<p>D is spending the semester in China, and the heat in her dorm is turned on on October 20. The temps there now are just hitting freezing at night. She is going shopping this weekend for some sort of blankets or conforters–she might be limited to simply what is available, but if she has a choice, which would be warrmer, one heavy comforter or several thinner blankets?</p>
<p>I vote for a down comforter rated “warmest” if she can find something like that. I am perpetually freezing, but even with our NE winters one down comforter over a top sheet keeps me toasty warm. Hope she has a great semester abroad!</p>
<p>Yeah, down comforters are dang nice. If she can find a heated blanket, that’s a plus.</p>
<p>seriously, find a wool blanket. A nice down on top of that is the way to go. Wool is always warm and good alone or with a down comforter. They are actually difficult to find!
try Lands End or Eddie Bower…if you can ship.</p>
<p>Down is great, whether you pick one thick one or two thinner ones. You can also roll it really tightly so it should pack well. When we lost power in the winter I slept with wool blend knee high socks under my pajamas and a cashmere sweater over (under the down comforter). Cashmere is warm and also very thin and light so it’s great for that.</p>
<p>The Company Store also has wool blankets. You might try Sierra Trading Post too and they’ll also have wool socks (I’ve also found great wool socks at Marshall’s). If it’s cold: wool, polar fleece, & down are the way to go.</p>
<p>I can’t use wool or down (allergies to both). I use a nice down alternative comforter…and I also find that fleece blankets are mighty warm too.</p>
<p>Fleece blankets, and down alternatives are much easier to wash and take care of (in my opinion) than wool or down.</p>
<p>My daughter got really cold when she lived in China, and she was in the Southern part, about the latitude of Cuba! Like you say, they have some sort of strange rule about turning the heat on and off in public places according to dates and not actual weather. She taught with her winter coat on quite a bit. I would go with the wool blanket and a down comforter. We found cost of shipping to be terribly expensive but goods there quite reasonable so if I were you, I would just put some money in her bank account if you can do that and let her buy it there. My daughter found a Walmart where she was in China and visited it once a week, which was quite ironic because she shunned that store before she went overseas.</p>
<p>just a different idea- sleeping bags zipped if really cold and unzipped on top if needed. we have used these in a pinch when the electricity/heating goes out</p>
<p>I am like thumper - allergic to down. I have a hard time traveling these days, because just about every hotel out there has down comforters and pillows, and sometimes even a down mattress pad. I always call ahead but most of the time they don’t change the bedding until I get there and call several times. </p>
<p>I agree that polar fleece is wonderful. I would go with a polar fleece blanket and a synthetic comforter from LLBean or Lands End. I also find that flannel sheets make a big difference in how warm you feel. Sleeping in good long underwear will help, too - there are some available for skiing that are thin and comfortable. Keep the feet warm and maybe the head, too?</p>
<p>There are shops around Shanghai and Beijing that specialize in natural cotton underwear . Their winterweight long underwear is 98% cotton and 2% lycra - The best I ever had ! The inside is soft fleece . You can wear it all the time , and not get sweaty ! I paid about 7 dollars for each piece . I can’t think of the store name .</p>