[pct-l] Keeping a VERY skinny guy warm in SoCAL

[Campy]

Paul said re: 900 fill vs. 750 fill:

> Ever notice the only in recent years there have been more 900 fill 
> jackets/bags/whatever?
> I don't think geese have changed all that much since 1995 or whatever. 
> :-)
>
>> From what I've read, the 900 fill power is as much marketing hype as 
>> anything. The 900 fill type "puffiness" may work in factory, 
>> pre-shipping conditions but once you actually ship the 
>> bag/jacket/whatever the so-called higher loft is shown to be what it 
>> is: hype.  .Feathered Friends and Western Montaineering do not have 
>> 900 fill anything and they are arguably the finest makers of down 
>> sleeping bags.

Verily, when we owned Mountain High Ltd. and sold sleeping bags, the 
way down filling was measured for quality - "fill power" - was by 
filling a round clear cylinder with a pre-weighed amount of goose down 
(or other downs and feathers) and measuring how high in the cylinder 
the down came. The method was valid as the cylinder's volume was known 
and the down was accurately weighed, so 900 fill meant 900 cu-in that 
1-pound of down would occupy.

But what wasn't stated was how the down was poured into the cylinder. 
The companies which lied their ways up to 900 fill power the most did 
it by having an apprentice take the pre-weighed down and drop it into 
the cylinder with tweezers, one down particle at a time! This left a 
lot of air space to remain with the down. I called these companies 
"feather merchants".

The well-reasoned approach by the good companies was to not co-mingle 
lower cost down with high-quality down for their sleeping bags, but 
only for their parkas. Parkas survive in a different world, with more 
body motion and arm waving, etc., which can damage delicate down. This 
validates the use of a lower quality down and even feathers blended 
with down in making clothing.

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