Read about the pitfalls of down jackets before buying them

Buying winter clothes is expensive, especially buying Down Jackets. Different materials, fabrics, and workmanship will also have different warmth retention.

Especially the filling inside the down jacket, you can't see it unless you cut it open. If you buy it online, you can't touch the real thing before buying it. The only basis for judgment is those parameters, which usually include:

Fabric, lining, filling, filling amount, and down content.

Are you often confused by them?

Moreover, merchants usually create some concepts, making you feel that a certain filling is more advanced (for example, for the same style of down jacket, white duck down is more expensive than gray duck down), and avoid some more necessary values ​​(for example, many merchants only mark the down content on the online shopping page, but not the filling amount).

Well, in order to let everyone spend the money on buying down jackets on the right things, in this article I have summarized several common senses about down jackets that must be known, as well as the guide to avoid pitfalls. Before buying A Down Jacket, you can compare and review it, maybe you can save a lot of money!

Regarding fabrics, in fact, with the current manufacturing process, there is no need to worry about the surface material of down jackets. Problems such as down drilling and running can be basically eliminated. The choice of the width of the seam also depends on your aesthetic taste.

Of course, it also includes whether you like a high-profile reflective surface, or a low-key matte, a little hard, or soft and skin-friendly, or a velvet retro, all are fine.

The focus below is on fillings. Here are a few common misunderstandings, which is what we call "pitfalls", and the guide to avoid pitfalls will be sent later!

Pitfall 1 | Is it necessary to buy goose down jackets?
First of all, it needs to be made clear that common "down" is generally divided into two types - duck down and goose down.

Goose is bigger than duck, and the goose down is also bigger. The fixed air volume per unit mass of goose down is greater than duck down, and the fluffiness and warmth retention performance are better. Generally, if you want to achieve the same warmth retention effect, you need duck down that is 3 times heavier than goose down.

Pitfall 2 | Is white duck down more advanced than gray duck down?
Duck down is divided into white duck down and gray duck down. This is also a "disaster area" for merchants' marketing rhetoric. What white duck down is warmer and more advanced? No!

There is no difference in warmth retention between white duck down and gray duck down. The reason why white duck down is more expensive is that there are fewer white ducks and the output is small;

Another reason is because of its color. If gray duck down is used to fill light-colored down jackets or linings, it will not look good if the mottled colors are revealed. At this time, white duck down is more beautiful. For dark down jackets, there is really no difference. It doesn't matter whether you use white or gray. Don't be "cheated" on this point!

Pitfall 3 | Are the filling amount and down content the same thing?
Of course not! The filling amount, in layman's terms, is how much down is stuffed into a down jacket and the total weight.

Generally speaking, a filling amount between 100g and 300g is more common and is also used by everyone in daily life. Down jackets for outdoor use generally have a filling amount of 300-500g.

I referred to the down jackets with good sales of mainstream brands. The short ones are 100-150g, and the medium-long ones are 150-250g. Dayue is located in Hangzhou. It is very warm to wear a down jacket of about 200g in the coldest time, and 100-150g in the winter when it is not too cold. For students in the north, 200-300g is generally enough.

As for the down content, this value refers to the proportion of "down" in the down filling.

Take a duck feather as an example. The feather is the main part of the hair, which also has a stem. It is relatively hard and can be felt when we touch it with our hands. The warmth retention of feather is relatively poor and it is a relatively inferior filling component.

"Down" is the key. It is the softest part of the feather root. The proportion of "down" determines the warmth retention.

Down jackets with a down content of less than 50% are basically not down jackets. The warmth retention may not be as good as Cotton Jackets, and they are not soft and comfortable to wear;

60~70% down content is considered medium. Most of the down jackets on the market can basically achieve this number;

90% and above are considered to be relatively good quality down jackets. Of course, they must be compared with the filling amount. The higher the filling amount and the higher the down content, the better the warmth retention performance.

Pit 4 | Is it everything to understand the filling amount and down content?

In fact, in addition to the filling amount and down content, there is another important parameter, that is, "fluffiness".

We can use both palms to press the down jacket to see how long it takes to rebound and expand. Generally, the faster it recovers, the higher the fluffiness and the better the warmth retention.

Internationally, there are corresponding parameters for the fluffiness of down jackets, which refers to the volume (cubic inches) occupied by each ounce (about 30g) of down. Under the same filling volume, the higher the fluffiness, the more air layers the down can fix to keep warm and insulate, and the better the warmth retention.

Most down jackets have a fluffiness of around 600, which is warm and light at the same time; those below this value are lightweight warm clothes, which are not suitable for outdoor use in winter, while those above this value are used to deal with outdoor and extremely cold weather, and are warm and light. The higher this value, the better the quality and the more expensive the price.

You can learn more from the merchant before buying. If conditions permit, actually touch and feel a down jacket. Don't just focus on the style. A down jacket with a classic design that is warm and durable can still accompany you for many years.

Finally, I will give you a few knowledge points for quick reference in the future:
If you don't go to extremely cold areas, you don't need to buy goose down clothes, it's too expensive and unnecessary
There is basically no difference between white duck down and gray duck down, don't be cheated
Down content: southern winter (100~150g), northern winter (200~300g), professional outdoor (300~500g or more)
Down content: Don't consider those below 70%, give priority to those above 90%
Fluffiness: It is usually not written on the tag, you can ask the merchant or experience the elasticity in person