Posts Tagged ‘loft’
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.
Learn about standardized temperature rating for bedding
In our discussion about fill power and loft over the past several days we would be remiss if we did not say that calculations are only approximate. A more accurate way to compare goose down comforters is to use European Norm temperature ratings, which are based on realistic independent lab tests.
These tests are the lowest comfortable temperature, and go above a safe but not comfortable temperature. In the United States, sleeping bags have temperature ratings, but manufacturers do not use standardized methods in establishing temperature comfort ratings.
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.