The advantages of down jackets largely depend on their filler. For insulation in clothing, synthetic fibers are used (holofiber, tinsulate, isosoft, syntepuh, etc.). Another option is the use of natural materials (wool, fluff, which is often supplemented with a feather).
When choosing a product, it is necessary to take into account the properties and qualities of various heaters.
We will tell you what a duck down insulation is, whether it is warm, and how many degrees it keeps warm.
Characteristics of duck down
Downy fillers are made from the fluff of waterfowl: eider, swan, goose, duck.
Duck is one of the most common materials . Manufacturers turn to him often. But how good it is for the owners of down jackets, we have to figure it out.
Advantages
A rather small feather feather of a duck has a number of obvious advantages .
- Due to its naturalness, it is environmentally friendly .
- Duck fluff attracts with its lightness .
- The filler extends well inside the garment . The small size of the fluffs allows you to evenly fill the inner space of the down jacket so that even small areas free of down remain in the clothes.
- In a down jacket made of such material, a person feels comfortable. After all, the filler retains heat well .
Help In these down jackets, even small children do not freeze during long walks at temperatures up to minus 25 ºC.
Compared to other waterfowl, ducks cover their feathers with a rather large layer of fat . It is secreted from the sebaceous glands of the bird and is necessary to protect its feathers in contact with water.
Reference : the fat layer of duck feathers is larger than the similar protection in other birds: eiders, swans, goose.
This feature leads to such negative features of the insulation.
Difficult and expensive cleaning
Due to this feature, it must be cleaned more thoroughly than other feathers before being used as a filler. Strong detergents are used. They are able not only to wash off the greasy layer, but also relieve odor.
But the complexity of the cleaning process increases the cost of production of insulation .
There is one more minus of such cleaning: the period during which the fluff performs an insulating role is reduced. So, the period of use of clothes becomes shorter .
The weight
The fat layer also affects the weight of the fluff, making it heavier. Therefore, jackets with such insulation are heavier than products with other contents.
Care
When washing in a car, the contents of the jacket may get lumpy . And after washing, it will take a long time for the product to completely dry .
Tip : if you need to wash a product with duck duck fill, put several tennis balls in the drum of the washing machine or in the pockets of clothes. This will prevent clumps.
Features filler fluff / feather
Very often, manufacturers produce warm clothes, the insulation of which cannot be called completely downy, since a feather is added to it.
It adds volume to the product and also reduces its cost .
Label designations
You can find out what was used for the insulation of a particular jacket from the information on the label.
- The word "down" indicates the downy contents of the product.
- The word “feather” indicates that a mixed look is used, made with a feather additive.
In addition to the indicated text labels, the label has numbers . They are recorded as fractions. This is the percentage of the two components .
- In the upper part (numerator) is the amount of fluff .
- From the bottom of the fraction (denominator) you can find out how many feathers were added to the insulation.
For example, if 70/30 is indicated on the label, this means that the padding of the down jacket is 70% fluff, and the remaining 30% is feather.
Optimal ratio
Having received information about the jacket, you need to evaluate it. To do this, you need to know which combination will provide heat.
Help : increasing the percentage of the pen makes the down jacket less warm.
- In order not to freeze in winter at temperatures up to minus 25 ºC, you need to select products in which the feather occupies no more than 20% (80/20) .
- Residents of areas with severe winters need to find a model in which the pen is even smaller: 10% (90/10).
Having information about duck down, you can decide whether a down jacket with such a heater is suitable for you or not.
