I have an alpaca wool insert. I also love big fluffy blankets, but was struggling with temperature regulation and couldn't get down because of allergies. I spent a LOT of time searching on here. I was originally resistant to the alternatives to down/down alternative (silk, wool), but i freaking LOVE the alpaca wool insert. It is SO breathable. I didn't realize what I was missing. I couldn't go back to synthetic fibers because they just trap heat like crazy. It is definitely not as fluffy as down, but it is much fluffier than silk, it has nice weight, and i have layered it with nice cotton blankets. Someone else mentioned linen covers - I also have this on the insert, and think it helps quite a bit with breathability also. More on reddit.com

100% cotton quilt. The same with blankets. I ONLY buy 100% cotton EVERYTHING, including clothing. More on reddit.com

Do you have a mattress protector on your bed? Is it made of vinyl or shower curtain type material? If so, switch to a natural fiber one (we use the My Green Mattress organic cotton). A synthetic mattress protector will trap heat and make you hotter. We have a Woolino wool duvet insert with a linen duvet cover, organic cotton sheets, and a Faribault Mill wool blanket if we need an extra layer on cooler nights. Our bed is sooo comfy and cozy, not too hot or cold. Natural fibers are key! A set of cotton sheets and a wool blanket should be a good combo. Everyone thinks of wool as a cold/winter fabric but it’s good year round, a chameleon of sorts. More on reddit.com

Let me give you some tips and insight that I learned from doing pretty extensive research into this topic a couple of years ago. Goose down is very much worth the cost difference. Anything with more feathers than down is NOT going to have the same insulating properties, and you WILL get nasty quills poking through the ticking (outside) of the comforter on occasion. If you go with the L.L. Bean, do so mainly for the warranty. The reality is that MOST of the big store brands that sell their own branded down comforters are getting them from one source: a company called DownLite. Most of the high quality comforters you buy from respected brands are probably actually made by this company. With this in mind, do some research online, and you'll find that you can get a high quality DownLite comforter for really good prices from other sources. Here is a link to their factory direct store: http://www.downlitebedding.com/down-comforters/ There are some really good options available there, depending on your bed size. Additionally, check out Ebay. You can get phenomenal deals on Ebay by looking for down comforters and pillows that were formerly used as display models. Just a couple of years ago, I bought a Bloomingdale's down comforter, made by DownLite, that normally sells for ~$800 dollars, maybe more, and I got it for about $150 on Ebay because it was a display model. This was their highest quality comforter, with 800 fill power down and a high quality Batiste cotton ticking. This brings me to my last point. When you're looking at down comforters, you want to look at a few specific areas to determine quality and function. First and foremost, the down is rated by fill power, which is basically a measure of the size of the down and how much air it can trap. The larger the down, the more air it can trap, and the more warmth it can provide without adding extra weight. For a good quality comforter, you want to get at least 600 fill power. Anything above that will bring the benefit of a lighter weight, but it may not be worth the extra cost to you. 700 fill power is really good, and 800 or higher fill power is considered luxurious. As far as the ticking goes, look for good quality cotton that uses a plain weave, which will be better for holding the down in. A high thread count sateen weave is also okay, but the plain weaves can get away with lower thread counts, and will also probably last longer in general, and since this is a subreddit about quality products that last a long time, the durability of the plain weave is probably an important consideration. The final thing to consider would be the construction of the comforter. Basically, you're looking at how the boxes of fabric that contain the down are constructed. One of the most common methods is called "baffle box". Baffle box is great because it allows for increased "loft", which is where the comforter looks nice and fluffy. Higher loft can also contribute to better warming, but it's mostly about the look. The problem with baffle box construction is that down has a tendency to shift around, and that is when you end up with the relatively common problem of down being moved progressively further and further toward the edges of the comforter, and then needing to be redistributed back toward the middle. The counter to this is known as box stitched, Bavarian, or "sewn through" construction. This is where each "box" of down is actually completely surrounded by stitching, allowing no path for the down the move around and escape it's box. This will prevent the problem of down shifting and needing to be redistributed. There are some concerns that the areas between the down boxes won't have the same level of insulation, and will allow cold spots to develop, but this isn't really the case 99% of the time, because your down comforter is almost never perfectly stretched out when you're laying under it. It bunches up and takes the shape of your body, closing off many if not all of the areas where the stitching is present. Sewn through / box stitch construction also tends to be more durable over the long haul, which may be another point of consideration. There is one final note on construction. There is a type of baffle box construction that is patented by DownLite, and used in some brands, known as Permabaffle. This is a specific type of baffle box construction with some extra features that allow for air to move between the baffles but do not allow the down to shift, keeping all of the benefits of baffle box construction without the downside of shifting down. I do believe that L.L. Bean comforters use this (at least some models), and there are other brands that use it as well. Ultimately, my recommendation would be to go on Ebay and look around for some great deals on display models. More on reddit.com