I’ve recently moved and have found the Parachute company’s linen duvet cover as a potential upgrade to my current (college) comforter. However, I’ve just discovered the cover and duvet insert are two different purchases…

Does anyone have Parachute bedding and can provide a recommendation? Further, can anyone recommend a reliable quality brand for duvet inserts that don’t break the bank?

Thanks!

Hey everyone, I've always referenced this sub when trying out new bedding. I've been a reader behind the scenes, but never a poster. So, I thought it was time to contribute by sharing my thoughts on the various bedding I've tried over the years. I won't delve too deep into any one item, but if you have questions, feel free to ask!

A bit about my sleeping style: I share a bed with my significant other. We keep the house at around 70 degrees at night and live in a warm climate. I'm a side sleeper and have a preference for very fluffy comforters. However, I haven't been able to use them as much since my significant other tends to sleep very hot, while I'm just an average temperature sleeper. Even at 70 degrees, it's a rare night when I get too hot.

I've categorized my experiences by brand and mentioned those items still in rotation. I also included a x/10 rating for each item with 5 being truly average (so not bad by any means) and a WBA - would buy again or a WNBA - would not buy again. Hopefully some of you find this helpful.

Parachute Home

• Sateen queen sheet set (7/10) WBA - This was my favorite sheet set for a few years, and it got a ton of use. The Sateen wasn’t too hot for me (but it was for my SO), and I liked how soft the sheets were. Once we upgraded to a king this set was retired, thought we still have it for the guest room.

• Percale duvet cover (6.5/10) WBA - Before moving in with my SO, this was on my bed 24/7. Nothing about it blew me away, but it was a really solid duvet cover and paired well with the lightweight down duvet insert I used with it.

• Lightweight down duvet insert (6.5/10) WBA - Like the duvet cover this was on my bed 24/7 for years. I really liked how light and fluffy this insert was and I honestly miss being able to sleep with it to this day, it was just too hot for my SO. I will say that during hot summer nights I would occasionally get too warm and there was a fair amount of feather escapeage when I fluffed up to duvet.

• Light weight down alternative duvet insert (5/10) WNBA - I bought this at the same time as the down duvet insert to compare to the two and this one didn’t match the feel, light and fluffy, of the down version so I returned it.

• Linen sheet set (3/10) WNBA - I probably didn’t give this set the chance in deserved but I found it to be entirely too scratchy. I gave it wash, threw it on the bed slept on it for one night and returned the next day. I really wanted to like these sheets and I hear linen can be some of the best long term bedding, sadly this set just wasn’t for me.

• Down side sleeper pillow (5/10) WNBA - It’s worth knowing that I am on a constant journey to find THE pillow for me and alas, this was not it. It was my nightly pillow for a while but eventually was rotated out. I still use it from time to time and I don’t think it’s a bad pillow at all.

• Everyday linen quilt (5/10) WBA - Last year we upgraded to a king bed and that meant time for a new comforter, so I decided to buy a bunch and try them all out. This and the following two quilts were three of the four we tried. Overall I found this quilt to be lacking in warmth and substance, it was just too flat and chilly for my liking. Though my SO liked it from the heat perspective. Ultimately it was returned.

• Cloud cotton quilt (7/10) WBA - this quilt was great, a good blend of warmth, softness, and fluffiness. My SO thought it would be too warm in the summer so it ultimately was returned. We might try the split comforter method and if we do this is a contestant for my side.

• Linen box quilt (4/10) WNBA - My thoughts are pretty much the same thoughts as the everyday linen quilt except it was ugly on top of it. Ultimately it was returned.

Brooklinen

• Classic core percale sheet set (4/10) WNBA - Even though I used them for years, they were in the rotation with the sateen parachute set above, I never really like them. Why did I keep them for so long? Your guess is as good as mine. I will say that I liked how cool they were in the summer and after washing a lot they did get softer.

• Lightweight down duvet insert (2/10) WNBA - I used this for maybe a year before upgrading to the parachute duvet insert. I really didn’t know how bad it was until I had that for comparison. This was truly a poor item; it would crinkle whenever I moved, was too small for my duvet cover (Parachute, mentioned above), had barely any loft so it was flat as a pancake, and didn’t provide much warmth (though not a bad thing in the summer). As soon as the parachute duvet arrived, this went to Goodwill.

Slumber Cloud

• Performance comforter (5/10) WNBA - This was the winner in the great 2022 comforter-off when we upgraded to the king size bed. It was the best compromise between what I wanted and what my SO wanted. It does sleep as cool as advertised, during the winter I’ll get cold and surprisingly my SO will too! I also like that it isn’t completely flat there is some fluff to it. Overall, I find it too small for our bed, I think another 8-10inched in the width would make it much for functional for two people who like to cocoon. Since we are talking about going the split route this may soon be retired.

Ralph Lauren Home

• RL 464 percale sheet set (8/10) WBA - All around, a great set of sheets. In my opinion, they are the best blend of price and performance. They are soft, cool and comfortable. At around the $300 price point when I bought them for a King set I’d recommend to anyone who likes percale sheets.

• Organic cotton sateen sheet set (7/10) WBA - I expected these to be a lot softer and silkier than the percales, but they weren’t. Not to say they aren’t soft - they are - but not much more than the percales. These get less use since they are part of our “winter sheet collection”. So once they break in more, they might surpass the percales.

Italic

• Crisp percale sheet set (3/10) WNBA - This is the same sheet set recommended by the Strategist as being one that matches the Frette hotel collection but at a fraction of the price. I bought in and tried them but wasn’t impressed at all. They are almost too small (12in mattress), only have elastic on the corners, and are firm instead of soft. I can’t image the Frette sheets are like this at all, and if they are I’m disappointed in Frette without even trying them. All that said they are still in the current rotation as part of the “summer sheet collection”.

Buffy

• Breeze comforter (5/10) WNBA - I don’t have a whole lot to say other than it felt like a normal comforter. I don’t sleep hot so I can’t speak to how well it cools. This was my SO’s comforter and when we moved in together and it became what we both used.

• Breeze duvet cover (3/10) WNBA - This is was stupid heavy compared to other duvet covers I’ve used, mainly the parachute cover mentioned above. Worse of all when paired with the Breeze comforter it I actually got hot, and I don’t sleep hot! So it did exactly the opposite of what it was intended to do. My So didn’t last long with this combo and we eventually use the parachute duvet with the breeze comforter.

Coyuchi

• Organic relaxed sateen sheet set (5/10) WBA - I expected more out of these sheets based on reviews but they just strike me as average overall. Nothing particularly bad or good stands out about them. Currently in rotation as part of the “winter sheet collection”.

Sferra

• Giza 45 Percale Collection (9/10) WBA - Everything you’ve read is true; these are the softest sheets I have ever slept in. They honestly feel like silk anytime I get in. They are also extremely cool and breathable. That said, they are sheer - like see-through sheer - so if that bothers you, know that going in. The reason I don’t give a 10/10 is that the overall buying experience was severely lacking at this price point. Based on the email communication, shipping, and packaging, you would have thought I ordered $100 sheets from Macy’s. The sheets deliver, no questions asked, but my $300 RLH sheets came in packaging 10x nicer. That said, I can’t wait to get the Giza 45 Sateen Collection and give those a try.