Where to buy down

[Colin Krusor]

These are the sources I have found:

1. Thru-hiker (800 fp, $25/three oz.)
2. KookaBay (750 fp, $16/three oz.)
3. Seven Wonders (Hungarian 800 fp, $24/three oz.)
4. Speer (allegedly 900 fp, $30/three oz.)
5. Feather Industries (unknown price, grade)
6. Feathered Friends (800-850 fp, $30/three oz., Thanks Patrick)
7. Feathertex (unknown, probably low fp, ~$8/three oz.)

Of these, I only have experience with thru-hiker. I think it can be obtained more cheaply, though (so I've heard). Does anyone know of any other sources of high fill power down?

[patrick johnson]

Feathered friends. $10per ounce, sold in one ounce increments! more expensive but GOOD! 800-850 FP

[Javan Dempsey]

Stormcrow over at HF (hammockforum) sells his 800+fp for $6.50/oz shipped.

Best deal out there, I've gotten lbs from him recently. Good quick service. He buys from allied I believe.

[Javan Dempsey]

BTW RE Speer 900fp, if you're looking for fp this high, Ed Speer is an extremely well regarded source. If you're willing to pay that price, I don't think there is any need to question the quality.

[Joe Clement]

The Seven Wonders seems nice, but I have to admit I've never seen any other. Unless you count what came out of a Kelty Lightyear, which seemed dwarfed by comparison.

[Scott Littlefield]

[Stormcrow over at HF (hammockforum) sells his 800+fp for $6.50/oz shipped.]

Here's the website: http://www.theperfecttrees.com

Definitely the best price around. He may even sell some of his 900fp (which is what he uses in all his quilts now) if you ask.

[Ron Bell / MLD]

I can vouch for the very high quality of the thru-hiker down.

I think it is quite underrated and that it's really the best out there. I always felt fine calling it 900 since I felt it was better than all the other sources I sampled including cutting open some bags of "850" and "900". ($$$ouch..)

MLD used to use down for a few products and we used only the thru-hiker down because it was the best available. I still keep some on hand for prototyping and personal projects.

Note that in the MYOG world of suppliers, there's always one that pushes the quality up and then years later others follow in that wake- whether it's 20d ripstop, down, etc… When you support the original quality innovators you support the continuation of that quality innovation and MYOG materials accessibility and therefore you continue to have choice of material that includes the truly outstanding.

[Zach Grammon]

I emailed Feather Industries in Canada for their latest prices. These are as of June21, 2010. I've reformatted it to make it easier to view, and also excluded anything below 600 fill power.

This is from Bryan Pryde, the president of featherind: "We are a processor of goose and duck down and feathers and sell in bulk by the bag (about 30 lb lbs for feathers and feather and down blends, 20 lbs for down) and charge by the lb. If we sell less than a full bag we add a20% surcharge on the price per lb. The minimum we sell is 2 lbs, of any quality and the minimum dollar value is $35.00."

"All our offers are FOB Toronto, so freight charges, brokerage costs are dependent upon the size of the order and method of shipping, and are the responsibility of the buyer. Normally for small orders, we suggest by Fed Express parcel post delivery."

CANADIAN PROCESSED DOWN
600fp White Goose Down (Chinese Origin) 75% Net Down $39/lb

CANADIAN ORIGIN DOWN
800fp Can 95/5 Canadian Hutterite White Goose Down 90% Net Down $73/lb
750fp Can 95/5 Grey Canadian Grey Goose Down 90% Net Down $59/lb
750fp Can 90 White Canadian Hutterite White Duck Down 90% Net Down $48/lb
700fp Can 85/15 Canadian Hutterite White Goose Down 80% Net Down $65/lb

EUROPEAN ORIGIN DOWN
800fp Polish 90 Polish White Goose Down 90% Net Down $74/lb
800fp Hungarian 90 Hungarian White Goose Down 90% Net Down $68/lb

[Zach Grammon]

Here's a response from All About Down, a down company in Seattle.

"We have 700 gray goose down for $80/lb, 800 for $100/lb, and 900 for $150/lb. Shipping and handling varies between $15 and $20."

http://www.allaboutdown.com/

*Note that I mentioned I was in Portland, Oregon, so I'm not sure if the shipping price was adjusted for me, or was the standard response. I'm assuming the latter.

[Zach Grammon]

Here's a response from Feathertex about the fill power of their down:

"Thank you for your interest in our goose down. The fill power varies depending on the lot. The fill power is usually between 700 and 750. We are currently out of goose down, we will be processing more but we are waiting to get more from our suppliers. We do have some duck down but is has a lower fill power 500-550."

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