedding Blog. It’s a place where I hope to share and discuss useful tips on what’s good, what’s great, and how to decide what to buy in bedding and more. Bedding and bed linens is an area in which there is almost infinite variety and the information or misinformation out there can be confusing.

Just today I had a client considering down pillows who asked whether I thought standard size or king size pillows were better. Considerations of cost aside, I looked at this as primarily a question of what would be more comfortable. Yes, king size pillows (20×36 inches) are 10 inches wider than standard size pillows (20×26 in U.S. specifications) and look more impressive when on a king size bed. But my personal opinion is that standard size pillows are more comfortable. With king size down pillows, there’s more space for the down to shift from side to side. With standard size pillows, the down has less room to shift sideways. If you have a king size bed and want pillows to cover the width of the bed for that luxuriant look you see in upscale hotel rooms, I’d suggest buying 3 standard size pillows and put them sideways. So what did my client buy? She bought the standard size pillows.

Cheers,