Guide to duvet tog ratings

Cotton Plant on a 9 Tog Duvet | scooms

Tog rating measures the thermal insulation of a duvet, so it explains how warm a duvet is. The higher the tog rating, the warmer the duvet will be. The duvet tog rating scale ranges from 15 tog (the warmest) to 1 tog (the coolest). So, you want a 2.5 tog duvet to 4.5 tog duvet for warmer summer weather; a 9 tog duvet to 11.5 tog duvet for moderate temperatures in spring, autumn and winter; and a higher 13.5 tog duvet for much colder winter nights.

If you only want to buy one tog to use all year round, a 9 tog duvet is the best option. Or an all seasons duvet, also called a 3-in-1 duvet, which consists of two different tog duvets that can be used separately or fastened together. 

Read on to have all your duvet tog rating duvet questions answered:

  1. Duvet tog chart - duvet tog ratings explained
  2. What tog duvet should I buy?
  3. What tog is an all seasons duvet?
  4. What tog duvet should a toddler or child have?
  5. Do silk duvets use the duvet tog scale?
  6. What does tog stand for?
  7. Other things to think about when choosing a duvet

  

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DUVET TOG CHART

Duvet togs explained - Here is our 'what tog is right for me chart' so you can quickly find the best duvet tog rating for you:

SEASON TOG RATING FEEL
Summer 2.5 tog to 4.5 tog For warmer summer nights
Spring & Autumn 7 tog to 10.5 tog For cooler nights
Winter 9 tog to 13.5 tog For colder winter nights
All seasons 4.5 tog + 9 tog For all year round

 

13.5 Tog Duvet Folded on a Bed | scooms

 

WHAT TOG DUVET SHOULD I BUY?

There isn’t really a ‘best tog for a duvet', as it depends on your personal preference and your bedroom temperature. Having the right tog duvet is important because if you’re too hot or too cold in bed, you won’t get a good night’s sleep! That said our all seasons duvet is a best seller.

Your body temperature needs to decrease slightly before you can fall asleep. A comfortable 18°C/ 65F is the ideal temperature for your bedroom at night. Your duvet should be the right tog rating for the season and also suit your natural sleeping temperature.

2.5 tog king size duvet to 4.5 tog king size duvet is ideal for the summer. If you are a hot sleeper or have night sweats, you may want a 4.5 tog duvet for the cooler months and a 2.5 tog duvet for the warmer summer months.

9 tog duvet to 11.5 tog duvet is perfect for the spring and autumn months, and if your house is warm and well insulated, a 9 tog duvet will also suit you during the winter months. 

If you like to be really warm and cosy in the winter, then a 13.5 tog duvet will be right for you.

One of the most versatile options is an all seasons duvet which is made up of two duvets, a lighter tog duvet plus a warmer tog duvet. A 13.5 tog duvet (4.5 tog plus 9 tog), is the most common all season duvet tog combination. An all seasons duvet set can be a great option to use all year round and often comes with a cost saving. 

 

WHAT TOG IS AN ALL SEASONS DUVET?

An ‘All seasons duvet’ can be a great choice. Made up of two duvets, one a less insulating lower tog duvet and the other a higher and warmer tog duvet. An all season duvet usually combines a 4.5 tog duvet with a 9 tog duvet that can be easily fitted together to produce 13.5 tog, providing great temperature regulation for any season.

At scooms, we offer three different All seasons duvet combinations:

Our all seasons duvets come with really easy to use fasteners so that you can fit the two duvets together to create a warmer tog duvet. Choose the perfect warmth for you, whatever the temperature. Comes in a handy material bag so you can store one duvet while you use the other.

All scooms duvets come with matching button holes so that you can buy one duvet first and then add another duvet at a later date. (Just email us to request some fasteners).

 

Duvet Fasteners Fixing Together An All Seasons Duvet | scooms

 

WHAT TOG DUVET SHOULD A TODDLER OR CHILD HAVE?

As children have smaller bodies, a duvet will trap more air around their body and keep them warmer at a low tog rating.

Toddlers and children, particularly under the age of ten, should use a lightweight single size 2.5 tog duvet or 4.5 tog duvet throughout the year. If they feel chilly, then add a light blanket rather than swapping to a higher tog duvet.

Babies under 12 months are too young for duvets and pillows due to the risk of overheating. If your child is younger than 12 months, you need to ensure that they sleep under a blanket or in a sleeping bag specifically designed for their age.

 

SILK DUVETS

As silk duvets can’t be measured by tog, they’re measured in grams of silk per square metre (gsm). As a guide, 250gsm filling is similar to a 2-4 tog rating, 400gsm is about a 7-9 tog rating, while 600gsm is equivalent to 10-13 tog.

 

WHAT DOES TOG STAND FOR?

Tog is a word, not an acronym, so it doesn’t actually stand for anything.  The ‘tog’ or duvet tog scale is a measure of thermal resistance of a specific area (typically a square metre). The Tog rating scale (duvet tog scale) was set up in the 1940s by the Shirley Institute in Manchester to provide an easy to follow scale showing a material’s thermal insulation. This ascending tog scale, starting at a cool 1.5 tog to a very toasty 15 tog, shows how good a duvet is at trapping air and therefore providing warmth.

So, the duvet tog meaning is a scale measuring how good a duvet is at retaining heat. It does not measure the thickness of a duvet.

