Alternative To Goose/duck Down

[Guest TheBlueCat]

Down (and feathers) makes me sneeze - I'm talking full on, total loss of bodily functions, non-stop sneezing fits here. This means that I use pillows and duvets filled with various things other than down. The problem is that I've never found a filling that produces the same fluffy soft effect (or anything close to it) of down. Has anyone come across an alternative filling that comes anywhere close?

[yokel]

a filling that produces the same fluffy soft effect

Wiv respect, HPC posters have opinions on nearly everything but I doubt there are many experts on the soft and the fluffy. And if there are, they wouldn't want to admit it.

Y

[Guest TheBlueCat]

Wiv respect, HPC posters have opinions on nearly everything but I doubt there are many experts on the soft and the fluffy. And if there are, they wouldn't want to admit it.

Oh I dunno, I think there may be some softies out there in amongst the cold-hearted STRs.

[yokel]

Oh I dunno, I think there may be some softies out there in amongst the cold-hearted STRs.

I'd like to think the archetypal HPC advice would be to go in a bed shop - the sort where they have lots of beds that you can lie on in your scruffy clothes whilst salespeople watch nervously. Place your head on a whole range of pillows and if it results in a massive sneeze, move on to the next one. It would make a good sketch for Mr Bean.

And a touch of sympathy from me. Not pillows as such - just getting up in the morning makes be sneeze loudly. I have been known to start next door's dogs barking in reply.

Y

[Guest TheBlueCat]

I'd like to think the archetypal HPC advice would be to go in a bed shop - the sort where they have lots of beds that you can lie on in your scruffy clothes whilst salespeople watch nervously. Place your head on a whole range of pillows and if it results in a massive sneeze, move on to the next one. It would make a good sketch for Mr Bean.

And a touch of sympathy from me. Not pillows as such - just getting up in the morning makes be sneeze loudly. I have been known to start next door's dogs barking in reply.

Y

I've pretty much done that, minus the sneezing (I took a big dose of claritin before I last went pillow shopping) and the problem is that the ones with down or feathers just don't feel the same. They're all kind of springy and I find my head rolling off them rather than nestling gently within a soft valley of down as one would hope. The issue with all the synthetic duvets I've tried is that they kind of lie on top of me rather than fold around me. I find that lets the cold in: quite an issue when you live somewhere with -25C winters.

I'm surprised that no-one makes a synthetic feather like product that could produce an effect something like the real thing, there must be quite a market for it.

[Harry Monk]

You don't get down from a duck. You get down from an elephant.

[erat_forte]

have you tried a buckwheat pillow?

[The Masked Tulip]

I bought Sainsburys hyperallergeric duvet and it is very good - buy during a blue cross sale. I bought Dunelmn foam pillows that fit the neck for £20 each and surprisingly comfy. Last week Lidls had the same for £8 each.

[Guest TheBlueCat]

You don't get down from a duck. You get down from an elephant.

Ba-dum.

[Guest TheBlueCat]

have you tried a buckwheat pillow?

No I haven't - never heard of them until now in fact. Are they comfortable?

[The Masked Tulip]

No I haven't - never heard of them until now in fact. Are they comfortable?

Anything with 'wheat' in the name doesn't sound good for people with allergies.

[Guest TheBlueCat]

Anything with 'wheat' in the name doesn't sound good for people with allergies.

No, I'm good with wheat, gluten, pollen etc, it's just feathers and, to a lesser extent, cat fur that sets me off.

[The Masked Tulip]

No, I'm good with wheat, gluten, pollen etc, it's just feathers and, to a lesser extent, cat fur that sets me off.

Do you avoid pussies?

[Guest TheBlueCat]

Do you avoid pussies?

Fnarr, fnarr.

[Flopsy]

The last time I looked at alternatives to down the best ones for me were wool and silk. The synthetic ones were just too heavy for me. A while back I had an accident and heavy items make the pain worse

Not sure if you have a branch of John Lewis that you can get to? When I was looking the Oxford St branch has wool and silk there. It was years ago now. Cotton filled duvets as well but at that stage they were too heavy. Depends what you like though.

