Last Updated on March 30, 2023
Buffy comforters have been the bedding fad lately.
Unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably seen them on your Facebook or Pinterest feed more than a handful of times over the past year.
But are they worth the hype? Should you buy a Buffy comforter?
Buffy generally attracts two types of people:
- Those that want a good comforter, regardless of the material
- Those that want to be environmentally friendly
Let’s take a look at the Buffy comforter and see if it’s a suitable option for either group or if it’s just another social media-fueled sensation.
Overall Specs
The Buffy comforter is available in the following three sizes:
- Twin/Twin XL – 70″ x 90″
- Full/Queen – 90″ x 94″
- King – 104″ x 94″
These aren’t particularly fluffy comforters – they’re rather flat and thin.
They claim that the 100% eucalyptus fabric soothes your skin. They also claim that the filling inside is softer than goose down.
Let’s see…
Initial Impressions
When we first look at the description for the Buffy, there are two things that pop out to us.
The Cover
They emphasize that the 100% eucalyptus cover soothes your skin.
The majority of people use a duvet cover or a flat sheet to keep their comforter clean, so how can it soothe the skin when there’s no direct contact?
If you want to enjoy the “benefits” of the eucalyptus, then you’ll have to use the comforter by itself, with no covering. An uncovered comforter tends to get dirty, just like your sheets.
So, you’ll have to wash it more often.
Unfortunately, if you read the Buffy comforter washing instructions, a Buffy needs to be dry-cleaned – which will get expensive if you insist on having a clean comforter.
Dry cleaners usually charge between $30-50 to clean a comforter. Even if you get it professionally laundered once a month, you’re looking at a yearly expense of about $500.
If cleaned once per month, three months of cleaning cost as much as the comforter itself!
The Fill
The fill is basically plastic. Using recycled bottles, the plastic is shredded until it reaches a fine consistency. The final shredded plastic is soft, not firm like in its original form.
Which sounds good, except that plastic doesn’t have the same thermal properties as goose down – or even that of polyester. Plastic does insulate, but it holds on to heat – a little too well.
The Buffy comforter tends to get hot – which is why it’s made so thin. If it was any thicker it would feel like sleeping in a sauna.
A comforter that gets warm might sound like a good thing, but it’s actually not.
A comforter needs a bit of ventilation to keep your bed at a comfortable temperature. A bed that’s too hot isn’t very comfortable.
We mentioned earlier that the Buffy attracts two types of people:
- Those who want a good comforter, regardless of the material
- Those that want to be environmentally friendly
Let’s take a look at both groups…
1.) If You Want a Good Comforter
Not everyone insists on having a goose down comforter. A lot of people are perfectly happy with a down alternative version. Either way, if you prefer having the best materials, you might have considered buying a Buffy comforter.
Buffy comforters sound good in theory, but they’re just not practical. We would not suggest buying one.
Mainly because of these two reasons…
The Maintenance
While the skin benefits of the eucalyptus might be true, it’s a bit of a catch-22.
In order to obtain any benefits, you have to use the comforter uncovered. If you do so, you’ll end up laundering the comforter more often, and as we discussed above, dry cleaning can be pricey.
If you use a duvet cover to keep it clean, you won’t have any skin to comforter contact, essentially negating the eucalyptus benefits. And all of this is assuming you sleep fairly light.
If you wear full-sleeved pajamas, even an uncovered comforter won’t provide you with any benefits.
The Performance
The ideal sleeping temperature is between 60-67 degrees – which isn’t hot or cold, it’s right in the middle.
When you venture past that, especially on the hotter end of the scale, things get uncomfortable. Falling and staying asleep can be fairly hard when you’re hot and sweaty!
For practical purposes, plastic is just not a good fill material. When you read the reviews for the Buffy comforter, one of the main issues with it is that it sleeps too hot.
Because of the overheating caused by the plastic fill, these comforters are a bit thin and flimsy. A bit too thin in our opinion. You won’t be satisfied with a Buffy if you prefer a fluffy comforter.
One final thing to note, performance-wise – Buffy comforters are not box-baffled.
What does that mean?
If you look at a traditional comforter, you’ll notice that there are a bunch of squares or “boxes” sewn into the comforter.
Each box contains its own share of the filling. This baffling process ensures that the fill – whether it be down, polyester, etc. – remains evenly distributed.
The lack of baffling means that the fill inside tends to bunch up unevenly. So, if you want a good comforter, avoid a Buffy.
2.) If You Want to be Environmentally Friendly
Once again, the Buffy comforter sounds good in theory, until you actually take a deeper look.
We can all agree on the environmental benefits of recycling and water conservation.
Buffy claims that each comforter saves 1000 gallons of water. They also claim that each comforter equates to 50 fewer bottles taking up space in landfills, etc.
So far, so good. Buffy comforters save water and reduce our footprint on the planet. Right?
Not exactly. Buffy comforters would be a lot more environmentally friendly if they didn’t have to be dry cleaned. Because of the materials used, you have two choices.
You can launder at home and damage your comforter – more landfill space being taken up. Or you can have it dry cleaned – which obviously isn’t the planet-friendliest process, not to mention expensive.
The fact of the matter is, that the environmental benefits of water conservation and recycling, are a bit negated by the chemical pollution caused by dry cleaners.
If they had made the Buffy machine washable at home, then at least it would have made sense from an environmental point of view.
As it stands, however, the environmental benefits are just on paper. They don’t really translate to real-life applications.
Even then, if you decided to just forego having it laundered, the Buffy still doesn’t have the features of a good quality comforter as we discussed above.
Our Recommendation
If you’re looking for a great comforter, not a fad, stick to a good quality goose down or down alternative comforter! Whether you choose down, polyester, or PrimaLoft – a classic comforter is best!
They offer better performance in terms of fluffiness and thermal properties. And you can wash a regular comforter at home.
If the thought of having a cover made of eucalyptus intrigues you, just buy a duvet cover made of eucalyptus!
If you have a hard time finding one other than the duvet shown in the link above, try searching for a “lyocell” duvet cover.
You can buy lyocell sheets as well!
I’ve had mine for two years. I love love love this comforter. Keeps me cool and summer warm in winter. Worth every penny