 

SOME COMMON TOG RATING QUESTIONS:

  1. Is a 10.5 tog warm enough for winter? Yes, we recommend a 9 tog to 13.5 tog for winter.
  2. What is the tog rating for a winter duvet? The typical tog rating for a winter duvet would be a 9 tog duvet to a 13.5 tog duvet.
  3. What tog is best for a summer tog duvet? A 2.5 tog duvet to 4.5 tog duvet would be ideal for a summer duvet.
  4. What is the best tog for an autumn duvet? We would suggest a 4.5 tog duvet to 9 tog duvet depending on how warm you are while you sleep.
  5. Is a 9 tog duvet warm enough for the winter? Yes, many scooms customers use a 9 tog for the winter. If the temperature gets really cold, you may want an all seasons duvet so that you can combine two duvets to make up a 13.5 tog all seasons duvet.
  6. What tog is an all seasons duvet? An all seasons duvet is made up of two duvets, usually a 4.5 tog duvet and a 9 tog duvet, that can be combined together to make a 13.5 tog duvet.
  7. What is a quilt tog rating? Quilt, comforter and duvet insert are typically US terms for a duvet so a quilt tog rating will be the same as a duvet tog rating.
  8. What’s the highest tog duvet? You can get duvet togs up to a rating of 18 tog. This will feel incredibly warm! Great if you live in a tent in the Arctic! 

  

OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN CHOOSING A DUVET

Tog ratings for duvets is just one of the four things you need to consider when you choose a down duvet. The 3 other important duvet elements are:

  • The duvet filling - the material used to fill the duvet such as down or wool.
  • Fill power & weight - fill power measures the volume taken up by the down or feather filling in a duvet and fill weight measures the weight of the filling.
  • How the duvet is made - the construction of a duvet is also important to make sure the filling stays well distributed and doesn’t bunch up leaving part of you rather cold during the night!

Find out more in our How to choose a duvet guide.

 

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Author: Jonathan AttwoodPublished: 10 January 2024Last modified: 27 February 2024





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Bedding size guide

DUVET SIZE GUIDE

These are standard UK bedding measurements so if you know your mattress size, you can easily work out which duvet size you need. (Width x length.)

UK sizes Duvet size Mattress size
Single 135 x 200cm (53 x 79") 90 x 190cm (36 x 75")
Double 200 x 200cm (79 x 79") 135 x 190cm (53 x 75")
King 225 x 220cm (89 x 87") 150 x 200cm (60 x 78")
Super king 260 x 220cm (102 x 87") 180 x 200cm (72 x 78")

US/CANADA BEDDING SIZES: Approximate matches to UK sizes are US King/UK Super king, US Queen/UK King,  US Full/UK Double and US Twin/UK Single.

EUROPEAN BEDDING SIZES: Each size - Single, Double, King and Grand king - is a little larger than the UK equivalent.

Measure your mattress to see which size bedding you need: our UK v European v US mattress comparison guide.

 

DUVET TOG RATING GUIDE

Young children can overheat so if they are old enough to use a full size bed, we recommend using a single size 4.5 tog duvet.

 Tog rating Season / heat Feel
2.5 tog High summer / hot sleepers Light thermal insulation
4.5 tog Summer Lower thermal insulation
9 tog Spring & Autumn Cosy medium heat
All season 13.5 tog 4.5 tog + 9 tog Very warm
All season 11.5 tog 2.5 tog + 9 tog Warm
All season 7 tog 2.5 tog + 4.5 tog Lower warmth

 

DUVET FILL WEIGHT GUIDE

Our goose down duvets have high 700 fill power. Fill weight is measured in GSM (grams per square metre). For example view our 9 tog king size goose down duvet for more duvet details.

Fill weight (not total duvet weight)
Single All seasons - 788gsm
9 tog - 486gsm 
4.5 tog - 302gsm 
2.5 tog - 220gsm
Double All seasons - 1168gsm
9 tog - 720gsm
4.5 tog - 448gsm
2.5 tog - 320gsm
King All seasons - 1478gsm
9 tog - 911gsm
4.5 tog - 567gsm
2.5 tog - 400gsm
Super king All seasons - 1671gsm
9 tog - 1030gsm
4.5 tog - 641gsm
2.5 tog - 480gsm

 

PILLOW SIZE GUIDE

Our pillows come in two sizes and two firmness options. (Width x length.)

Standard  50 x 75cm
King 50 x 90cm

 

BED LINEN SIZE GUIDE

Our fitted sheets are deep fit, up to 40cm / 15.7" mattress depth. And our duvet covers fasten with large, easy to use buttons. (Width x length.)

Duvet cover Fitted sheet Flat sheet Pillowcase (pair)
Single 140 x 200cm 90 x 190cm 180 x 275cm
Double 200 x 200cm 135 x 190cm 230 x 275cm 50 x 75cm (Standard)
King 230 x 220cm 150 x 200cm 275 x 275cm 50 x 90cm (King)
Super king 260 x 220cm 180 x 200cm 305 x 275cm

 

MATTRESS PROTECTOR SIZE GUIDE

Our mattress protectors are deep fit, up to 40cm mattress depth. Choose the same size protector as your mattress size. (Width x length.)

Mattress protector size Mattress size
Single 90 x 190cm 90 x 190cm
Double 135 x 190cm 135 x 190cm
King 150 x 200cm 150 x 200cm
Super king 180 x 200cm 180 x 200cm 

 

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