The 3 Very Best Duvet Inserts—Tried and Tested

I've always slept hot. My girlfriend has always slept cold. It's almost ruined us. Recently, I was thinking we'd never find a duvet we could agree on. One that was cool enough for me, warm enough for her, but still big, plush, and real down. Casper's humidity fighting duvet ended the search. Full stop!

First, it's true down, big and plush like a hotel comforter. It's the stuff of dreams. But normally, something like this would have me waking up in a sweat every night. This one doesn't... The trick, apparently, is a thin merino wool layer. Which made sense, I know merino is the best choice for a winter base layer because it's warm but sweat wicking, but I just wasn't sure about on a duvet.

Let me tell you, it's great. With this thing, I have never, never woken up hot or sweating. I'm never having to hang a leg out, never getting up to turn off the heat. I just lay down, close my eyes and sleep. Bliss. And she's telling me things are just as good on the other side of the bed. Crazy that such a small fabric choice has done wonders for us, but it has. It's a true best of both worlds duvet.

Who we would recommend this too: Anyone, literally anyone.

This Cozy Earth duvet was really, really close to being the best overall. It was the surprise standout from our testing. First, it came in a lovely reusable Cozy Earth bag. In use, it was cool enough for me to always feel comfortable, but warm enough that my girlfriend felt the same. Bamboo viscose—come to find out—is actually great for moisture wicking, so neither of us ever woke up in a sweat. And to top it all off, since it's down alternative, cleaning it was as easy as throwing it in the wash, gentle cycle, tumble low or line dry.

It sucks, because for a lot of the testing, I thought this was going to be the winner. I really could not see myself enjoying a duvet insert more than this one. It really came down to one aspect: It wasn't plush like I wanted a duvet to be.

Half of loving a duvet, for me, is the plushness of it. I'm not talking about weight, because that would mean a featherweight down duvet would always lose to a heavyweight weighted blanket, which is not the case for me. I'm talking about the plushness of the thing, the size of it. This insert was just too thin. I wanted that satisfying squish and give of down, but didn't get it. The end experience was closer to a quilt, not a true duvet.

Who we would recommend this too: Anyone opposed to down and hot sleepers.

I've mentioned the hotel sleep experience a few times here. If that's what you want, that classic down duvet feel, this is where to get it.

For me, Brooklinen's duvet encapsulated my internal struggle with duvets. It feels incredible. It's got a nice weight, phenomenal plushness, probably my favorite feel out of all the options. But, it was just straight up too hot for me. My love for hotel duvets can't be separated from the fact that I turn every hotel thermostat as low as it will go immediately upon entry.

But the second part of that issue might be that I'm sharing a bed with another adult. For one weekend of testing, I was alone in the apartment, so I switched back to this duvet insert for a retry. I was nowhere near as hot as the first time around. I would feel a bit warm, but turn the heat down a notch, and I was good. Then, once we got back to sharing the bed, too hot. Two times the body heat was just too much. Alas...

Who we would recommend this too: Cold sleepers and solo sleepers