Most Frequently Asked Questions About Down

Down is a sought-out and popular material in the outdoor world. We have decided to answer the question as to why is down so loved throughout the world, and many other frequently asked questions all in one place.

Why Is Down So Popular?

The popularity of down is not only in the fact that it’s a natural material, which is naturally attractive to many customers. Down, as padding of winter jackets, is very popular mainly for its insulation properties that can be achieved even under a lower weight of the jacket. 

In human terms, a down jacket keeps you warm even in the harshest of frosts despite being very light and compact.

However, down’s ability to inflate, not down itself, is responsible for the heat - air pockets are created inside your jackets that will be heated up with your body heat, and these air pockets create a natural barrier between you and the outside world.

What Are the Disadvantages of Down?

The beneficial properties of down get lost when it gets wet. The padding will soak up the moisture; it starts to stick together, the volume decreases and the air pockets that created the warming layer get lost. Furthermore, it’s not easy to dry up a wet down jacket. Therefore, down jackets are more suitable for dry conditions.

Where Does Down Come From?

Down is the delicate part of each feather found in the bottom end right at the quill. Thus, it can be obtained from birds. In our region, down is obtained primarily from ducks and geese.

Which Down Is The Best?

Since the purpose of down is to create an insulation layer between your body and your surroundings, the best down is the one that is best adapted to harsh frosts in real life - the closer the bird lives to the pole, the better the down should be. At least on paper.

However, in reality, our dilemma is limited to the duck, and the goose down that are used the most in functional clothing.

In this case, the goose down is of higher quality. In addition to its quality that ensures its durability, it is not necessary to use as much of it as the duck down - therefore, the jacket made of goose down is lighter.

Duck down is cheaper and tolerates water a little better, but it also bears a typical smell related to the way the ducks eat. This is negligible for most people, and they probably won’t even notice, however, this is not a rule.

Our Moritz and Valbella down jackets are filled with 100% DOWNTEK white goose down; duck down is used more as a filling of pillows and duvets.

How Is Down Quality Determined?

The measurement of down quality is its fill power or fluffiness. CUIN is the value used to express the fill power, and it determines how many square inches can be filled using one ounce of down. The greater the value, the warmer the insulation.

-    400 - 450 - average quality

-    500 - 550 - good quality

-    550 - 750 - very good quality

-    750 and more - excellent quality

It can be assumed that the higher this number is the greater the quality and the warmer the jacket is, however, this is not the single measure of quality. The CUIN of our Moritz and Valbella down jackets is 800.

So What Else Should I Consider If I Want a High-Quality Down Jacket?

The second most important factor is the ratio of down and feathers in the filling. The down and the feather jointly create air pockets that prevent the warm air from escaping the jacket and they also prevent the cold air from entering the jacket. This mixture is expressed as the ratio of a number - for example, 85:15. That means that 85% of the filling is pure down, and 15% are feathers. 

The higher the content of down, the better the insulation properties. We use a ration of 90:10 in our Moritz and Valbella jackets.

I Have Some Black Down in My Jacket, Why?

Sometimes dark bird down is found in the fillings of jackets and sleeping bags. Although dark down represents less than 0.001% of the whole filling, this small difference is very visible on a white background. 

However, this is no defect, just a visual “problem” related to the fact that down is simply a natural material and has its own specific features just like any other natural material. 

Although with try to minimise it in our products, it truly does not affect the performance or the quality of the product itself.