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Down Facts and Performance Sleeping Bags

DOWN CONTROL

Firstly, it is not the down that is keeping you warm at night, it is the air trapped within its complex structure. For maximum performance this combined structure of thousands of feathers must remain stable and to do this you need down control. This is done via the use of baffling throughout the bag and is also used to control the distribution of down throughout the bag. Poor baffling allows the down to shift and leaves gaps and cold spots, causing the down to bunch up and lose its efficiency.

Baffles are generally made in two ways. The simplest is a stitch-through baffle where the down is held between the inner and outer shell. This is cheap to do and saves weight, but the stitching line is an insulation weak point. The most common method is to join the shells via strips of netting, thereby forming boxes into which the down can then be stuffed. This is highly efficient and creates a good insulation block around the sleeper devoid of cold spots. The real test of a manufacturer is how they construct these baffles. If baffles are too large, down can move around across a larger space. Smaller baffles keep the down within a smaller area but add weight and complexity. A good way to achieve down control is to fill the baffles densely enough so that the friction within the baffle prevents movement. Sufficient density can be seen when the shell fabric firmly bulges between baffle seams.

Designers like Rab Carrington and Pete Hutchinson have pioneered other forms of baffling like cross-baffling to reduce gravity shift and trapezoid baffles that eliminate cold spots. Mountain Equipment's excellent elasticized inner on their Extreme bags is a very effective way of achieving effective thermal contact.

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