The thicker the down-filled coat, the warmer it is? Is duck down or goose down better? Knowing these so that you won’t be trapped

The temperature dropped sharply recently.

Many areas are just as in winter in one second”. Have you silently taken out your thick winter clothes?

Speaking of protection from the cold, down jacket is an indispensable winter coat.

So the question is, was there a down jacket in ancient times? Why use duck or goose feathers for down jackets? Does the thicker the down jacket keep warm? Let’s reveal the secret below.

Is there a “down jacket” in ancient times?

Compared with silk, cotton, linen, animal skins, and wool, bird feathers are more effective in keeping warm.

Feathers have many branches and are more fluffy than other fibers. Its interior is hollow, so it can contain more air, and air is the best insulation material.

The so-called down is a mixture of “feather” and “down”. Feather is the harder part of feathers, which plays a supporting role in the down and makes the down elastic; while down is the down flower, similar to the head on a dandelion, which can keep the down fluffy and warm. And that kind of big and hard feathers can be used for badminton, but can’t be put in down jackets.

Who invented the down jacket?

In 1920, the American Eddie Bauer opened a small shop in Seattle, using his own name. In 1935, he almost froze to death while fishing in a winter. He thought of an uncle who had gone to Russia to fight. The soldiers there would stuff duck down and goose down in his clothes to keep warm. So in 1936, he designed the world’s first one. Down jacket-the skyline (skyliner), and applied for a patent 4 years later.

Because this piece of clothing is ugly, only military, outdoor sports enthusiasts, and those who work outdoors for a long time will buy it. In addition, the down jackets at that time were very easy to shed hair and had a smell of duck oil, and down jackets became ” Tool clothes”.


It is worth mentioning that Eddie Bauer ascended Mount Everest in 1963, proving the warmth of down jackets, and this brand still exists today.

Modern and high-quality down jackets appeared even later. In the 1970s, the production of coated fabrics made the fabric fibers tightly bonded together to solve the problem of lint loss.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that China began to fashion down jackets, because the fabric grades and processing levels were not high, and the appearance was bloated, so they were also called “bread jackets.” However, since most down jackets were imported goods at that time, being able to wear down jackets was a symbol of status.

Why choose duck and goose feathers?

There is a layer of grease on the feathers of waterfowl, which is very easy to dry after washing. As a land animal, chicken feathers are harder than duck feathers and goose feathers, and they are not easy to dry after being wet. The cold resistance is completely incomparable to duck feathers, and chickens have less fluff, so they are more suitable for making feather dusters. Only very inferior down jackets will use chicken feathers.

Nowadays down jackets generally use goose down, or treated duck down, because ducks are omnivores, there will be a fishy smell in the down, and goose is a herbivore, there is no peculiar smell in the down. Essentially, duck down and goose down have no difference in warmth retention.

According to the growth rate of chicks, birds can be divided into early and late adults. Chickens, ducks, and geese are all early adult birds. They can walk soon after birth and immediately follow their relatives to find food on their own. This is an adaptation to increase the survival rate, while young birds such as eagles, swallows, and sparrows hatch. After coming out, there is no or only a few down feathers all over the body, and it needs to be raised by parent birds. These are late-adult birds and cannot be raised in large-scale captivity by humans.

Ducks and geese are members of the Anatidae family. Most domestic ducks are domesticated from mallards and spot-billed ducks in the genus Anatus. Some special-looking ducks, such as muscovy ducks, are domesticated from mute-nosed ducks. . The big goose in China was domesticated from the swan goose, while the big goose in Europe was domesticated from the grey goose, all of which belonged to the genus Anser. The lion head goose of Guangdong is the largest goose breed in the world. In addition, the relationship between the swan and the domestic goose is relatively long. They belong to the genus Cygnus, so it cannot be said that it is the largest goose.

Because ducks and geese can be raised on a large scale, it is most convenient to make down jackets.

The thicker the down jacket, the more warm it is?

Of course not!

The way of heat dissipation is very simple. There are conduction, convection and radiation. And down jackets will lock the air, so that the poor conductor of air is isolated from conduction. The small pieces of air between the down and feathers are not convenient for convection, so it can prevent the cold air from penetrating and quickly and loss of body temperature.

Therefore, the thicker the down jacket is not the better, you can’t just care the thickness.

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