Tips
Tips
What to know about down insulation?
What to know about down insulation?
Ahh... we're already nostalgic for the summer season when we could leave the house with only sunscreen and our favorite dress for protection! Even though winter landscapes can be truly magical, leaving the house in 25 degrees below zero requires a bit more gear. When it comes to choosing a winter coat, a toooon of criteria come into play: style, color, length, material, insulation...
Let's talk about the latter: insulation. There are more and more different insulation technologies, some found across many brands while others are specific to certain brands – like LOLË and Sicily (to name just two) which have their own insulating technology. But one of the most common insulators on the market is, of course, down.
So, here we answer all your questions about it:
What is the function of down?
The function of down in a coat is to form an insulating barrier. How? By retaining the maximum volume of air which will then be heated by your body heat. Down is very fine and volatile, it is always mixed with feathers. These will help to disperse the down evenly throughout the coat.
What percentage of down should you choose?
Although all down-insulated coats contain feathers, it is the down that is the insulating element. So: the more down there is, the warmer it is. The percentage of down/feathers varies according to brands and models, starting from 50/50 (50% down and 50% feathers) up to the warmest being 90/10 (90% down for 10% feathers).
What is fill power?
It's not just the percentage of down/feathers that needs to be considered if you want a very warm coat. There's also what's called "fill power" (or loft, or fill power). This value is measured in volume. A good warm coat will, for example, have a fill power of 700. This number means that if you take 1 ounce of down, compress it and release it, it will occupy 700 cubic inches of space. This means that the higher the number, the greater the down's expansion capacity and therefore, the warmer the coat. More expansion = more air = more warmth.
What to do if your coat loses feathers?
It's inevitable: your coat will lose feathers. If you decided to open the lining of your coat (we don't recommend it!!), you'd be impressed by the quantity of feathers it contains. It's perfectly normal for a few feathers to escape during the first week you wear your new coat. Most importantly: if the feather isn't completely out, do NOT pull on it! By pulling it out you could create a small hole and other feathers would take advantage of it to escape. The ideal is to push the feather back inside. It's also possible that the loss occurs when the coat is more worn since, over time, the outer layer of your coat loses its original qualities. It is therefore important to wash your coat every season and even apply a new layer of waterproofing. WARNING!! Always read the label of the coat AND the waterproofing product carefully before applying it!
How to wash a down coat?
Before washing a coat (or any garment), whether it's insulated with down or anything else, you should ALWAYS read the label. Washing instructions are always indicated and it's very important to follow them. In the case of a real down coat, more often than not, dry cleaning is recommended. In some cases, it's possible to machine wash it and tumble dry it at a low temperature. It's also recommended to add tennis balls to the dryer to help fluff up the down. As for cleaning frequency, we recommend washing it once a year, ideally at the beginning of the season, before you start wearing the coat.
Ahh... we're already nostalgic for the summer season when we could leave the house with only sunscreen and our favorite dress for protection! Even though winter landscapes can be truly magical, leaving the house in 25 degrees below zero requires a bit more gear. When it comes to choosing a winter coat, a toooon of criteria come into play: style, color, length, material, insulation...
Let's talk about the latter: insulation. There are more and more different insulation technologies, some found across many brands while others are specific to certain brands – like LOLË and Sicily (to name just two) which have their own insulating technology. But one of the most common insulators on the market is, of course, down.
So, here we answer all your questions about it:
What is the function of down?
The function of down in a coat is to form an insulating barrier. How? By retaining the maximum volume of air which will then be heated by your body heat. Down is very fine and volatile, it is always mixed with feathers. These will help to disperse the down evenly throughout the coat.
What percentage of down should you choose?
Although all down-insulated coats contain feathers, it is the down that is the insulating element. So: the more down there is, the warmer it is. The percentage of down/feathers varies according to brands and models, starting from 50/50 (50% down and 50% feathers) up to the warmest being 90/10 (90% down for 10% feathers).