Posts Tagged ‘down’
The supply and demand of down
Raw down and feather supplies are like commodities that are sensitive to supply and demand. Down bedding manufacturers make up only part of the demand along with the makers of down apparel and sleeping bags.
The supply and demand is affected by the needs of consumers and manufacturers, which cannot be reliably estimated. During a downturn in an economy for example, demand for more expensive down comforters would be less, even though humans have a need to keep themselves warm, but would turn possibly to cheaper synthetic materials.
Most goose down is from the Orient
Sixty-Five percent of the down produced in the world comes from Asia and most of the rest from Eastern Europe. Farmers generally will sell birds for meat and sell the down to brokers who sell the raw material to down and feather processors worldwide.
Processors prepare the raw material for the making of down feather pillows and comforters and other products. Supplies of the goose and duck down are usually greater around the time of the Chinese New Year because of higher consumption of the birds’ meat by consumers
The supply of duck exceeds that of goose
Another consideration when making a purchase of down comforters or pillows is the price of duck down versus goose down. One reason that duck is cheaper is that in the U.S. there is a perception that duck down is slightly inferior to goose down. A second reason is that there is a larger worldwide supply of duck, which far exceeds geese.
Goose down pillows and comforters will carry with them an inherent pride of ownership, which comes from the perception of being better and because of less abundant supply. For the money, if duck is the cheaper product and all other things are equal, it is probably the best buy for the obvious reason – price – and you may only be sacrificing the pride of ownership.
Down clusters must be large to be good
When it comes to purchasing a low quality down product, some things to consider beforehand are that small down clusters are fragile and do not last as long. Low quality and imported comforters that are sold for cheap prices are not a good investment in the long term because the small clusters do not breathe and are inferior at insulating.
Since a down comforter is a long term investment, care should be taken to find a brand that uses down with at least 500 fill power. For the long term, the better quality down will continue performing by breathing and insulating.
A cold weather goose makes me warm
As a rule, larger birds that live in colder climates have the largest down clusters with a corresponding higher fill power. Ducks and geese can both have high quality down because the age of the bird and the climate in different parts of the earth has an affect on quality.
The quality of the down that is used in bedding products such as down feather comforter is measured by its fill power. Fill power is the determined by how many cubic inches that is filled by one ounce of down.
A bird of a different feather
Every bird was created with some feathers and down, but the down and feathers of geese and ducks are the only birds whose down we harvest. One reason that down is harvested from a goose is that it will have bigger down clusters, generally.
White goose down with 525 to 650 fill power is used to construct Pacific Coast down comforters. Fill power can range from about 175 to around 900, but fill powers of over 700 are rare. Large percentages of down clusters and large average down cluster sizes are associated with the higher fill powers.
What’s in a pillow besides feathers?
Feathers and down are different because feathers have quills and down does not. Feathers are two dimensional whereas down is three dimensional. For the purposes of bedding, smaller feathers are used for products like featherbeds and blends of feathers and down pillows.
Feathers are the outside covering of most birds and have a range of less than 1 inch up to several feet in length. Waterfowl feathers are rigid and can range from two inches to five or more inches in length, with the shorter lengths used for bedding.
Separate feathers and down
Down has a quality that makes it ideal when compared with all other natural and synthetic materials used to make bed covers. Down has a remarkable ability to breathe, a quality that actually can lift perspiration away from the body, something that synthetic materials cannot do.
Feathers provide some of the same qualities as down such as insulation, but are different in that they are used to give support. Featherbeds are a common usage for feathers, which is something I will write about more in future posts to this blog.
Why is down so lightweight?
To get a better understanding of what down is and what its properties are we need to better understand how ducks, geese, and other migratory birds were designed by God. Down is a light fluffy coating that protects waterfowl from warm and cold elements of nature such as air and water. Most of the light fluffy coating is found clustered under the feathers on the underside of the bird to keep it warm in cold water.
Down are three dimensional clusters containing many tiny fibers but with no quill; it is warm yet lightweight and lofty. By making a comparison, one down comforter could keep you as warm as fourteen times the weight in woolen blankets.
Lightweight goose down is warmer
To get a better understanding of what down is and what its properties are we need to better understand how ducks, geese, and other migratory birds were designed by God. Down is a light fluffy coating that protects waterfowl from warm and cold elements of nature such as air and water. Most of the light fluffy coating is found clustered under the feathers on the underside of the bird keep it warm in cold water.
Down are three dimensional clusters containing many tiny fibers but with no quill; it is warm yet lightweight and lofty. By making a comparison, one down comforter could keep you as warm as fourteen times the weight in woolen blankets.