Down Sleeping Bags
Down Sleeping Bags - An essential Guide. Is down really better than synthetic? Find Great Deals Here!
Down Sleeping Bags are made of the luxuriously soft undercoat (down clusters) of geese and ducks, rather than the actual feathers. This undercoating is called, need I say it? Down. Down is an incredible phenomenon of interlocking fibers that hold heat extremely well. Contrary to what some may thing, down does not produce heat, but it simply prevents the heat from your own body from escaping, keeping you warm. Large northern geese give the best down because the larger the bird, the bigger the down clusters. Also, birds from the north are going to have much better insulating factors in their down than birds closer to the equator.
Reasons you might want to consider getting a down sleeping bag:
- Extremely Warm - Down is incredible at trapping heat from the body and in return keeping you very cozy.
- Longevity - With proper care a down bag is very durable and can last a lifetime.
- Lightweight - You can't get lighter than down.No synthetic can come close to matching it.
- Compactable - These down bags are so compactable that they can be snugged into any corner of your backpack, taking up Virtually no room at all.
- Wicking Ability - The down has the ability to draw moisture away from your body,keeping you warm and dry.
Reasons you might not want a down sleeping bag:
- Bad when wet - Once a down bag is wet, it loses all ability to insulate and it takes 24 or more hours to dry (depending on weather conditions).
- Expensive - Some of this down requires scaling cliffs in the arctic, while gathering the fluff, so of course it's not going to be chump change. Remember that they can last a lifetime though, and the value for the warmth is warrented.
- Can have Allergens - While you are not likely to find many allergens in the higher quality down, the lower qualities will have some dust and other debris.
- Needs Special Maintenance - You're not going to be able to throw this puppy in the washer with the rest of your clothes. You can have it dry cleaned or use special down cleaning agents.
Find out how to clean your down sleeping bag.
Sleeping bags of down are divided into three categories:- High Loft Goose Down - Made from the finest down of largest clusters. The arctic nesting Eider produces the most incredible down. This bird is protected, so the down is gathered by hand along the cliffs where it nests.
- Goose Down - Still very luxurious, but more affordable than high loft down.
- Duck Down - Will be warmer than most synthetics and the most affordable down on the market. Typically this down is a byproduct of the food industry.
Another thing to consider is the fill power. Fill power means how much space will be occupied by one ounce of down. For instance, if one ounce of down fills 500 cubic inches of space then it will be given a rating of 500. The lowest fill power rating will be 500 and high-end manufacturers offer up to 750. The higher the quality of down, the higher the fill power rating will be and the more expensive.
The last thing you need to know is the percentage of fill. If a sleeping bag is graded as 80%, it means that it has 80% down and 20% feathers. The higher the percentage, the lower the weight, and the higher the price.
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