Okay, you’re out. You want a down comforter. You also know the difference between duck and goose down. Yet again, you see differences between goose down. Which is better, Masurian down, recycled down or Siberian down? You’ve landed in a kind of down swamp. No worries, in this article you will discover what the difference is between those down types, which is the best choice and why.
Measuring the quality of down
.The larger the down cluster, the fluffier the down and the more air it can hold. This in turn makes it insulate better. Also, a larger down cluster is more resilient and durable. The quality of down is measured by its fill power. The fill power measures how much volume 30 grams of down occupies. Abroad, they indicate it with cubic inches per ounce (CUIN), in the Netherlands with mm per 30 grams. The higher the down “blooms”, the higher the fill power.
Quantities you may encounter are 150, 170, 200. Down with a high fill power is obtained from more mature ducks or geese and therefore more expensive. So fill power is a nice measure of quality. Unfortunately, there are also different methods of measurement, so this value can be higher or lower.
The 2 best down types
The fill power of a load of down depends not only on the origin of the goose or duck, but also on age, how the down was stored and how well the down was cleaned. Nevertheless, we see that the origin of the down can also largely determine the quality. Below we list the best types of down.
Sibirian goose down
Seldom, but number one when it comes to highest fill power. Siberian goose down can reach a fill power of 250 (mm / 30 grams). The down flock from Siberia is generally the largest in the world. Relatively little Siberian down is needed to make a warm comforter, making these types of comforters extremely light, while looking tremendously full and fluffy.
Happily, there is a lot of cheating going on. During a conversation with an important person in the jeans industry I found out that twice as much Siberian goose down is offered, than is actually there. Want to make sure that the down comes from Siberia? Then check whether the content of the comforter has been tested by an independent testing institute, such as TUV.
Mazurian goose down
Mazuria sounds very exotic, but it is simply an area in Poland. Poland is a purveyor of high quality down, mainly the Masurian down. The fill power of the down can be as high as 215 (mm / 30 grams). They are generally large down clusters that can retain a lot of heat, allowing you to create a wonderfully warm and full comforter or pillow. Optically, the difference with Siberian goose down is not that big. It is certainly not cheap, but relatively speaking it is a lot cheaper than Siberian down.
Recycled down
Used down or recycled down is gaining ground in the Netherlands. This is a good development, since the environmental impact of used down is lower than that of new down. A comforter with recycled down can consist of a mix of goose and duck down as the origin is not known.
The material is very pure and clean, as it is washed for the second time. However, the quality of recycled down is less than that of new down. This is because down loses its fill power a bit over time. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to separate the different quality of down. Chances are that a comforter with used down does not consist of 100% down.
Feather v.s. down: note the percentage of down
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Feathers are up to 10 times heavier than down. The filling power is therefore much lower. It is therefore logical that the filling of a comforter with a down percentage of 90% or 100% has a higher filling power than a comforter with for example 50% down and 50% feathers. A comforter with less than 60% down may also no longer be legally called a down comforter. Is the comforter relatively cheap? Then you should also expect that the quality is not too high.
Show your numbers
At the time I met my girlfriend, she had just bought a comforter from Leenbakker. Of course I was very surprised, oddly enough we are still together. I then explained to her that it could be a fine comforter, but that it was difficult to compare.
Leenbakker doesn’t mention the fill power of the filling on the label, nor is it mentioned anywhere that the filling has been checked by an independent institute. So basically you have no idea what you are buying, even though it says 90% down on the package. Furthermore, it is also not known whether the filling comes from the live pick or not. Probably my girlfriend, who is vegetarian by the way, found that the worst. In short, pay close attention to the following:
- The fill power of the filling
- The origin of the down
- The quality labels of the comforter or pillow
https://www.downandfeathercompany.com/pages/how-to-choose-fill-power
https://supremequilts.com.au/blogs/blog/what-are-the-differences-between-all-the-downs
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