The Best Lightweight Comforters for Warmer Months, Tested By PureWow Editors

I’ll never turn down a chance to hibernate, but snagging that coveted shuteye can be elusive without the right cooling comforter or summer blanket. Because the last thing my over-stressed body needs is to wake up in the middle of the night with that suffocating, too-hot feeling. People suffering from perimenopausal hot flashes, anyone prone to night sweats and hot sleepers who are comfy-cozy in colder weather will want to switch to a more lightweight and breathable option as the days get longer. That’s why I had PureWow editors test the best lightweight comforters on the market (from a NASA-developed cooling comforter for sweaty sleepers to a buttery soft number made from organic cotton). Here, find 11 of our editor’s favorites, plus four more comforters reviewers are loving.

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After having our editors test top-rated lightweight comforters out for themselves—and researching other best-selling items on the web—I vetted each item based on the following criteria:

• Materials: In the summer, you'll have fewer layers on your bed, so each one below is verified to be as smooth as your favorite sheets.
• Breathability: A lightweight comforter needs to be breathable enough to let hot air pass through during especially sticky summer nights. That’s why every option above is built with ventilation in mind.
• Cooling: For anyone who sleeps hot, we had our editors rate how it kept them cool—and whether it had moisture-wicking properties that helped keep night sweats at bay. 
• Durability: While most comforters and luxury blankets are spot-clean only, we were careful to only include throws that will hold up in the wash (and if it's dryer safe, that's a bonus).
• Design: I made sure each comforter’s yarns are built to be color-leak-resistant. Afterall, you want to be able to nap in white jeans without waking up with stains from your summer blanket on you.

Before you begin your search for a lightweight comforter, ask yourself the following questions:

• What level of warmth do you prefer? As mentioned above, cotton is a great all-weather option as a fiber-fill, while new technical fabrications can include bamboo or synthetic bedding for similar lightweight warmth. And of course, beware of high-numbered down counts, which might be too heavy for sleepers who want a lightweight option.
• Do you want a whole lot of fluffy? Explore the loft—i.e., the thickness of the blanket—before you buy. While a fluffier blanket is no indication of increased warmth, it is a design choice that sleepers longing for a cuddly feeling often opt for. But a fluffy comforter does not a crisply bed make, so if you want the option of hospital corners, better to choose a thinner profile.
• Need extra help staying cool? Say you're a sleeper who needs a warm hug-like feel to fall asleep but finds herself waking in a full sweat a few hours later. That calls for a cooling option. These comforters use high-tech fabric and special construction to keep your body as close to its restful set point throughout the night.

If you’re looking for something lightweight, there are three types of comforters you want to target: down, down-alternative and quilts. Here’s what you need to know about choosing one that’s lightweight, according to Mitchell Chitiz, owner and COO of Westex, a family-run bedding company with decades of experience:

• Down Comforters: “Down refers to the soft undercoating of geese and ducks,” which tends to be light and airy, says Chitiz. “Loft, or fill power, is an extremely important factor to take into consideration when determining how warm you want a comforter to be. It’s the measure of how fluffy the down fill is [and] specifically refers to the number of cubic inches that one ounce of down will fill.” So, according to Chitiz, you should look for a loft of 400-500, which is the lightest weight you can choose. “The higher the loft level, the fluffier the down and the warmer it will be per ounce,” she explains. Plus, you want to make sure the down meets Responsible Down Standards (RDS). Basically, a RDS certification ensures that the down comes from animals who weren’t subjected to unnecessary harm.
• Down Alternative: If you’re not into using an animal-sourced fill, down alternative comforters mimic the feel of down with natural and synthetic and synthetic fill materials: “Cotton fill makes an ideal lightweight comforter fill option, perfect for summer or warmer climates,” Chitiz says. She also adds: “Bamboo-derived fill tends to be thinner, but very durable and long-lasting—as well as very breathable.” And finally, you have synthetic microfiber fill, which is among the lightest synthetic fills out there. “Microfiber is designed to be as close a synthetic replacement for down as possible, having extra-fine fibers to try and give the same feel…This lets you get something close to the feeling of down, but hypoallergenic and at a cheaper price,” she explains. 
• Quilts: A quilt is a decorative bed cover that is traditionally made with three layers: top, inner batting, and bottom. The top layer of a quilt is generally crafted using different pieces of fabric that are stitched together into artistic patterns,” she explains. “The inner batting layer is typically made using either wool or Down material, while the bottom layer consists of a single piece of fabric…They are light in weight, making them perfect as a bed cover during the summer or as an extra comfy layer during the winter.”