Has anybody ever mixed synthetic insulation types in clothing?

[Edward John M]

Not quite the same question as putting a layer of Synthetic over a down fill.

I have accumulated some different types of insulation over the last few years.

Having grown out of my Puffball vest and passed it on I need to sew a replacement but I don’t want it too warm so the thick 6oz  APEX won’t do and I don’t think the 2oz will be warm enough as it is thin in places and I don’t have enough to double up, only just enough for an XXL vest. I do have a babies cot sized piece of 3M LiteLoft. The Liteloft is very thin, about 40GSM but in combination with the Climashield it wight be warm enough.

I have some UL scrim to separate the fibres.

Thoughts?

[Jackie Munro]

I’ve been using a lot of Polartec Alpha insulation in my jackets, and am going to be using some Power Fill (also Polartec) to beef up the warmth. I intend to use the Alpha in the arms and the Power Fill in the body, and then line it. The shell will be Neoshell which is waterproof and breathable. Still haven’t decided what to line the inside with. I would like to use a Power dry or Power Grid as it wicks nicely but I want to have it a bit slipperier than that, so I am going to play with a few fabrics.

[Edward John M]

Tell me more about the Powerfill please as I am not familiar with it at all despite previous posts on the subject

I did think about using some Alpha but Mill Yardage haven’t had any for ages

[Allen C]

Don’t do it, they will react and explode for sure. Yer Gonna DIE!!!!!!

[David Thomas]

This is very clearly banned in Leviticus, 19:19 (New International Version)

“‘Keep my decrees.  Do not mate different kinds of animals.  Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.”

and far be it from me to defy the word of our Lord.

[David Thomas]

But before I saw the light and started acting out of concern for my ever-lasting soul (back in the 1970s), I did have a down-fiberfill sleeping bag from REI.  The fiberfill was on the bottom and the down was on the top and it was intermediate in its compressibility and weight but more tolerant, not only of one’s body weight compressing the bottom insulation as much, but also of water being absorbed from the puddle that always seemed to collect inside those Boy Scout tents.

[Edward John M]

Can anybody remember Microloft insulation>??

Patagonia used in in the original Puffball for a while before the use of Polargard

Was it a proprietary name for a 3M batting?

Insulation weights on the puffball changed all the time from 100GSM Liteloft to 96GSM Polargard to ????? But was any one version warmer than any other? I was positive that mine were 100GSM but I cannot remember whether the insulation in mine was named

I Found some old Patagonia catalogues on-line, no wonder my first DAS was so warm, 240GSM Quallofill [ for the 1995 season] although I had bought mine much earlier

Question When did Patagonia first introduce the DAS parka? Memory fails me here.

[Adam Kilpatrick]

I think PHD recently did a sleeping bag with a synthetic base, down upper similar to what David mentions. The downside to such a piece is perhaps that the synthetic will degrade much faster than the down… so one needs to take that into account somehow. Nunatak apparently will replace the synthetic fill in their quilts for you… though I’m guessing this is a tedious thing to do unless its well designed for it a-priori. I’ve been thinking that a synthetic footbox on a quilt makes a lot of sense, both from a water perspective but also from increasing construction simplicity (eg upper you could do continuous baffles or Karo step, simplifying the down fill greatly). Though again after a couple of hundred nights use I’d probably want to replace the synthetic fill. I’ve also thought that synthetic edge baffles in a quilt also makes sense…they are most likely to cop splash under a minimalist tarp with bivy, and be tucked under. The very edge baffles don’t do as much insulation work so long term degradation wouldn’t be as much of an issue.

[Edward John M]

Well I need a new summer sleeping unit, I also would like it to double duty as a LW overbag for soggy winter use.

I have a piece of 2.5ounce APEX and a similar length of 40GSM LiteLoft so Leviticus be damned and I’ll use them together as summer weight insulation.

I am only guessing at the effectiveness but hoping to get similar warmth to a single layer of 100GSM/3.6oz APEX. The APEX is however long enough to give me some overlap at the head end, about 800mm or 30 inches, although this section has some large thin spots in it.

I was going to cut this section off and use it doubled or tripled for the footbox

[Jerry Adams]

I have seen thin spots in APEX.  Especially lighter weight.

I try to cut those out, that is, find big enough area without thin spot for whatever I’m making

[David U]

I have an Arcteryx jacket like this.  Down  with synthetic insulation in places (shoulders).

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