Yahoo Finance 10 best summer duvets to keep you cool even on the balmiest nights
Complaining about the weather is as British as fish and chips. We moan about the rain, and then when the sun shows its face, we complain we’re too hot. Fans disappear from shelves and we go about our days like a bear with a sore head because we say the heat kept us up all night.
Attempting to survive on a few hours of sleep is no fun but we’d better get used to hotter days. Heatwaves, like the ones this summer and in 2018, when temperatures reached 35C, are now 30 times more likely because of the climate crisis.
This year, the Met Office updated its heatwave temperature thresholds across eight counties, in response to global warming. Six counties, including Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire, are moving from a 27C threshold to 28C, Lincolnshire from 26C to 27C and East Riding of Yorkshire from 25C to 26C.
Sleeping with one leg out of the covers just won’t do if you’re under a heavy duvet. A summer duvet is a must. These lighter, thinner versions should provide just the right amount of coverage without adding too much weight or heat and, above all, they should be breathable.
With warmer nights becoming more regular, we’ve rounded up the duvets that will help you beat the heat.
How we tested
April’s warm days created the perfect conditions for testing these summer duvets. Each has been used for several nights, to enable us to figure out how well they could provide comfort and cover in summer without adding too much heat or weight. Besides how they helped us sleep, we’ve rated each on the quality, filling, materials used and ease of care.
The best summer duvets for 2022 are:
Best overall – Simba hybrid duvet: £139, Simbasleep.com
Best for hot sleepers – Scooms Hungarian goose down duvet: £170, Scooms.com
Best wool duvet – Devon Duvets summer warmth British wool double duvet: £135, Soakandsleep.com
Best for summer warmth – Jysk tronfjellet 4 season duvet, single: £60, Jysk.co.uk
Best for people with allergies – Cuddledown down alternative microfibre duvet: £36.75, Cuddledown.co.uk
Best luxury duvet – Feather and Black Hungarian goose down duvet: £199, Featherandblack.com
Best innovation – Sleep.8 S8 cooling sensation thin duvet: £110, Sleep8.uk
Best silk duvet – Dusk pure mulberry silk duvet collection: From £100, Dusk.com
Best budget buy – Brentfords essentials cool duvet: From £7, Onlinehomeshop.com
Best for disagreeing couples – Silentnight yours and mine dual tog duvet: From £35 Silentnight.co.uk
Simba hybrid duvet
The UK is not the kind of country where you’re guaranteed wall to wall sunshine and heat throughout the summer months – we all know that only too well. But this duvet is made for British summertime because it offers coolness or warmth when you need either for the best of both worlds.
Astronaut-inspired temperature regulation in the form of Stratos technology is behind this smart duvet’s cooling powers. One side of the duvet – the patterned one – has this feature and keeps you comfortable by absorbing your body heat if you get too hot on balmy nights. It’s then said to release the stored heat when your body temperature drops, but our tester found they could fast-track the process by flipping over the duvet to provide instant toastiness on a night when the mercury plummeted and they started to feel chilly.
Besides the intelligent fabric, there’s plenty more to love about the Simba hybrid duvet. It’s brilliantly well made, with evenly stitched quilting to keep the duvet smooth and lump-free, while the filling is made from recycled PET bottles, which helped our tester sleep that bit sounder knowing it is eco-friendly as well as super comforting.
Buy now £139.00, Simbasleep.com
scooms Hungarian goose down duvet
If you’re forever waking up in the night to throw off your duvet because you’ve got too hot, even in the cooler months, this duvet will see you sleeping comfortably through the night. It’s incredibly light, the fill weight of the double is just 320g, and despite being relatively thin, cloud-like for comfort. Inside the 300 thread count 100 per cent silky soft sateen cotton cover is a filling comprising 90 per cent Hungarian goose down and 10 per cent small Hungarian goose feathers washed only in thermal spring water.
We tested the double and loved the high-end feel of the duvet and clever little touches, such as the feet label that shows which way to put it on the bed and the buttonholes that allow you to build up the duvet with higher tog versions when the weather turns icy. We also liked that it is anti-allergen certified and dust mite proof. Most importantly, our tester found it was excellent for regulating their temperature throughout the night for healthful, undisturbed sleep.
