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Down Facts and Performance Sleeping Bags

by Andy Kirkpatrick on 1 April 2003
http://www.planetfear.com/article_detail.asp?a_id=417

Two years ago I wrote an article entitled 'beyond car camping' that dealt with down insulation versus synthetic insulation. The piece was aimed at climbers tackling routes where they couldn't guarantee that their sleeping bags wouldn't get wet. Synthetics won out in the article and many climbers afterwards seemed to think that I was saying that down was dead.

Well, to reset the balance I've decided to do justice to down and dedicate the whole of this month's gear notes to our friend the feather, plus take a look at the stand-out down pits on the market that show just what is possible in this medium.

FEATHERY FACTS
PROCESSING
WHAT DOES FILL POWER ACTUALLY MEAN?
HOW IS FILL POWER MEASURED?
LONG TERM FILL POWER?
WHAT FILL POWER DO YOU WANT?
DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
DOWN CONTROL
INSULATION CARE

Conclusion
I firmly believe that in experienced hands a down sleeping bag is one of the most efficient pieces of equipment on the planet (more than a bike even). I suppose this isn't surprising when you consider that the fabric industry has only had around 50 years to come up with an alternative to something mother nature has been improving for several million.

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