Frequently Asked Questions

We do not normally add feathers, we would actually be creating a new product with new thermal properties than the original one.

In addition, to give you an idea, for example, the RIMO sleeping bag has around 30 chambers around the perimeter, plus additional chambers in the collar, zipper cover flaps, etc., so opening 35 chambers, adding feathers and re-sewing everything is expensive.

We only add feathers as part of repairs – if someone tears their sleeping bag or jacket and the feathers spill out, we will of course add the feathers to their original state.

Those who go to nature need a sleeping bag to spend the night comfortably here. A good night spent outside or in a tent enhances the nature experience even more, and a well-slept person is fit for the next day. However, the sleeping bag, which plays a major role in keeping warm, can have different thermal and material properties. Both are important, both affect your feelings. And it’s about those in nature.

Perhaps the most important and most important is the used thermal insulation filling – insulation. To date, a synthetic substitute for goose down has not been satisfactorily solved technically. Nevertheless, various synthetic thermal insulation fibers are popular, especially for use in less demanding temperature conditions. The representatives of synthetics on our market are Liteloft microfibers from 3M, Primaloft and hollow fibers, where the company Du Point reigns supreme with its products – four-hole Hollowfil and seven-hole Quallofil 7H. However, there are also a number of other products, such as Polarquard HV or 3D, etc. In terms of their structure and construction, only microfibers approach the properties of down. It is possible to almost “blow out” all the air between the fibers during compression. Such a sleeping bag has a small volume when packed and “inflates” to its original size after unpacking. However, only new fiber has this ability, and the “loft” of all synthetic fibers decreases sharply with the number of packages. (Loft is a strange, but important quantity, indicating how the given material is doing with the ability to “fluff up” again after being compressed. The filling of dreams can be compressed into two blankets, for example, and after unpacking you get a sleeping bag the size of your mother’s sleeping bag.) So, for example, with of the aforementioned Lite Loft from 3M, after twenty times packing a sleeping bag with four layers of 2.1 cm thickness (i.e. a total of 8.4 cm wall thickness of the sp.bag) the thickness will decrease fourfold and the sleeping bag will remain flat without airiness and Loft. It follows that the thermal insulation of this sleeping bag is 4x less than when it was new. Synthetics have a much worse shape regeneration than down, which decreases in volume by about 5% after multiple packing.

Air absorbed in the insulating material warms the sleeper at night. Well, this is judged precisely by the aforementioned loft. The airiest synth. thermal insulation has a maximum of 420 cubic meters. inch/oz, while quality feather dust has up to 800 cu. inches/oz. It follows that, while keeping the same filling weight, a down sleeping bag is twice as warm as its synthetic counterpart.. That’s how manufacturers of sleeping bags made of synthetic thermal fibers state thermal insulation properties (comfort temperature, extreme) for the new product . That’s why you sleep in it in the advertised comfort for about two to three nights, and then you start to miss something and start looking forward to a warm morning instead of sleeping. When a synthetic product weighing 1.5 kg is stated to withstand -15 degrees. C, something is wrong and I guarantee you that already at a temperature of around 0 C you will feel cold at night. At -15 degrees Forget C in this case. A new synthetic bag weighing over 2.5 kg can “stand” such a temperature. But you don’t pack it in your backpack anymore. Therefore, for the most demanding temperature conditions, only feather fillings made of the highest quality goose down, whether gray or white, are used. This achieves the best ratio of weight and calorific value. When sewing a sleeping bag from light membrane materials, temperature comfort can be achieved down to -20 degrees. C and more, without the weight exceeding 2 kg. Just for interest, what nature can do: one feather dust particle weighs approx. 0.001 g and contains over a thousand chambers where air accumulates. Up to 1,200,000 dust particles are needed to fill a sleeping bag. This represents 1,200,000,000 (!) separated air chambers. Whether it is a sleeping bag made of hollow fibers or feathers, be sure that no wet sleeping bag will keep you warm . On the contrary – the much-proclaimed ability of “artificial” sleeping bags to warm even when wet is, in connection with the stated temperature parameters of these sleeping bags, usually just a dream. Feathers, even when properly cleaned by the manufacturers, still contain some fat content, thus maintaining their natural water repellency. Feather insulation therefore retains its insulating ability up to a certain degree of humidity and functions in this the same way as wet synthetic insulation. When maintaining (cleaning) feather products, we also renew the DWR treatment of the outer materials and the feathers themselves. We also tested modified “impregnated” feathers, but the difference was not very noticeable compared to the DWR that we use when cleaning. EXEL DRY cover materials, with their weight of 44g/m2, gave sleeping bags a new character in terms of protecting feathers from moisture. They do not prevent the expansion of the filling, are windproof and protect the thermal insulation filling from external water – they are WP and let water vapor out. To give you an idea: the average sleeper sweats out approx. 0.25 kg of water vapor per night, which must pass through the lining, the thermal insulation layer and the top cover fabric outside the sleeping bag.

