Last Updated on March 30, 2023

Traditionally speaking, your options for keeping your comforter in place inside of a duvet cover were limited.

Actually, you pretty much had one option: A safety pin.

And while safety pins are cheap, reliable, and appear to be effective, they actually do more harm than good. Fortunately, we have modern options that are just as affordable and reliable as safety pins; just more effective.

How do you judge effectiveness? It’s not just a matter of how well a product serves its intended purpose. The negative effects have to be factored in as well – and safety pins have a glaring weakness that reduces their overall effectiveness.

Modern options for duvet closure are much more effective. Let’s take a look at the two most popular types on the market today. Each type has its own strengths, but as we’ll find out, sometimes strength is actually a consequential weakness.

1.) Comforter grips

Comforter grips like the set below, are usually made of plastic or rubber, and come in a set of four.

2.) Comforter clips

The second style that we’ll be looking at, are comforter clips like the set below from Bed N’ Basics.

These clips are sturdy, hold tight, and are foam-covered for softness.

The case against safety pins

Before we begin our comparison, let’s briefly discuss why safety pins are just not a good option for keeping a comforter in place when using a duvet cover.

Safety pins are clearly cheap, and are very handy, as they’re usually common in most households. They’re also easy to use and stay firmly in place.

The main disadvantage of safety pins, however, outweighs the list of advantages above. The problem with safety pins is that they cause a lot of damage to your cover.

Every time you wash your duvet cover, you insert the safety pins in a slightly different location after you place your comforter back into the cover. Over time, this leads to dozens, if not hundreds of small holes in your cover.

These small holes create damage to the fabric of the cover, which reduces the strength of that fabric. After a certain number of washings, these small holes turn into shreds and tears.

Have you ever tugged on your comforter and heard a tearing sound? Yup, that tear more than likely came from the safety-pin area.

Grip vs Clip comparison

If you’re using a generic $40 duvet cover, then you might not care.

On the other hand, if you purchased an expensive designer duvet cover, like a $400 cover from Calvin Klein, or Donna Karan, you should invest in something that won’t damage your beautiful cover!

With that said, let’s take a look and compare comforter grips and clips and find out which is the better choice. We’ll be comparing these two options on 5 different criteria. They are:

• Ease of use
• Effectiveness
• Convenience
• Cost
• Durability

Let’s begin…

Ease of use

Both grips and clips are very easy to use – one just involves a bit more work than the other.

With the grip variety, you just snap them into place once the tapered corner of the comforter is tucked inside the corner of the duvet cover.

Comforter clips essentially work in the same way but are one piece. You turn your duvet cover inside out and line up the corners with the comforter. You then open the closing end of the clip and then compress it against the duvet cover and comforter to keep the comforter in place.

Once that is done, you’ll flip the duvet cover, and fold the comforter back in.

Verdict

Comforter grips are very easy to use – about as easy as applying a set of safety pins. With comforter clips, there is a bit more work involved. Not much, but enough to give the “ease of use” edge to comforter clips.

Winner: Comforter grips

Effectiveness

Let’s judge effectiveness on the ability of each variety to clamp down in place. Throughout the night, you might move, or shift, and your comforter might get tugged in different directions.

For a grip or clip to be effective, it will have to stay in place, throughout the night – effectively until the next time you take your duvet cover off for washing.

In our experience, both grips and clips are ultimately very effective for the average person (or couple).

Comforter Grips –

Rubber comforter grips are flexible.

The rubber provides the grips with a little bit of give, which prevents them from snapping off as your shift during sleep. They might bend, but they won’t break. 

But…for more “active” sleepers, the comforter grips tend to come undone.

Comforter Clips –

Clips, on the other hand, are spring-loaded and are fairly strong. Once clipped on, they stay firmly in place!

Verdict

Both are effective, and stay in place for the average person. If you thrash around like an alligator while you sleep, clips will stay on, while grips might snap off.

Winner: Slight advantage – duvet clips.

Convenience

We already covered the ease of use for each option – which is one factor of convenience. Let’s take a look at some other areas where each might be more or less convenient to use.

Clips are hidden inside of your duvet cover. They are out of sight; whereas the comforter grips can be seen. 

On the other hand, the clear plastic grips are smaller, and less bulky, than the metal clips.

Verdict

Slight edge to the rubber grips. While they are not hidden like the clips are, they tend to go unnoticed – by both hands and eyes.

Cost

The comforter grips and the duvet clips are both affordable, and cost about the same. While they might cost a few dollars more than a set of safety pins, they’re both well worth the price.

Verdict

Tie.

Durability

Metal is always going to be more durable than rubber. It’s just a fact. 

Verdict

Slight edge – The duvet clips.

Overall verdict

Given the criteria above, we couldn’t really find a clear winner between the two options. It really does come down to your own individual preferences and tendencies.

For the average single person, either option should work just fine, especially if your duvet cover has loops.

That said, couples might prefer the rubber grips since they will spend more time around the corners. If you are more of a violent sleeper, then clips are definitely the way to go!