LLB on the right, Brooklinen on the left
Thanks to everyone on this forum who helps differentiate between good products and good marketing. I’d been skulking this forum for a while as I redecorate and wanted to post a comparison between the two here to help others in the future.
I initially ordered a Brooklinen Percale duvet cover in king because the brand seemed “well known” and the product seemed promising. I ordered the L.L. Bean option as well, which took a little longer to come in. I used the Brooklinen cover for a few days and it was okay; it wasn’t as cool as I was expecting, but I loved the color and the fit. The “crispness” was fun at first but after a while it felt like sleeping in a starched shirt. Felt a little too crispy.
The LL Bean cover came in a few days later and as soon as it came out of the packaging it was evident that the quality was so much better. The LLB cover does have a higher thread count (280 vs 270), but even still the quality of the cotton and the construction surpassed the Brooklinen cover. The Brooklinen cover even had a few threads coming out from the inside seams after the first wash.
Other advantages of the LLB duvet cover: 1) sleeps noticeably cooler 2) is “quieter” when moving about (the Brooklinen really is as loud as a tarp) 3) it’s cheaper, and their website even offered a discount code which made it almost 25% cheaper than the Brooklinen option 4) is softer to the touch 5) more robust duvet ties (pictured) 6) better quality buttons, and more of them.
The Brooklinen is okay, but at this price point and with this quality the LLB is the clear winner. The only thing Brooklinen did better, IMO, was their color selection; they had options that better aligned with my design plans and seemed more modern overall. I ordered a grey one too (not pictured) and did really like how it looked in person. Their web depiction was more accurate to the real life product (the LLB cover was a “silver sand” but it looks more like sand when it’s wet as opposed to when it’s dry, and I was hoping for something closer to a cream).
Anyway, that’s my experience. I hope someone finds this helpful!
I am debating between the classic organic percale duvet from quince or the 280 TC pima cotton one from LLBean. I hear good things from both but I don’t see many comments about Quince’s longevity. I also heard good things about the European Linen from Quince but I am still skeptical about its quality.