I would like to talk to you about Duvets

A Duvet is something I never knew I owned – and yet I did. A Doona is a Duvet.

Apparently it is only called a ‘Doona’ in Australia, derived form the Old Norse dunn meaning ‘down feathers’ and something else that I never knew - that the actual word ‘Doona’ started as a brand name for duvets in Australia. Like so many Australian products, the brand name becomes the product name, so we have Glad Wrap and Scotch tape and Speedo’s and Kleenex and Biro’s… Well, how many examples can you think of?

But let’s not get too sidetracked here.

When I first secured my current place of abode, I had to purchase a lot of manchester, as furniture was included in the flat but linen was not. So I had to buy sheets and towels and pillows… and a duvet. The problem was that duvets here are labelled very differently from what we see at home. Instead of the % of wool v acrylic or down v feathers, all duvets here are rated according to Togs. So What on Earth is a Tog? I hear you ask… well, if you didn’t ask, I certainly did, as I had absolutely no clue and wasn’t about to purchase anything if I couldn’t tell how warm it was going to be.

So off to the trusty www for me…

Tog: Unit of measure of thermal insulation used in the textile trade; a light summer suit provides 1.0 tog. The tog value of an object is equal to ten times the temperature difference (in °C) between its two surfaces when the flow of heat is equal to one watt per square metre; one tog equals 0.645 clo.

Or, in somewhat more user-friendly English:

What are tog ratings?
A 'tog' is a UK industry standard name used for measuring the warmth of a duvet. The higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet. Togs are measured in units of thermal resistance. For instance if a duvet has a tog rating of 4.5 then it would be more likely be used in the summer months. And at the other end of the scale, a duvet with a tog rating of 13.5 would be used in the colder months of the year.
summer >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> winter
4.5 tog 6 tog 7.5 tog 9 tog 10.5 tog 12 tog 13.5 tog

Something that Australia could benefit from incorporating I think. When I first moved out of home I bought a Doona that was way too warm for me during summer and not warm enough in winter. I learnt that lesson well, and never again bought a 50% down Doona. But you’re still never quite sure if what you’re getting is going to be right for you when you purchase something back home.

Here, they have ingenious duel packs where you can buy a 4.5 and a 10 together, which gives you a summer duvet (the 4.5), a spring and autumn duvet (the 10) and a winter duvet (the 4.5 and 10 combined). This is what I did, and I have recently changed from my summer to my autumn duvet, and it works a treat. I’ve never actually been quite as comfortable in those ‘in-between’ months before. It’s great!

Just thought I’d let you know! :)