I've just put the M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper to the test – I love the luxurious cosiness it's added to our bed

I put the M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper to the test to see how it compares to the best mattress toppers and best cooling mattress toppers on the market.

In a nutshell

The M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper is filled with 85% white duck feather and 15% white duck down inside a high-thread-count cotton cover. My husband and I have been sleeping on it for the past two weeks, and although at £110 for a double, it isn't cheap, I've been really impressed by its value for money.

I really like the fact that, unlike many cheaper feather and down toppers I've tested, the M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper doesn't rustle when I roll over on it, and it doesn’t have any spiky feathers poking through the cover like others I’ve tested.

And while its 3cm depth doesn’t add support or motion-isolation to our bed in the same way a deeper foam or memory foam topper can, it feels luxurious and comfortable to sleep on and adds a welcome layer of softness to our mattress.

The natural feather and down construction and cotton case also offer good breathability and insulation, meaning that it kept my husband and me warm and cosy even when our heating broke down during testing this winter, and also means that I haven’t overheated or woken up hot and sweaty like I often do during the night.

Plus, it isn’t just me who gives this mattress topper a big thumbs up, my husband and sons also agree it feels 'like sleeping on a giant fluffy cloud'!

M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper review

Specifications

• RRP: £99 / £110 / £130 / £150
• Sizes: single / double / king / super-king
• Depth: 3cm
• Construction: inner 85% white duck feather and 15% white duck down, cover 100% cotton
• Care instructions: do not machine wash, tumble dry, or dry clean. Do not iron or bleach.
• Manufacturer sleep trial: no

Attaching the topper to the bed

The M&S Duck Feather and Down Mattress Topper didn’t arrive vacuum-packed like some toppers I’ve previously tested, and this is a good thing because it means that it's instantly ready to use and doesn’t require time to regain its full height and plumpness.

Plus, unlike some memory-foam toppers, such as the Dunelm Gel Fusion Mattress Topper I recently tested, thanks to its all-natural cotton cover and feather and down fill, there was no chemical off-gassing smell at all.

It has four thick elasticated straps at the corners to hold it onto the mattress, and I found these very easy to fit to my double mattress. Plus, I found they held the topper in place well during the two weeks that my husband and I slept on this topper.

Comfort

The cotton cover of the M&S Duck Feather and Down Mattress topper feels soft to the touch, and unlike many feather and down toppers I've tested, I was pleased to discover I couldn't feel any prickly feathers spiking through it.

No doubt this is thanks to the high 233 thread count ‘down-proof' cotton cover, because the tighter the weave, the less space there is for feather or down to escape.

Plus, unlike the DUSK Luxury Duck Feather and Down Mattress Topper I previously tested, I was extremely pleased to find that this M&S option didn't make any rustling sound when I turned over on it. That meant a lovely, quiet sleep.

M&S describes this topper as offering ‘natural feel and soft support’, and after my first night sleeping on this topper, I agreed.

Whilst its 3cm deep feather and down construction didn’t offer the support or motion-isolation of some of the thicker toppers I’ve tested, such as the Simba Hybrid Topper or Panda Memory Foam Topper, I liked the fact that I didn’t sink into it too much, so it was easy to roll over and get out of bed.

Instead, my husband and two children agreed that it was like sleeping on a giant cloud, and the whole household was vying to have their turn sleeping on it!

I found it provided an additional layer of comfort over our usual mattress which reduced the pressure on my joints and made me look forward to getting into bed. I typically sleep on my back or side, and I loved the way that it wasn’t too thick so I didn’t sink too much into it that my spine was out of alignment, but there was a good level of cushioning for my joints.

Temperature regulation

Duck feathers and duck down are naturally breathable materials which are known for their ability to regulate body temperature and allow moisture to evaporate, which means they help to prevent overheating when you sleep.

Fine and fluffy duck down, which makes up 15% of this M&S Topper's filling, is also known for its exceptional thermal insulation properties, which can help regulate body temperature effectively.

Because of this I was expecting good things from this topper temperature regulation-wise, especially because that natural fill is encased inside a 100% cotton cover, which should add more natural breathability.

And in practice, I was impressed. When I slept on this mattress topper it certainly seemed like it offered good ventilation and airflow because I didn’t overheat during the night. But equally, when our heating stopped working whilst I was testing this mattress topper and our house was extremely cold, my husband and I both found this topper kept us cosier than sleeping directly on the memory foam surface of our mattress.

Care instructions

In my opinion, the main downside of the M&S Duck Feather and Down Mattress Topper is the fact that it sadly can’t be machine-washed, bleached, tumble-dried, or dry cleaned.

This is a big negative for me, because as a mother of two and as someone who often has guests to stay, being able to freshen it up would have been very welcome. Instead, it’s recommended to spot wash the topper to remove marks.

You can add a mattress protector over it, of course, and the lack of washability is a common theme with many toppers made from natural materials. If you want ease of care, then a synthetic topper, such as the Silentnight Airmax Mattress Topper, is your best bet.

The upside is that this feather and down topper is made with a grid-like pocket construction. I found this meant that the filling stayed evenly distributed, without the need to shake it to fluff it back into shape.

Sleep trial

M&S doesn't offer sleep trials on its bedding, which is a bit of a shame because at £110 for a double, this topper is an investment.

That's in comparison to online brands such as Simba, Panda, and Woolroom who do offer up to 30 nights to test out their bedding before you commit to keeping it.

The good news is that most of us aren't that far away from an M&S store, so there is likely an opportunity to give this topper a squish in-store if you want to check how it feels before you invest.

Value for money

As I've mentioned, at £110 for a double, this topper isn't cheap. However, it is one of the best value feather and down toppers I've tested, and I found it added a layer of luxurious comfort to my mattress.

We've tested numerous cheaper feather and down toppers at Ideal Home, and tend to find that you get what you pay for. More affordable options have all suffered from loose feathers that escaped or stuck through the cover to create prickly spikes, and were noisy to sleep on with lots of rustling. There's none of that with this M&S option.

Yes, investing more in a high-end goose down topper, such as scooms Hungarian Goose Feather & Down Mattress Topper, which costs £260 for a double, or The White Company's Luxury White Down Topper, which will set you back a whopping £350, will get you even softer padding. However, personally, I was more than happy with this mid-range feather and down topper's comfort level.

For me, the only bugbear with this topper is its lack of washability, but if you're happy adding a mattress protector on top, then overall, I think this is a good value buy.

How I tested

Rachel Tompkins

I’m Rachel, a mother of two who helps the Ideal Home team put all manner of products through their paces to find the top recommendations for our readers. For this review, I tested the M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper in a double over a hybrid memory foam mattress.

My sleep stats:

• Sleep position: back or side
• Tension preference: firm
• Sleep problems: lower back pain and/or neck pain and occasional overheating
• Height & weight: 5"5 and 9.5 stones

In order to test out this mattress topper, my husband and I slept on it for two weeks in our own home on top of our usual mattress. I assessed how easy the M&S Duck Feather & Down Mattress Topper was to attach to the bed, how comfortable it was when sleeping on my back and side, and whether it offered good temperature regulation. I also took into account how easy it was to care for and any sleep trials on offer, as well as its value for money.