I notice on this webpage that they have synthetic ones that they claim are as light as down (also a silk one)

http://www.purelivingcollection.com/style/which-duvet-is-best.html

[the gardener]

Anything with 'wheat' in the name doesn't sound good for people with allergies.

Oddly, buckwheat isn't wheat as it isn't a grass. It's a close relative of the rhubarb plant.

[swissy_fit]

There are some very very good down imitations now, I saw them in House of Fraser and (I think) Debenhams at Christmas time.

[Riedquat]

Wiv respect, HPC posters have opinions on nearly everything but I doubt there are many experts on the soft and the fluffy. And if there are, they wouldn't want to admit it.

Y

There always is Fluffy, has anyone asked him?

[Mrs Bear]

If you go to a big M&S (or any other store with a big bedlinen dept) they will probably have samples of every kind hanging up so you can have a good old feel.

I recently saw cotton ones in M&S and have seen wool and silk advertised.

TBH though I don't think anything's ever going to be quite the same as down - after all it's Nature's way of keeping ducks and geese warm in freezing water/weather without making them too heavy to fly. Synthetics are never quite the same, though I suppose it's surprising that nobody's yet come up with a synthetic substitute that's equally good.

[The Eagle]

The last time I looked at alternatives to down the best ones for me were wool and silk.

Same here, I don't use duvets at all but rather wool blankets like commonly used in parts of continental Europe.

Something like this (but without the fringes):

http://www.urbanara.co.uk/wool-blankets

(this is a random site that came up in a quick search, I don't have any experience with this company)

One of the advantages of wool blankets is that you can layer more than one depending on how cold it is.

Of course with a wool blanket you also need a flat top sheet (between yourself and the blanket) instead of the duvet cover.

Most wool blankets can be washed at home in the washing machine (wool cycle) so they are easier to keep clean compared to a duvet, too.

Edit: this web site has even better choice (some options are very pricey though):

http://www.biggestblanket.co.uk/bed-blankets.html

[erat_forte]

No I haven't - never heard of them until now in fact. Are they comfortable?

Yes I have one and I love it. It is not "wheat" as stated above, it is little springy pyramid shaped seed pods. They shuffle round and conform to your shape, they let air circulate etc. They are not squidgy like down or foam.

[Guest TheBlueCat]

Yes I have one and I love it. It is not "wheat" as stated above, it is little springy pyramid shaped seed pods. They shuffle round and conform to your shape, they let air circulate etc. They are not squidgy like down or foam.

Cheers, I'll give it a go!

Thanks for the other suggestions on here - I've tried some of them in the past but a couple of links lead to some new ideas.

[Battenberg]

I was going to say wool too.

I've been looking at these for a while. I've read they are quite thin compared to regular duvets and also a bit noisy, bah, however they are supposed to be good all year round.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/Marks-and-Spencer-Natural-Duvet/dp/B004EHGKDQ?extid=ps_Prodext_Flowers%20%26%20Gifts&kwid=skuVzMbR&ef_id=UTG4fAAABRTFy6Sq:20130517064243:s

[DTMark]

I'm allergic to feathers in pillows. Or, used to be - I may not be any more, but then we never have them anyway. Thankfully just about all hotels and guest houses know just how many people are allergic to feather pillows so always have synthetic ones instead.

Generally I find most pillows to be crap - they last a month or so then start going flat. After a few months you might as well just lie on some rolled up newspapers.

Since I also have a house dust mite allergy, my solution is to "simply" replace the pillows regularly, since that helps with the allergy too.

[Battenberg]

I'm allergic to feathers in pillows. Or, used to be - I may not be any more, but then we never have them anyway. Thankfully just about all hotels and guest houses know just how many people are allergic to feather pillows so always have synthetic ones instead.

Generally I find most pillows to be crap - they last a month or so then start going flat. After a few months you might as well just lie on some rolled up newspapers.

Since I also have a house dust mite allergy, my solution is to "simply" replace the pillows regularly, since that helps with the allergy too.

[/quotes]

I have a latex pillow. It's blinking marvellous. I tried memory foam but found it too tough.