Let’s Talk Bedding Blog Supercomfort.com

What makes a down comforter fluffy: Fill Power or Fill Weight?

August 30, 2006 on 5:29 pm | In Uncategorized |

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.