Down Vs Feather Jacket

Most people take their down jacket for granted expecting it to perform the same year after year without any maintenance.

Down vs feather jacket.

Generally speaking a higher first number means a higher quality and more expensive product. The higher the number in favour of down the warmer the jacket. Feather and down blends don t last as long with some percentage of down added for support so they don t go flat. 2 feathers are the outward layer of a bird that comes with a firm shaft at the middle.

Down insulation is made from goose or duck plumage the lofty fluffy stuff underneath the feathers. Down is a fantastic insulator as the loft or fluffiness of down creates thousands of tiny air pockets which trap warm air and retain heat thus helping to keep the wearer very warm in cold winter weather. 4 down provides great insulation managing to trap body heat while still allowing air to pass through. It s the insulation of choice in cold dry conditions or whenever reducing weight and saving space are top priorities.

Down insulation has typically been sourced from geese. It is an undercoating or a natural midlayer. Down insulation you might not believe us but down is not made from feathers. Down insulates by trapping air and is prized for being light easy to compress long lasting and breathable.

Your down jacket vs the weather. A down jacket is a jacket which has been insulated with the soft and warm under feathers from duck or geese. High quality jackets should have at least an 80 20 down feather ratio because down does a much better job at trapping air than feathers. Down pillows last longer are more resilient have no quills to poke you and cost more.

The reality is that the down feathers inside your jacket turn to shit when they get wet. 5 feathers are firmer and retain shape better while still providing a similar soft and fluffy feeling. High down fill powers tend to come with a heftier price tag so consider what you re going to use a product for when getting into those loftier feathers. No down jacket minus an outer waterproof shell will ever be truly waterproof.

A 600 fill power down jacket with an 80 20 down to feather ratio will be warmer than a 600 fill power jacket with a 70 30 ratio. While down costs more it is a much better insulator than feathers and thus is preferred in good jackets. Nature s best insulation down creates high loft clusters that trap air and body heat. 3 down is comprised of thousands of layers connected by a common point in the center which prevents clumping of the material.

Feather pillows don t last long sleep flatter and contain quills that may poke you and cost less. Some products use a blend of down and feathers but by definition down is different than feathers. How to wash your down jacket. The down fill of a jacket will be either goose down duck down or a combination of the two.