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BlackRock
187
BlackRock Gear
Sep 29, 2017
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dkjnvldjrvnldrgzAbsolutely.
With years and years now of buying and handling the high end goose down I can say that the current batch of what we've got is top notch. I believe the test on the current bag shows a 970 in fact. What that means for the consumer is the gear you get from us is just that much lighter, softer and fluffier because of the extremely nice large fluffy plumes that makes up the entirety of our down. It also means it holds up better to moisture and will last longer over the years. What it means by the numbers and testing is much harder to explain.
So here goes...
Most cheap down products you get from say a big box shop on discount will be around 600 fill. Packed full of down and feathers to give it loft but it's heavy and much more dense because of it. Then you get to your top tier products like Pattagucci and such and they toss in 800, 850 and maybe even some 900. Heck from time to time you'll even see the 'elusive' 1000 fill power, which does also exist. If you were to cut the item open with better quality down you'd find fewer feathers, just tiny ones with lots of plumes and lots of small fuzzies. As you move through the range from say 800 up you get fewer feathers and the plumes get puffier and larger. It's really just a matter of filtering out the small plumes, partial plumes, tiny feathers and other random bits to get a higher number.
It's only when you really start looking at the 900 loft and up that you start to lose most of the tiny feathers. So we went to 900 about 7 years ago despite the cost being nearly double vs 800 fill. The stringy plumes are fewer and the size of the fluffy plumes gets bigger overall. Now compare the 900 to the bags of 950 I exclusively source now and you'll find absolutely no feathers. Stringy plumes are gone and almost everything inside the entire 10lb bags we buy is nothing but gigantic huge fluffy plumes.
A few years ago we got some crappy "900 fill" bags of down, which I sent back. We then worked with the distributor to get something we actually wanted to work with and in the end it turned out the only down I personally liked and felt passed my litmus test was the stuff that tested out to 950 at a base level. I'm always asking for 1000 but only very rarely do they get enough down that's so super nice they can then process it and end up with something testing out that high.
So yes, 950 does exist. Take a handful of down from your 850 fp jacket and then sort out ONLY the largest fluffiest plumes. Set those in a new pile and I'd say that would be a good representation of what 950 is ;)
With years and years now of buying and handling the high end goose down I can say that the current batch of what we've got is top notch. I believe the test on the current bag shows a 970 in fact. What that means for the consumer is the gear you get from us is just that much lighter, softer and fluffier because of the extremely nice large fluffy plumes that makes up the entirety of our down. It also means it holds up better to moisture and will last longer over the years. What it means by the numbers and testing is much harder to explain.
So here goes...
Most cheap down products you get from say a big box shop on discount will be around 600 fill. Packed full of down and feathers to give it loft but it's heavy and much more dense because of it. Then you get to your top tier products like Pattagucci and such and they toss in 800, 850 and maybe even some 900. Heck from time to time you'll even see the 'elusive' 1000 fill power, which does also exist. If you were to cut the item open with better quality down you'd find fewer feathers, just tiny ones with lots of plumes and lots of small fuzzies. As you move through the range from say 800 up you get fewer feathers and the plumes get puffier and larger. It's really just a matter of filtering out the small plumes, partial plumes, tiny feathers and other random bits to get a higher number.
It's only when you really start looking at the 900 loft and up that you start to lose most of the tiny feathers. So we went to 900 about 7 years ago despite the cost being nearly double vs 800 fill. The stringy plumes are fewer and the size of the fluffy plumes gets bigger overall. Now compare the 900 to the bags of 950 I exclusively source now and you'll find absolutely no feathers. Stringy plumes are gone and almost everything inside the entire 10lb bags we buy is nothing but gigantic huge fluffy plumes.
A few years ago we got some crappy "900 fill" bags of down, which I sent back. We then worked with the distributor to get something we actually wanted to work with and in the end it turned out the only down I personally liked and felt passed my litmus test was the stuff that tested out to 950 at a base level. I'm always asking for 1000 but only very rarely do they get enough down that's so super nice they can then process it and end up with something testing out that high.
So yes, 950 does exist. Take a handful of down from your 850 fp jacket and then sort out ONLY the largest fluffiest plumes. Set those in a new pile and I'd say that would be a good representation of what 950 is ;)
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