I must have really strong hands, because Blue Ribbon has never been a problem for me. I started using it because my first quilt bearded badly. It had Fairfield low loft poly as a batt.
Mountain Mist makes a regular cotton batting, or used to - it needs to be quilted every 1/4-1/2 inch - but it's very hard to sew through.
I agree with you, though - try a sample first and see how it goes.