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No kind of comforter has been around longer than the fur comforter. Since the dawn of time, humans have been using fur to keep warm in the winter. Even now, in a world where we can replicate fur to a very high degree of precision, people still prefer the real thing. In this article I am going to tell you all you need to know before buying a fur comforter, and if you should buy one or if another fabric is more suitable for you.
Getting a comforter – made of fur or some other fabric – that is just right for your body and sleeping habits is one of the best ways to get a good night of rest. If you use a comforter that is too thick, you might be too warm while sleeping which affects your sleep quality. The same goes for a comforter that is too thin and leaves you being colder than you might want to be.
I am going to start out by talking about what fur comforters are, and what makes them good, and what makes them bad. After that, I am going to compare the fur with other fabrics. I am going to go (very) in-depth into how they compare on several very important factors. Next, I am going to recommend some fur comforters that you can buy if you don’t want to take the risk and get a great comforter right away. After that, I am going to answer a few of the most often asked questions about fur comforters. So make sure you read until the end to get all the info you need to make the perfect purchase.
Why Getting the Right Comforter Is so Important
Since you spend 6 to 10 hours in your bed a day, making that small place as comfortable as you can is the best way to increase the quality of your day-to-day light. Sleeping does not only affect the 8 hours a day that you are actually sleeping, but the 16 you are awake too. Getting a bad night of sleep leaves you tired throughout the day, affects your memory and concentration, and gives you a harder time thinking.
A fur comforter lasts about 10 years if you take care of it. So this is more than 3 years of the comforter constantly touching your skin and warming your body. So that means it is a pretty impactful thing in your life. Research to get the absolute best of the best comforter (fur or other fabrics) is going to be crucial and will affect you for years. Luckily, there is this guide to help you out!
What Is a Fur Comforter and What Parts Are They Made Of
A fur comforter consists out of two things. The first part is the fur sack or pouch. This is the outside of your comforter. Then there is the inside, the down. This is the filling of your comforter.
The pouch of the comforter can be made out of almost any material. This material is going to determine how it feels on your skin. It also determines how warm the comforter will be and the breathability.
The inside of the pouch can have different fillings (or down), the most often used ones are regular down (synthetic fibers) and duck and geese feathers. These are going to be pretty important for how warm and how much insulation the duvet – another word for a comforter – is going to give you.
Why Picking the Right Comforter Is Essential For Your Sleep
Getting a good night of sleep is extremely important for you. Getting the right comforter is going to help you in a lot of ways.
Allergies and Hygiene
Picking the right material for your comforter can solve a lot of problems. Often people don’t know this, but their comforter can cause (minor) allergic reactions and be a lot less hygienic than you might think. Fur is a comforter that can cause some pretty intense allergic reactions, so you need to make sure that you are not allergic to fur.
Hygiene-wise, fur comforters need to be maintained very well as they are organic materials. This can cause them to develop colonies of bacteria in your bed and mold, even if you skipped washing the comforter just once.
Quality of Your Sleep
A great comforter is going to make your night of sleep a lot better. The perfect comforter will make you fall asleep faster and have a much better rem sleep. There are a couple of factors that make a comforter great. One of these is the size of the comforter and the weight. Both of these are going to help you sleep faster.
Next to that, you will also need to take into account the filling and material of your comforter. First, if you take fur, this can be quite itchy and does not breathe very well. It does insulate your body heat, so it is perfect for winter. However, in summer you won’t enjoy this very much. The down is going to be pretty crucial too for the insulation.
The Down: Just as Important as the Outside of the Comforter
A major part of the comforter is what you can’t see. The filling or the down. This is going to determine a lot of the properties of this comforter. There are two kinds of down, in general, that are used for a fur comforter. There is the regular down, which is synthetic fibers, and there is also the classic down. These are geese and duck feathers.
Synthetic Down
This is the most used filling nowadays. It is a lot cheaper than goose and duck feathers. This is made out of synthetic materials like polyester. They are very light and insulate body heath very effectively. The main advantages of this synthetic down are how easy they are to clean and how cheap it is. Another important advantage is that cleaning the filling is very easy. However, due to the comforter being fur, that does not matter a lot, since you can’t take out the filling. Fur needs to be cleaned in a particular way. So this advantage does not really count.
