What is and Insulated jacket?
An insulated jacket is a coat that uses either a natural or synthetic fill to trap your body heat and keep you warm. There are two different types of insulation that are used, Down and Synthetic. Understanding the differences and benefits of the each type of insulation will help you choose the right jacket for your intended use.
Down Insulation.
Down is a natural form of insulation that is found on birds and has been used in duvets, sleeping bags and jackets for many years. Down is the small clusters of feathers that sit closest to the bird’s body, these sit under the larger, tougher protective feathers. The sole purpose of these small clusters is to trap air which in turn traps heat and keeps the bird warm. Using down in a jacket works in the same way for us as it does the birds. The down traps air and acts as a thermal barrier for our bodies. The benefits of down are that its light, packable and a very good insulator.
When choosing a down jacket to buy there are several factors to consider, the main two are the Down Ratio and the Down Fill Power.
Down Ratio
The down ration is a number that describes the ratio of down to feathers within the fill of your jacket. These ratios are generally displayed as 90:10 or 80:20. An 80:20 split would be 80% down and 20% feathers, 90:10 would be 90% down and 10% feathers. This ratio is a good indicator as to how warm or insulating your jacket is going to be. A jacket with a higher percentage of down is going to offer you more insulation than one with a lower percentage because down is a better insulator than feathers.
Down Fill Power
Fill Power is the most prominent figure that you will see on the swing tags and descriptions of down products. Fill Power describes the lofting ability of the clusters of down, the higher the fill power, the more air can be trapped within it and the more insulating the jacket will be. Fill powers are described as a number followed by the letters FP, for example 800FP would be an 800 Fill Power down.
The important thing to understand about Fill Power is that a higher fill power isn’t always the best option to go for, this is often the place where Fill Powers are miss understood the most. Fill Powers are like a quality check of the down, a high fill power like 950 or a 1000 is down that offers the greatest amount of insulation for it’s weight, however these clusters are fragile and can be crushed quite easily. For a high fill power to work effectively it needs to be married with a lightweight face fabric. It’s these lightweight face fabrics that allow the down to loft properly and effectively trap air.
Lower fill power down such as a 700 or 750 are not as affective at trapping air as a higher fill power but the structure of these down clusters is more robust meaning they can be married with a heavier more robust face fabric.
It is this combination of fill power and face fabric that is the key to finding the right jacket for you. Higher Fill Power means greater warmth for the weight of jacket but may come at a sacrifice of durability. A lower fill power means a lower amount of warmth for the weight but in turn you will generally have a much more durable jacket that offers a greater level of weather protection.
On our website we give you the ability to filter Down Jackets by Fill Power. Thinking about what you will be using your jacket for and using these filters you will be able to narrow down our jacket range to display the jackets that are most suitable for your need.
You could look at our filters like this:
700 – 800 FP – Durable mid – heavy weight jackets with great levels of warmth and weather protection.
800 – 900FP – Lightweight super warm packable jackets
900+ FP – Super lightweight jackets offering the best amount of insulation and warmth for their weight and pack size. Possible sacrifice in overall durability, ideal for people who want the lightest possible insulation layer.
Now we know about the insulating factors of a down jacket we can look at what environment a down jacket is best suited to. The short answer to this is very cold, dry environments. The reason for this is down is not happy when it’s wet. When wet, the clusters collapse, and all their insulating properties are lost. Some manufacturers have attempted to combat this by applying a DWR directly to the down so it will repel water for longer helping it maintain its structure and insulating properties.
Many brands also offer waterproof down jackets; these are a great option as they give you the protection of a waterproof and the warmth of a down jacket. The downside to this is it puts limitations on your layering system. A waterproof down jacket is ideal for activities like skiing where you will be keeping your top layer on for most of the day, but for things like hiking and climbing where you may be swapping and changing layers quite often, there are other options that are better.
Washing and Maintenance.
We have a much deeper article on our website about this but it’s worth briefly mentioning here. Down jackets will over time need to be washed. Doing this will rejuvenate your jacket and help the down stay in the best condition to loft and keep you warm. However, washing a down jacket is time consuming and requires care to do it properly. There are shops and service centres that can do this for you, but it’s worth understanding that washing a down jacket isn’t as simple was just throwing it in the washing machine with your normal clothes.
Synthetic insulation
Synthetic insulation is a man-made form insulation created from polyester to make fine fibres, recently these fibres are being source from post consumer recycled plastic. These soft and compressible fibres are then either woven into a sheet or blow into a loose form of insulation, the insulation has many tiny pocket that can trap air and act as a thermal barrier to keep you warm.
Loose fill insulation mimics the properties of down really well, giving you high levels of breathability and warmth whilst being packable. Sheet or wadding insulation is very durable and reliable form of insulation, its woven structure offers great protection from the elements particularly in static situation, like standing around on belays.
Synthetic insulation offers one great advantage over down, this is how is performs in cold, wet environments like the UK. Unlike down, Synthetic fibres continue to work when they are wet, they are able to maintain their structure so that they can continue to trap air to keep you warm. Also Synthetic jackets dry much quicker than down they are also a much better choice as a mid-layer as they can manage moisture more efficiently than down.
Washing and Maintenance.
This is another area where synthetic insulation excels over down. The washing and drying process of a synthetic jacket is much simpler and quicker. Care is still required and following the manufacturer’s instructions is really important, however washing is more straight forward and the drying process takes considerably less time than with down.
So how do I choose the right jacket?
Here are some key things to think about when choosing an insulated jacket.
- Where am I going to be using the jacket? Look at the weather and conditions of where you will be using your jacket. If it’s going to be cold and dry, then down is the best option. If it’s going to be cold and wet then this is where Synthetic jackets excel.
- What activities am I going to be doing in the jacket? Are you going to be stationary for long periods of time like being stood on a belay or even by the side of a sports field. If so, then a heavier more insulated jacket with great weather protection would be the most suitable. Or are you looking for warmth on the go, such as a mid-layer for hiking or running, then a lighter synthetic jacket with a more breathable face fabric would suit best.
- Is weight your highest priority, are you going to be carrying it a lot and does it need to pack down small? In this situation a high fill power down jacket or loose fill synthetic jacket works the best. They are warm, light and packable.
Looking at these three factors should help you filter down the huge array of jackets available down to the most suitable your activity. It’s good to remember that it can be difficult for one jacket to do it all, so sometimes looking for midweight insulated jacket paired with additional layers can work as well as one very large heavy insulated jacket. Once you have pinpointed the type of jacket that fits your requirements you can then start to find the jacket that you like the look of most.
Buying a insulated jacket is quite a big expense so if you have any questions about any of our jacket please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.