Buy now £170.00, Scooms.com
Devon Duvets summer warmth British wool double duvet
Wool isn’t something we’d usually reach for in summer but hear us out. This duvet is beautifully handmade in Devon using British wool direct from British farmers and smooth, ethically sourced, unbleached, 260 thread count cotton for the casing. During testing, we noticed the duvet was surprisingly breathable and effective at regulating our tester’s body temperature, making it ideal for mild summer nights. We could see that much care had gone into handcrafting it, and the quality is exceptional. It was among the more pillowy duvets we tested, which felt soothing without adding heat or too much weight. That it can be machine washed at home at 30C is brilliant, and it arrived with a cute lavender-filled cotton pouch for adding a dreamy scent to our airing cupboard.
Buy now £135.00, Soakandsleep.com
Jysk tronfjellet 4 season duvet, single
Not everyone finds themselves sweltering on summer nights and if you are one of those who feel the cold, especially in bed, this duvet could be what’s needed for ultimate comfort. Well, really this is two duvets put together that can be taken apart according to the weather, which will come in handy with this country’s changeable climate.
The lighter of the two is 6 tog and is excellent for those warm nights, whereas the slightly heavier 7 tog is suitable for those evenings when the temperature plummets when the sun goes in. When one is not in use, keep it in the included storage bag. Together they make a brilliant autumn and winter duvet, providing a year-round cover. A few other things also warmed us to this duvet: the quality is outstanding and the floral pattern on the pure cotton silky casing is a charm. The duvet can also be washed at 60C, making it super hygienic and especially good for children’s beds.
Buy now £60.00, Jysk.co.uk
Cuddledown down alternative microfibre duvet
Allergies and hay fever can ruin spring and summer, so finding a duvet that won’t contribute to those is essential, and this one from Cuddledown is designed for that reason. It is filled with a cushiony down-like hypoallergenic microfibre made from recycled materials, and it is Sanitized treated and approved for anti-allergy protection and freshness. We loved how light and breathable the duvet was and the super-soft feel of the 250 thread count pure cotton casing. The baby blue piping detail around the edges is also an attractive feature, and we could tell it was a high-quality, well-made product.
Buy now £36.75, Cuddledown.co.uk
Feather and Black Hungarian goose down duvet
Slip into luxury every night with this duvet. The 80 per cent Hungarian goose down and 20 per cent Hungarian goose feather filling, and 280 thread count pure cotton cover gives a plush hotel bed feel that our tester fell in love with. The natural filling makes it ever so comfortable and breathable and, despite being down, was surprisingly cooling for warm nights. It is machine washable at home at 40C and can be tumble dried on a cool setting for ultimate convenience. Add to that care a regular shaking out and the duvet will remain in perfect condition for years. We liked the quality of the stitching and the square pockets that kept the filling in place for an ultra-smooth and lump-free cover.
Buy now £199.00, Featherandblack.com
Sleep.8 S8 cooling sensation thin duvet
Something good enough for astronauts is good enough for us, and the fabric on this duvet is just that. It is made from Outlast, which Nasa developed for astronauts’ gloves because they’d need protection from extreme temperature fluctuations in space. While we don’t expect to be sleeping in such intense conditions, the sweltering summer nights can get uncomfortably hot and disrupt slumber. We put the claim to the test and our typically hot sleeper, who would usually wake up in a sweat even in spring, found they were sleeping comfortably through the night. The fabric and bamboo and polyester filling are ultra-breathable yet soft and flexible enough for a cosy night. We liked that this duvet is also machine washable at 30C and suitable for people with allergies, while the strong fabric drawstring bag it comes with is perfect for storage during winter when you may need something a little warmer.
Buy now £110.00, Sleep8.uk
Dusk pure mulberry silk duvet collection
If you’re looking for luxury but avoid down and feathers because they can trigger your allergies, this silk duvet is an excellent choice. The mulberry silk filling is sumptuous yet lightweight enough not to weigh you down. The luxury doesn’t stop there because the cover is 300 thread count 100 per cent cotton and features a sophisticated stripe pattern similar to those we’ve seen in high-end hotels, with quality stitching. Our only complaint is that it is somewhat harder to care for than some of the other duvets in our round-up because it is spot clean only. It was one of the thinner duvets we tested, so not ideal if you’re looking for a cloud-like cover, although regularly shaking it out did help keep it puffy.
