Fillers for down jackets

The choice of a high-quality, warm and comfortable winter down jacket depends not only on its style, length and manufacturer. The main indicator of its durability and ability to retain heat is the filler.

By their origin, fillers are divided into 2 groups: natural and artificial.

Each group has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, natural fillers keep warm better, but are more difficult to clean. Synthetic ones heat worse, but they do not cause allergies.

The most popular natural filler, thanks to which the name appeared - "down jacket". Its advantages include excellent heat-saving ability, softness, lightness, durability.

Among the disadvantages should be noted the high cost, special conditions for cleaning or washing, the possibility of allergic reactions.

Down of a goose, duck, swan or eider is most often used as insulation.

It is considered the warmest, but also the most expensive of the fillers presented. Ideal for the harshest climates and for long outdoor walks.

This is the most common option. Most often, it is additionally mixed with a synthetic filler, this can significantly reduce the cost of a down jacket.

Down jackets filled with pure down belong to the most expensive price category of down jackets. Most often, you can find the ratio of down to feather - 80/20 and 70/30, where the first indicator is the percentage of down.

The higher the first indicator, the more the down jacket is adapted to colder and harsher conditions.

Clothes with a percentage of down below 70% can be worn during the spring and autumn seasons.

The composition of the filler is usually indicated on the label.

If the label says "100% down", it means that the filler is down. The inscription "feather" means that the filler is down + feather. Intelligentdown - down + synthetic filling.

Outerwear with a woolen filler can be called a down jacket only conditionally, because it does not contain down as such. Rather, it is already a winter jacket.

The advantages of wool include excellent ability to keep warm and low cost.

Disadvantages: the possibility of shrinkage during washing, the possibility of allergic reactions, high weight.

It is an inexpensive artificial material that does not absorb moisture and retains heat well. Its significant disadvantages include loss in volume after the first wash.

Thin, lightweight material that repels moisture and retains heat well. A down jacket with such a filler dries quickly after washing and does not lose its original appearance even after a long period of wearing.

Holofiber is a synthetic filler in the form of spiral fibers. Lightweight, warm, hypoallergenic, quite bulky material.

Often, a mixture of natural and artificial fillers is used as a filler for a down jacket. Synthepukh has excellent performance properties, it is very lightweight, perfectly retains heat, tolerates washing and drying well.

Other artificial fillers include thinsulate, primaloft and many others.

1. In order for the down jacket to reliably warm on the coldest winter days, it is necessary that it contains at least 500 - 600 g of filler.
2. In order for the insulation to be distributed as evenly as possible over the surface of the down jacket, it is placed in special square or rectangular blocks. The insulation should move freely inside the block, not prick or form lumps.