Posts Tagged ‘down’
Large down clusters make for high fill powers
Fill power describes the quality of the down used in many fabrics from sleeping bags to comforters. Pacific Coast down comforters use a minimum of 550 fill power in products that it produces for better loft and insulation.
Superior insulation is accomplished with large clusters of down, which breathe and last longer than the smaller, fragile down clusters that are used in low quality comforters. The higher the fill power means that the clusters of down are larger and stronger.
What were you doing Christmas Eve?
What an interesting Christmas Eve we experienced here in the upper Midwest in 2009. It was definitely a white Christmas and we spent the evening without electricity and ate cold food and we burned candles for light.
The thing that got us through the evening and into the night was a lot of blankets and throws, including down throws and comforters. We woke up to electricity and opened gifts and read the Christmas story from the Bible.
The weight of down can add up significantly
Fill power can be a hard term to understand, so I will try to explain the amount of weight difference that would be associated with two products with the same loft. The down used in a goose down comforter with a 550 fill power would weigh up to 50% more than the down used in one with 800 fill power.
Warmth is provided by layers of air that separate a cold side from a warm side, whether it is down or some other form of insulation. When a thicker layer of air is trapped it will insulate more, which is called loft. The greater the loft the more it will insulate with less weight.
Why can goose down be so expensive?
The higher the fill power means that the down is the rarest and accordingly the most expensive. The geese kept for breeding will molt naturally each spring and the down is collected by hand when it is loose.
This type of down from breeding geese is rare and expensive, but it has greater loft and gets its scarcity from the careful selection by hand. Pacific Coast down comforters are constructed using the better downs of up to 650 fill power.
Comparing high and low fill power for warmth.
Fill power is a measure of the quality of down used as a standard in the industry. A way to tell the difference in high fill power versus low fill power is that to get the same warmth from say a goose down comforter, the high fill power down will weigh less and the low fill power down will weight more.
Conversely, another way to tell would be to take something made of down that both weigh the same and compare how warm it keeps you. The higher fill power would keep you warmer when compared to the lower fill power comforter.
Turn the thermostat down and sleep in warmth.
With fuel prices expected to rise and with the possibility of a cold winter looming, turning the thermostat down lower at night may be necessary. A cold house while we sleep is not as uncomfortable if you cover ourselves properly.
Down is an excellent insulator that is a natural regulator, keeping warmth in and cold out, without causing discomfort from being too heavy. Quality down comforters have a way of keeping the temperature under the covers just right and rarely will the term too warm or cold be a problem.
Why is down soft and lofty?
Ducks and geese have soft insulating down clusters on their breasts. Down is a plume, which means that it has no hard elements such as a quill like feathers have. Down clusters contain many thousands of soft filaments that radiate out like a dandelion and form the spherical plume.
Down has a structure that is three-dimensional that gives it superior lofting and fill power. A goose down pillow is incredibly soft and luxurious because of the loft of down.
Keeping down feathers inside of your comforter
The fabric used in making bedding that contains down needs to be downproof. There are a variety of fabrics that are used in down bedding, but whichever one is used must be constructed so that the fine down fibers cannot penetrate it.
Pacific Coast Feather Company uses BarrierWeave TM technology to produce goose down comforters with fabric that achieves this. This technology produces a finer, softer, and more durable fabric that is up to three times more leakproof than the standard requirement.
Washed, dried, and sorted down and feathers
Manufacturers in the U.S. buy washed and pre-washed down product, that were sent through large washing machines that remove impurities. The fill is dried and sorted in separating machines for quality, feather size, etc.
Washed product is imported and is available for use upon receipt as soon as it arrives in the U.S. to be made into bedding products such as featherbeds or down blankets. Pre-washed down and feathers need further processing after arriving in the U.S. before it is put into a finished product available for public consumption.
Raw down needs to be washed clean
When down and feathers are purchased from farmers they are raw, which means they are unwashed. The processor will wash the down before a goose down pillow or comforter manufacturer can use it.
Many consumers are allergic to dust mites, or bacteria that are found in down and feathers in their raw state. Some manufacturers warrant their down against allergy causing organisms, which warranty will result in higher price.