Buy now £100.00, Dusk.com
Brentfords essentials cool duvet
Duvets can be expensive but this one from the Brentfords essentials range costs under £10 to fit into almost anyone’s budget. And despite the super low price, it was the puffiest duvet we tested for this round-up, thanks to the hollow fibre filling. It was also lightweight and breathable, but we would have preferred a cotton cover rather than the 100 per cent polypropylene, which doesn’t feel exceptionally high quality (even though that is probably a bit of an ask for the price). We were impressed that it is a UK-made duvet and machine washable at 40C.
Buy now £7.00, Onlinehomeshop.com
Silentnight yours and mine dual tog duvet
Many of us have been there: your partner has pushed the covers off because they’re too hot, leaving you frozen or pulled them up and left you boiling, but this ingenious duvet is designed to put a stop to those night-time quarrels. One half is 4.5 tog and the other 7.5 ensuring peace and comfort for all. It is a pretty pillowy duvet with a filling of cosy polyester hollowfibre. As with the previous duvet, we would have preferred a cotton cover but the polyester microfibre on this one is surprisingly soft and comforting.
Buy now £35.00, Silentnight.co.uk
Summer duvet FAQs
What type of duvet is best for summer?
When it comes to choosing the perfect summer duvet for you, it’s important to consider the material it is made of. Natural duvets, like those that have duck and goose feather filling as well as down, tend to be more insulating, which means they can feel much warmer with less filling. But, if you pick one with a low tog, it could still be suitable for the summer months as they are remarkably breathable. When your duvet has a higher down-to-feather ratio, it will be more lightweight.
Wool duvets are chunkier, denser and hypoallergenic. And, while they are typically reserved for winter, they retain air well, which can keep you cool in the summer too.
Alternatively, synthetic duvets are filled with hollow fibres or microfibres. The former is more effective at trapping warmth, while the latter is a higher quality option that mimics down filling but with a more lightweight feel, which makes them great choice for those who want lighter duvets, or suffer from allergies.
What tog is a summer duvet?
The higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. So, when shopping for a summer duvet for your bedroom, an ideal tog rating is 4.5 or less.
However, you can also buy specially designed cooling duvets that are perfect for summer, which can measure up to 11 tog.
Do duvets keep you cool in summer?
Sleeping in the heat can affect even the deepest of sleepers and, while some people simply choose to sleep under a sheet during the summer months, there are others who still prefer to use a duvet.
If you fall into the latter category, the good news is that it is possible for a duvet to keep you cool. The weight, or tog, of the duvet will play a significant role, so make sure to invest in one that measures no more than 4.5 tog, or choose an all-seasons duvet that you can alter depending on the weather.
Some more high-tech styles are even made with Nasa-designed thermoregulating technology that help regulate your temperature by absorbing heat away from your body, and then returning it to you if you happen to get a chill.
The cover you use matters too, as some fabrics will help to keep your body at a more consistent temperature through the night than others. Linen and cotton are both ideal for sleeping in the heat as they are woven from natural fibres that breathe really well, which is key for staying cool.
However, linen is often the top choice as it is also a natural temperature regulator and insulator, which means it actually keeps you cooler in the summer and warmer in winter.
The verdict: Summer duvets
It may seem strange that the very idea of our best overall buy cancels out the idea of having separate winter and summer duvets, but it really wowed us with its quality and smart features. The Simba hybrid duvet is definitely the one we’d recommend to people who lack the space to store a second duvet when the other is in use, and we think the eco-credentials are brilliant. It’s the kind of duvet that’s got us wondering where it’s been all our lives.
For ultimate luxury during the summer months, we’d choose the Feather and Black Hungarian goose down duvet, which is beautifully made and brilliant for temperature regulation, and the Sleep.8 S8 cooling sensation thin duvet for those who are not fans of down and feather.
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