Geese and Duck Feather Down
Geese and duck feathers are not used often in comforters, however, fur comforters seem to be the exception. This kind of down has the advantage of being quite light and insulates your body even better than the regular synthetic down. Geese and duck feather down is a lot more expensive than synthetic down. If you want to buy ethically sourced down from a reputable brand, it is going to be multiple times more expensive than synthetic down. Another problem with this down is that it is pretty hard to wash. However, since fur is even harder to wash, it does not matter that much for a comforter made out of this.
When you need to decide between a fur comforter with either regular (synthetic) down or ducks and geese feathers. You will need to take into account how thick the comforter is. A comforter with synthetic down that is just as thick as one with feathers will not trap as much heat. So it might be a worse choice for the winter.
What Are the Disadvantages of a Fur Comforter?
Warm – A fur comforter can be one of the best choices for keeping warm in the winter. It is no wonder that humans have been using fur to stay warm during the winter for centuries. It does not breathe as well as for example a cotton comforter, which makes it less suitable to use during the summer. You might overheat during a hot summer night, which will negatively affect your sleep quality.
Style – Fur comforters look pretty unique! There aren’t a lot of people who have a comforter that is made out of fur. So this is going to be a cool addition to your bedroom if it suits your style. Most fur comforters have soft colors and don’t stand out too much, so they easily fit into most bedroom decors.
Feeling – It is hard to say if this is an advantage or disadvantage since this is so subjective. A lot of people love the warmth and softness of fur. This is going to be subjective because other people really hate fur. This is mainly due to the itchy feeling fur gives some people. There are a lot of things that you can do to get this itchy go away. One of these is using a special product.
Price – Fur comforters are really expensive. They are amongst the most expensive options you have for your duvet. The price is often around the same ballpark as high-quality satin made of silk. So this is not going to come cheap.
Durability – Fur comforters do not last long. If you take care of them very well, you will get around 8 to 10 years of use out of this. The problem is that if you do not take perfect care of it, comforters made out of animal fur can be totally ruined in less than a year.
Ethics – A lot of fur comforters are from questionable sources and could have caused loads of suffering. So you might want to take this into account when buying one. Those that come from ethically sourced fur are often a bit more expensive but are of higher quality in general.
Fur Comforter vs Other Fabrics: How Do They Compare
Fur vs Faux Fur
Cleaning – The difference between cleaning faux fur and regular fur is massive. It is pretty much a nightmare to clean regular fur. It needs to be hand-washed, or cold water needs to be used. You will need to use special products to get the best results when cleaning regular fur. Faux fur is a lot easier to clean. You can throw it in the faux fur in the washing machine on a medium setting. This is going to do little harm to the faux fur since it is pretty durable.
Durability – Regular fur is one of the least durable materials. Even high-quality fur has issues staying in good shape for 10 years or more. If you do not take great care of real fur, it can start to lose hair after just a couple of months. So that is a major downside. Faux fur is a lot better in this regard. The faux fur will last about 15 to 20 years. So that is the major difference between the two.
Price – Fur is, in a lot of cases, just as expensive or even more so than silk satin. So you will need to have quite a big budget to get a high-quality fur comforter. The faux comforter is a lot more inexpensive. Sometimes a real fur comforter is about 3 to 5 times as expensive. The ethically sourced comforters are often a bit more expensive than those of questionable sources, however, they are of higher quality in general.
Warmth – Both faux fur and regular fur are about the same warmth. They do not have a lot of differences, but for one. Regular fur breathes a bit better than faux fur. So keep this in mind. Faux fur will develop a sweat odor a bit sooner, so you might want to wash it more often. Both of these comforters aren’t really suitable for use in the summer. So keep in mind you might want to invest in a second comforter, like satin or a thin cotton one, for in the summer and hot spring and fall days.
Feeling – The entire goal of faux fur is to feel just like the real thing. It does a pretty good job! If you buy a good faux fur comforter, you will need to concentrate and do quite an effort to feel the difference with real fur. I would say that I even prefer the feeling of faux fur over normal real fur. Faux fur is a bit softer and is less itchy than real fur comforters.
Fur vs Satin
Cleaning – Both fur and satin are very hard to clean. I think regular fur is a bit easier to clean than satin. You might be able to wash the fur by hand in cold water or on the lowest setting of the washing machine. Satin, on the other hand, can only be washed by hand in a very delicate way. Some satin is only suitable for dry cleaning.
