Duck down

As a general rule, duck down does not have nearly the fill power that goose down has. So, it tends to be a little heavy for the amount of insulation it provides. Then, if you wash it, the whole thing will be incredibly heavy (until it dries out), and the stitching of baffles can easily be torn in the process. I have one duck down bag that I bought in 1977, and it still works. I'll keep using it until I can get it paid off.

–B.G.–

If the fill power is the same 750 Duck or 750 Goose (full apples to apples) what do you guys see as the differences then?

Most duck is 550 or less so Bob's experience rings true but I've not seen any true apples to apples comparisons of equal fill power just opinions based on traditional low fill power duck.

My 750 fill duck is awesome if I didn't have acess to 850 and 850 Downtek I wouldn't hesitate to use it in my personal quilts.

-Tim

I think that 550 Duck is pretty cheap, and 750 Duck costs a lot more. We could have that discussion except that the cost of producing the bag or garment shell is high. So, if you are going to the trouble and expense of producing a down product, you might as well use the good stuff.

What are we going to do if the price of down is up?

–B.G.–

The highest quality down I have ever heard of was Eider down which comes off the endangered Eider duck. They have to collect the down out of their nests once they complete nesting. Makes me think if the fill power is the same it makes no difference if it came off a goose or a duck.

I was issued the amazing Canada Goose Expedition parka when I worked at McMurdo, Antarctica 10+ years ago. Upon returning to the States, I contacted Canada Goose to ask a few questions about that parka. They said they used 625 FP white duck down, harvested in Canada. They mentioned that the down clusters are much denser than duck down clusters harvested in a more temperate climate. You see, down comes from the underbelly of the bird, which is in direct contact with the water it swims in. The colder the water, the denser the down clusters, for warmth. I don't know if this denser cluster takes up more volume per unit weight, but if it doesn't, then a given cubic inch would likely be more insulative due to trapping more airflow.

I expect that the parkas used in Antarctica needed a slightly lower fill power, so that the down wouldn't be compressed at the shoulders so much from the weight of the parka itself (I bought one for my own personal use…just because, and my size large weighs 4# 9 oz.).

I wonder what penguin down might be like…

Thanks guys!
Hi Tim, glad you chimed in.

I guess that is the question: is it apples to apples? Presumably, 750 is 750 is 750 thus the loft is the same. I have gathered that cluster size for duck may be smaller. I gather there may be odor issues with some duck down (not a big issue for me). Goose is well known for beating synthetics for life span. Will duck be there after a lot of nights?

Yes, 750 is 750 is 750.

If you were a real goose down expert, you might claim that goose down has some superior structure. However, I doubt that any of us are. All we know for sure is how it works from our own experience.

Yes, there are odor issues with duck down. However, there are the same issues with goose down and anything else.

With most down of any kind, you get the long life expectancy from proper construction (design and sewing), proper care, and proper storage.

–B.G.–

A couple articles on it that I found:

"Duck v.s. Goose
Although all birds have some feathers and down, virtually all down and feathers are harvested from geese and ducks. Geese, which are larger birds, generally have bigger down clusters. As a rule of thumb, the larger the bird and the colder the climate in which they live, the larger the down cluster and the higher the fill power of the down. High quality down can be found in both ducks and geese, as the age and climate of bird from different parts of the world dramatically effects its quality. Duck down and feathers are generally less expensive than goose down and feathers for two primary reasons: it's perceived in the U.S. bedding market as slightly inferior in quality to geese, and the worldwide supply of duck far exceeds that of geese."

"Goose clusters are generally larger than duck clusters and typically come from older, larger birds. As a result, their down tends to produce higher fill powers, be more resilient and durable than duck down. Because a duck’s diet is usually more diverse (a goose only eats grass), goose down also tends to have fewer odor problems than duck."

So, basically as long as the duck down is good quality there probably isn't much difference.

Ryan