Open the e-commerce platform, search for “down jacket”, you can really feel the wallet shy.
Not to mention the top of the down jacket class despicable chain – Canada Goose, Moncler, the price is unattainable, even some of the old people’s brand, the new down jacket selling price also quietly exceeded 150 U.S. dollars. In addition, there are more miscellaneous brands that are not called on the name, the style is much the same, the price varies.
Buy down jacket, in the end, to see what indicators, in order to spend the money to the edge of the knife?
Goose down is not necessarily better than duck down
The down jacket is filled with different types of down and sells for different prices.
Goose down is more expensive than duck down, that’s for sure.
According to real-time data on the Down Information Network on November 5, 2021, a kilogram of 90% white goose down costs about $90. In contrast, 90% gray goose down and white duck down cost $75 and $50, respectively. Gray duck down is the most affordable at $40.
In terms of cost alone, it makes sense that goose-down duvets are expensive. However, taking into account the goose and duck species, growth cycle, and other factors, goose down warmth performance but not necessarily better than duck down.
The duck, for example, after 5 months of breeding time, the size of the down and its ability to keep warm will not lose to the same growth period of goose down.
The duck breeding time reached 5 months later, different down in the silk formation hook, showing significant hanging down characteristics, quality is not inferior to goose down.
So, if only by virtue of the label on the word goose, duck to judge the down jacket warmth, is not reliable enough.
For the extremely demanding mountain climbers and explorers, they wear down jackets filled with duck down. For example, the mountaineering explorer Wang Jing has worn white duck-down filled Pathfinder high-end polar series climbed the world’s peaks, braving the Earth’s poles.
In addition, the popular global down jacket brand Canada Goose, despite the name sounds like a big fan of goose down, but the inside is filled with mostly white duck down. For example, the expedition series of down coats designed for Antarctic research teams are also filled with duck down.
To pick a warm down jacket, instead of looking at the variety of down, you should pay more attention to the fluffiness.
In the case of the same quality of down, the higher the fluffiness, the more you can fix a larger volume of air layer to insulate and insulate, and the warmth and comfort of the down will be better.
The mass of down is 3g, the fluffiness is different, the volume is also different
The general price of the down jacket on the market, fluffiness is about 450 ~ 500, the price is slightly higher, fluffiness can reach 600 ~ 900.
High fluffiness is not the “patent” of goose down.
In August 2017, 13 samples down from China, France, Hungary, and Poland were tested for quality. The results showed that the grey duck down from Wuchuan, China, with a fluffiness of about 22.1cm, won the top prize. With such a high fluffiness of the gray duck down, compared to the fluffiness of 20.8cm of the Polish white goose down also can not help but be a little dull.
If you buy a down jacket without labeling the fluffiness, we can also judge by pressing, hand clutching, and other ways. The faster the down jacket bounces back, the higher its fluffiness.
Filling amount, not the higher the better
Although not every down jacket is marked with fluffiness, this indicator must not be missing: the amount of down filling.
Take, for example, the different sizes of a women’s down jacket from Bosideng.
We can see that the larger the size, the more down is filled in when the style is the same. Generally speaking, the more filler you have, the warmer you will be, but this does not mean that the higher the filler is, the better it is.
Experiments have proven that a long down jacket filled with 90% common white duck down, the best fill amount is 120g/m² when the insulation capacity of this down jacket reaches the maximum, the warmest. Even if you want to be greedy and fill it with more white duck down, the down fiber density will increase and the heat loss through fiber conduction will increase, and the warmth of the down jacket will decrease.
The most suitable amount of down can be found by combining the fluffiness with the temperature and body feel of the area.
The relationship between the ambient temperature and the amount of warmth in the garment is clearly defined in the “Requirements for Protective Clothing against the Cold”. clo is a unit used to measure the insulation capacity of clothing. If you live in a place where the temperature is higher than 5°C in winter, you only need to wear clothing with an insulation capacity of 2.8 clo to spend the winter safely.
January 6, 2020, Beijing, the Summer Palace scenic area after the snow clouds like a fairyland on earth, for more northern places, need a higher down filling amount of down to protect against the cold.
According to this standard, we collected the clo value of common 625 fluffiness down, combined with the average area data of the down jacket, and calculated the best amount of down filling that can adapt to different regions:
Coordinate Shanghai: Shanghai’s average winter temperature is 8.9 ℃, if you want to walk the dog in the community, draping a down filling about 125 grams of light down jacket is more than enough.
Beijing: In Beijing, where the average temperature has been minus 4.2°C, you need a down jacket with a down filling of about 166 grams to keep out the cold. But this year is a cold winter, met with the strongest cold wave, the temperature plunged to minus 15 ℃, you have to add 246 grams of down-filled down jacket, so as not to shiver in the cold wind.
Situated in Siberia: all the old iron better have a down jacket with a down filling capacity of 291 grams to be able to.
These are the hidden plus points.
In addition to the types of down, fluffiness, and down filling mentioned above, there are some small details that will also be a plus for you when you buy a down jacket.
- On the fabric, nylon is better than polyester
From the point of view of warmth, each fabric’s warmth performance is actually not a big difference. But a comprehensive comparison, nylon than polyester is better, wear-resistant breathable, more suitable as jacket material.
Outdoor sports enthusiasts, pay attention to the wind and waterproof function
If the down gets wet, the warmth will be affected. As a result, a new technology called “water-resistant down” was created.
Manufacturers will add polymers to the down during the washing process after harvesting, so that the down surface is covered with this water-resistant substance, making it water-resistant.
In addition to waterproof down, some outdoor down jacket brands will also work on the fabric. After adding waterproof, microporous coating film on the fabric, it is not only waterproof but also breathable. The more famous windproof and waterproof fabrics are GORE-TEX, Dry-tec, eVent, and so on, which are the gospel of many friends who love outdoor activities.
Of course, if you are not an outdoor sports enthusiast, waterproof down is not very meaningful to you, you can completely save money.
3. Select thin down jacket, remember to look at the form of quilting
As an important process in the production of down garments, quilting can make the outer fabric of the garment fit closely with the inner filling and fix the down so that it is evenly distributed and does not shift.
For the thin down jacket with a small amount of down filling, from the perspective of warmth, we should try to choose the quilting form with parallel, even, and large quilting distances.
In short, expensive down jackets are not necessarily more resistant to cold and warmth than cheap ones. When picking a down jacket, don’t be deceived by the fashionable appearance and inflated price, recognize the down filling, fluffiness of these indicators, in order to find the most suitable for their own cold weapon.