So, final advice. Before you enter the store with the idea of ​​a new thermal sleeping bag, think twice about where you will actually sleep with the new sleeping bag, under what conditions, and how often. Do not try to save on quality and peaceful sleep at all costs. Or as the classic says: “It’s not important to win, but to sleep well! :-)”

Keeping warm has long been one of the basic human needs. To achieve this, people dressed in natural materials that were available to them – skins and furs, wool or feathers. To date, technical progress has not been able to create a material with better properties than down, in the ratio of heat retention to weight, the size of the packed volume and durability. Down is not only the best insulator, but also the most environmentally friendly, as it is a completely natural recyclable by-product. Goose or duck (duck – as incorrectly stated by some manufacturers) feathers have a hollow shaft as a supporting element. Twigs grow from it and on which, under multiple magnifications, you can recognize even more branches, the so-called rays. At their ends are tiny hooks that hold the feathers at its ends together like a zipper. Thanks to this construction and special bending, the necessary property of creating thermally insulated hollow chambers was created, where air accumulates, i.e. the filling of feathers, the so-called LOFT. Only waterfowl have this feature, the grebe lacks it. Compared to normal feathers, dusty ones feel more like a flake. Dust feathers have no rigid shaft and are made up of transparent to fluff-soft, almost impalpable formations. In their center there is a core, from which grow twigs up to several centimeters long, on which the finest rays are located. One dust particle has a mass of 0.001 to 0.002 grams. This means that there are roughly up to a thousand of the smallest flakes in one gram. A maximum of only about 20% of a goose’s plumage consists of down. If we take into account that one goose gives about 30 g of down, then ten to twenty geese are needed for one jacket. Duck dust has much the same structure as goose dust, but it is not as massive, rich and dense, it is often difficult to get rid of the characteristic smell and has approximately 10% less bulk than goose dust.

The following advantages speak for goose down:

• unique insulating properties
• high thermal resistance at a low weight of the insulating filling
• long life
• it doesn’t smell
• 100% natural
• 100% recyclable
• 100% biodegradable, compostable

Dust feathers are assessed using two criteria, filling capacity and dust particle content.

1. Index of filling ability – LOFT

The filling capacity of a feather is the ability to fill a certain volume at a given certain constant weight and at a certain standardized compression. This measurement is done in glass standardized cylinders and the results are given in cubic inches per ounce. Beware of different data for American manufacturers!!! The American standard uses a different load and diameter of the measuring cylinder, so the resulting values ​​for the same feather sample show different (“better”) data than when measured according to European standards. The best fill of feathers is around 600 to 800 inch/oz (European standard).

2. Percentage content of dust particles

Feathers are rated according to the ratio of clean dust to small feathers. This percentage ratio is represented by numbers such as 85/15, 90/10, 96/4. Down with a value of 85/15 consists of 85% down and 15% small feathers. If any manufacturer claims to use 100% dust. feathers, this data is not possible for commercial purposes. It can only be achieved to a small extent in the laboratory. This method of assessing feathers is outdated and no longer satisfactory, as the data does not create a perfect overview of the assessed goods. Goose or duck (duck – as incorrectly stated by some manufacturers) feathers have a hollow shaft as a supporting element. Twigs grow from it and on which, under multiple magnifications, you can recognize even more branches, the so-called rays. At their ends are tiny hooks that hold the feathers at its ends together like a zipper. Thanks to this construction and special curvature, the necessary property of creating thermally insulated hollow chambers was created, where air accumulates, i.e. the filling of feathers, the so-called LOFT. Only waterfowl have this feature, the grebe lacks it. Compared to normal feathers, dusty ones feel more like a flake. Dust feathers have no rigid shaft and are made up of transparent to fluff-soft, almost impalpable formations. In their center there is a core, from which grow twigs up to several centimeters long, on which the finest rays are located. One dust particle has a mass of 0.001 to 0.002 grams. This means that there are roughly up to a thousand of the smallest flakes in one gram. A maximum of only about 20% of a goose’s plumage consists of down. If we take into account that one goose gives about 30 g of down, then ten to twenty geese are needed for one jacket. Duck dust has much the same structure as goose dust, but it is not as massive, rich and dense, it is often difficult to get rid of the characteristic smell and has approximately 10% less filling than goose dust.

We are able to repair most mechanical damage in our production. Contact us in the contact section ( here ). You can also read the repair conditions here .

Temperature data is determined according to the EN 13537 standard. According to this standard, the usability of sleeping bags is tested using a humanoid thermal manikin that sends signals about temperature changes on different parts of the body. The dummy is inserted into the tested sleeping bag and the external temperature changes in the laboratory environment. The so-called temperature determination of the sleeping bag is then mathematically calculated from the determined values. This European Standard specifies definitions and general requirements as well as labeling provisions and information provided by the manufacturer of sleeping bags used in sports and leisure activities. Applies to sleeping bags designed for adults.

We are currently making custom Gaiters 8000 gaiters (see here for instructions). If you are interested, we are able to shorten or lengthen the sleeves and pants on our standard products to order.