Choosing Down Alternatives

The reason why down is so popular is that it has so many great advantages such as lightness, a high warmth-to-weight ratio, and longevity. What about synthetics, man-made and down alternatives? It turns out these have many great qualities about them too. They won't trump down on all counts, but there are some things the down alternatives excel at.

In this article we take a look at what's good about them, as well as negative qualities that will ensure you pick down alternatives for the right reasons.

Economical

At the top of the list is the economical aspects of down alternatives. Synthetics cost less down, as manufacturing methods can scale the production to extremely high volume whereas the harvesting of natural waterfowl plumage is limited by both the population of geese, the time required to plug as well as the number of workers hired to do the plucking. The low prices cover every conceivable type of product, such as comforters, insulating garments, pillows, sleeping bags etc.

Ease of Care

Next, a buyer should be aware that care of synthetics and down alternatives is consierably easier than caring for down. Washing down requires special detergents that don't harm the plumules. A synthetic comforter can be washed and dried in the machine with little to no effect on the insulation quality.

Hypoallergenic

A down alternative is also characterized by the fact that there are no natural allergens. Certain kinds of birds have what are known as powder down feathers. In these birds, the feathers distintegrate over days to weeks, generating a fine powdery that can be a cause of serious allergies. Although this type of material is not commonly found in bedding, other standard sources of bird feathers will contain trace amounts of these allergens. Keep in mind that the most common cause of allergies is still the dust mite protein Der p 1, which can be captured and accumulate in both synthetic and natural filling.

Drawbacks

There are some negative aspects of down alternatives. Synthetic fillers are bulkier, denser, and per pound weight are unable to hold as much warmth as natural down. This may not be such a problem at home, but imagine having a heavy down alternative sleeping bag that needs to be lugged around during the hike. Taking away the aspect of weight, a low quality down alternative comforter won't be as soft and comfortable because it's made of the coarser, denser material. One great advantage of high quality down is that it can last a life time. This is not true of synthetics. A synthetic comforter will start to disintegrate over time. Patches and holes will appear on the interior as material becomes stretched and displaced.

Variation in Quality

There is also a quality issue to contend with, although this is true of both natural and man-made fibers. The quality issue is that there is a range of synthetics. The low end could end up being extremely stiff and uncomfortable, while the high end is much softer and closer to its down counterpart. But buyers of natural filler products must also watch out for different grades, down feathers are often mixed with other stiffer feathers, resulting in lower fill power.