Down
Facts and Performance Sleeping Bags
WHAT FILL POWER DO YOU WANT?
400-fill is low grade insulation
that is used in the budget sleeping bag market and for bedding.
500-fill is your entry level performance fill
and is used by most suppliers in their cheaper bags. These bags
are usually made in China close to the down supply so as to keep
the cost low. These bags can be bought for half the price you used
to get them for when they were made in the UK.
600-fill is good quality down, but this quality
of down requires work by the supplier to find and maintain this
level making it more expensive.
700-fill is a rare and expensive product. Very
few goose downs achieve a higher fill-power than this and for duck
down it is the very top limit.
800-fill, although bandied around in catalogues
as if it grows on trees, a true 800-fill is extremely rare and expensive
and only comes from one or two sources.
900-fill is the stuff of marketing departments,
overeager catalogue copy writers and legends.
Now the down is ready to be placed into the sleeping bag, but you
should not confuse a mega-fill as a sign that the bag is well-made
or an efficient insulator. It is now that the skill of the manufacturer
comes into play in order to squeeze the most performance out of
the down used.
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Facts and Performance Sleeping Bags
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