Durability – While it does not seem like it, satin is a lot more durable than real fur. Satin, if you take great care of it will last you for about 10 good years. Fur, however, is going to start showing signs of wear and tear after just a couple of years. You need to take great care of your fur comforter.
Price – Fur and satin are about the same price, however, there can still be quite a range. The price will depend on how high the quality of the material is and the brand. For fur and satin, the quality can differ a lot between different brands. So make sure you do your research on just how reputable the brand is and check out the reviews online about the product.
Warmth – There is a major difference between the warmth of satin and that of fur. Satin is the perfect kind of comforter fabric for the summer. It is very cool and does not trap heat very well. The fur on the other hand is perfect for the winter. It traps heat very well and will keep your body warm even in very cold temperatures. Both fabrics don’t breath so well, so if you do not wash them enough
Feeling – Satin is a very soft material that has a silky feeling. A lot of people absolutely love the feeling and the softness, and this makes it very popular. Fur is the opposite, it is soft but is not smooth in any way due to the hair. Fur has a pretty weird feeling for some people that makes them start to itch. That is why I strongly recommend you to try fur before you buy it.
Fur vs Cotton
Cleaning – Cotton is much easier to clean than fur is. When you buy a new cotton comforter, it is advised to wash it a couple of times. This is going to make it a lot softer. You can just throw your cotton comforter in the washing machine and use most cleaning products. Fur is a lot harder to clean. You will need to wash it with cold water and with special products. So fur takes a lot more upkeep.
Durability – Cotton, if you take care of it, can last up to 20 years! That is a lot longer than fur does. Fur will only last up to 10 years maximum. Cotton is a much better investment if you do not want to buy comforters for a long time.
Price – Buying a fur comforter is not cheap at all. If you buy high-quality fur it is going to cost you quite a lot of money. Compared to high-quality cotton, fur can easily cost up to 5 times as much money. Since it is not a durable item, you will have to replace it much sooner than a cotton comforter. So make sure you take this into account.
Warmth – Both cotton and fur are used in the winter to insulate the body. Comforter’s are going to be different in thickness. So take this into account when looking for a new comforter you want to use as this affects the warmth quite a lot.
Feeling – Cotton and fur feel very different. Cotton feels much smoother, while fur is hair. There are not many people who can not stand the feeling of cotton. The fur on the other hand is very different. It can be quite itchy, so you might not like it.
My 4 Favorite Fur Comforters
Mongolian Lamb Fur Blanket
This is one of the more affordable options out there regarding real fur. While it is not cheap compared to faux fur, it is compared to other fur comforters. This is a great comforter to buy if you want a very warm and nice-looking duvet for either decorating your couch or your bed. It is a great duvet for the winter, but it might be a bit too warm in the spring and most definitely in the summer.
Natural Brown Rabbit Fur Blanket
If you want to use a fur comforter in the summer, this is the one I would recommend! It is very soft, does not insulate your body heat too much and it has a velvet back for an extra pleasant feeling.
The comforter also has a nice neutral color, so it fits into pretty much any room type and compliments many styles very well. You can use it for your bed, but also for your living room or in a guestroom for a touch of extra luxury.
Harvest Patchwork Blanket
This is my favorite comforter looks wise! It really adds a lot of flair to your bed or the couch where you decide to put this comforter. It has a very soft feeling and it will definitely keep you warm. What I also like about this comforter is that it has a black micro-suede backing to make this extra soft. It is quite an expensive comforter, even for a fur one, so if you are on a budget this is not for you!
Chinchilla Print Rex Rabbit Fur Blanket
This looks very elegant and is perfect to give any room a nice extra touch. It is dyed to look like chinchilla fur and has very nice white, gray, and black colors that will easily fit into the style of most rooms. It is also a duvet that will keep you warm in the winter. It insulates the body very well and it breathes well too. It might be a bit too warm in the summer to use when the temperature starts going up.
My Final Thoughts About Fur Comforters
There is a reason why fur comforters were used for millennia. They feel soft and are great to keep you warm in the winter. They also look quite stylish a give a unique look to your room.
However, faux fur is in many ways a superior version of real fur. It is cheaper, easier to clean, and lasts a lot longer. I would recommend you buy a faux fur comforter if you want all the advantages of a fur comforter without many of the downsides.