Purchasing down can be a confusing and frustrating endeavor. It is always best to understand exactly what each product is so that you can compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Here is a checklist and some tips to help you in this task:

Fill Power – Simply put, this is the quality of the down in the product. If it is quality you are after, only purchase down that has a fill power of 650 or higher. The 650 fill power number tells you that one ounce of down will fill 650 cubic inches of space when allowed to loft. This is very fluffy stuff.
Most store bought comforters and pillows have a fill power of 550. The price might be great but if there is no listing of the fill power – it is best to let the product gather dust on the shelf.

Thread Count – “I plan on covering my duvet (down comforter) so I really do not need a such a high thread count covering.” Please understand – the higher the thread count the more luxurious the piece is a correct assumption but the high thread count is designed to keep the down in the product and not floating around your room. A thread count of 230 threads per inch or higher is always recommended.

Construction:
A Baffled Box duvet is always the best way to go. A Baffled box is simply “boxes” of fabric that are strung together to create the overall comforter. Each box is individually filled thus preventing shifting of the down. You will not have “hot spots” or empty boxes with a baffled box comforter. They are also very pliable and tend to envelope about you where as other construction methods tend to act like a tarp stretched over you.

Kayro Stitch – This is a periodic tacking on a comforter. The idea here is that you can move more down over you when it is cold and move it away from you when it is warm. The bottom line is the down ends up at the foot of the bed regardless.

End to End Box Stitch – Not to be confused with the Baffled Box, the End to End is a comforter where a large casing is made and filled with down. This casing is then locked into a quilting frame and topstitched with different patterns (Boxes, Diamonds, Harlequins, etc.). This construction method is great for summer-weight comforters.

I hope this will help you when shopping for you down products. If you have questions about how to choose your down please email me as I would love to be of assistance.

-WilliamWest February 2007

What is feather and down and where does it come from? Down is the soft under coating of waterfowl, consisting of thousands of light, soft and fluffy fiber filament fibers growing from a quill point, but without the quill shaft. The lightweight down is designed for maximum benefit for the bird in providing warmth without increase in weight. Feathers are the plumage or outgrowth forming the contour and external covering of fowl. Feathers are characterized by a horny central hollow quill shaft or quill from which filament seminate.Our down fills are a byproduct of the food industry and comes from the geese and ducks that are raised for food. The most common down found in comforters is white goose down, although gray goose, white duck and gray duck are also used.

How is the down cleaned and processed? Washing, Rigorous Cleaning and Separating Our down and feather is washed up to 8 to 10 times, with special anti-bacterial cleaning agents that leaves the down at a neutral pH and strengthened for long term endurance and reduced deterioration. This rigorous cleaning process helps too remove the dust and dirt, which helps us to provide hypo allergenic down products to our customers. Natural down fills are a by-product of the poultry food industry and are biodegradable. Whereas polyester insulators are petroleum based synthetics and is not biodegradable. Natural feathers and down are fully biodegradable. Down is up to four times as efficient as synthetics polyester in retaining heat and certainly much more durable. Down and cotton combined have a breathable quality to them, absorbing and lifting moisture away. You won't get that sweaty feeling that you usually get with polyester comforters and pillows (that can collect and reflect moisture). The remarkable feature of natural insulation is that while retaining most of the warm air around your body, a controlled amount of air is allowed to circulate. Polyester fills cannot match this quality that down and feather products can.