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Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

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Julian
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Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142723

Postby Julian » June 1st, 2018, 10:02 am

I have a very old cheap Ikea duvet with 100% polyester filling which, since it was cheap, I am pretty sure is not any sort of fancy microfibre that tries to be like down. In theory this duvet is 13.5 tog according to the label. I am trying to work out what tog rating to buy for the replacement. Sadly none of the places I am looking at have these all-season combo duvets where you get a medium (typically 9 tog) and a thin (typically 4.5 tog) one with buttons in the corners that can be combined for winter so I need to make a choice. I'm mostly away in the winters apart from 2-3 weeks so it is more a spring/summer/autumn duvet and even at its current age and in its current state I would say it is slightly too warm.

One data point should be how I feel about my current tog rating but a quick Google has lead me to believe that, particularly for cheap synthetic duvets, tog ratings deteriorate over time so I'm actually not sure what my current tog rating is. That tog ratings decline does seem to make sense as the filling clumps and maybe also absorbs moisture and becomes more dense such that it has fewer air pockets and hence is less insulating. What I can't find though is anything that gives me any idea of the extent of loss of tog value, for instance over 10 years might a cheap synthetic duvet lose 0.5 togs of its rating (i.e. the Google articles I found are mostly industry-driven scare stories to drive replacement duvet sales) or are we talking about quite a dramatic decline in tog value over time? I'm trying to understand whether I am currently sleeping under a 13.0 tog duvet or a 7.0 tog duvet (or obviously possibly something in between).

Ideally there will be a professor of duvetology reading this who can give me the formula for calculating my current tog value, and such a formula would be gratefully received, but any anecdotal info such as "I had a 13.5 tog duvet that I replaced with a 10.5 tog duvet after 8 years and my new duvet felt warmer/colder/the-same as the one I replaced" is I suspect going to be easier to come by and would at least give me a few reference points to help guide my decision.

- Julian

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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142727

Postby Lootman » June 1st, 2018, 10:08 am

I notice that duvets have a "Fill Factor" as well as a TOG. The whole thing baffles me, and somehow foreigners manage to buy duvets without these pseudo-scientific labels. The first time I asked my (American) wife what TOG factor she wanted for our new duvet, she looked at me like I was some crazy science freak.

Take a trip to John Lewis - they have a bewilderingly large selection. The Siberian Down is the most expensive, followed by the Hungarian Goose.

AleisterCrowley
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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142730

Postby AleisterCrowley » June 1st, 2018, 10:12 am

The Siberian Hamster is good too, if somewhat expensive

Dod101
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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142737

Postby Dod101 » June 1st, 2018, 10:33 am

I would find a 'real' tog value of 13.5 much too hot in all but the coldest winters but am inclined to agree with you that horrible cheap synthetic duvets do lose their insulating properties. I have one which I have been using for the last couple of weeks or so which says it is 4.5 but even on warmish nights it does not feel all that comfortable and I think it is probably actually less than that to the extent that I am about to chuck it out. We/I (nowadays) have many duvets of all fillings and tog values so I will simply experiment until I find a comfortable one for the summer and then revert to my 12.5 for the winter. I too am bewildered and John Lewis are probably as good as anyone. Down and goose feather fillings are often no good because you may be allergic to them although they I think make the best and most efficient fillings.

Sorry I cannot be of much help.

Dod

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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142750

Postby Stompa » June 1st, 2018, 10:56 am

Julian wrote:Sadly none of the places I am looking at have these all-season combo duvets where you get a medium (typically 9 tog) and a thin (typically 4.5 tog) one with buttons in the corners that can be combined for winter so I need to make a choice.


They are still readily available, for example:

https://www.johnlewis.com/browse/home-g ... beZ1z0rbvm

We have one, though it has never been cold enough that we've felt the need to use both at the same time!

Julian
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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142770

Postby Julian » June 1st, 2018, 11:46 am

Thanks all. I should have mentioned that my fairly expensive bed base that I don't want to replace plus my newly ordered mattress are both European sizes so that precludes John Lewis and a lot of other places since they only sell UK sizes (at least according to their web sites). It's a bit of pain but the 160cm European King width seemed like a good compromise at the time being just a bit bigger than a 5' UK double bed but not as overpowering in a typical UK bedroom as a UK 6' Super-King/Queen. At the time I expected European sizes to become more and more prevalent in the UK but that hasn't really happened. Still, water under the bridge now.

I'm beginning to think that the best solution, given that I do spend all but about 2.5 weeks of the UK winter overseas, might be to get something like a 7.5 tog duvet and then a bedspread to put over it for the few weeks in winter when I do need extra warmth. I actually like to sleep fairly cool so at the height of the UK summer, the all of about 4 to 6 weeks of it, I am quite comfortable sleeping under just the duvet cover with nothing inside it. If I go the bedspread route then an empty duvet cover + bedspread gives me another summer option.

- Julian

Julian
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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142771

Postby Julian » June 1st, 2018, 11:47 am

AleisterCrowley wrote:The Siberian Hamster is good too, if somewhat expensive

I'd worry about their little claws being too prickly at night.

- Julian

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Re: Rate of loss of tog value in a synthetic duvet?

#142784

Postby Lootman » June 1st, 2018, 12:17 pm

Julian wrote:I should have mentioned that my fairly expensive bed base that I don't want to replace plus my newly ordered mattress are both European sizes so that precludes John Lewis and a lot of other places since they only sell UK sizes (at least according to their web sites). It's a bit of pain but the 160cm European King width seemed like a good compromise at the time being just a bit bigger than a 5' UK double bed but not as overpowering in a typical UK bedroom as a UK 6' Super-King/Queen. At the time I expected European sizes to become more and more prevalent in the UK but that hasn't really happened. Still, water under the bridge now.

John Lewis has a handy chart in their stores that compares UK, EU and American bed sizes. Our bed is American King (but not Californian King) and John Lewis had a UK/EU size duvet that worked. Best to avoid the labels and just go by the dimensions, which John Lewis convenient provides in both metric and imperial form.


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