When it comes to down, there's no doubt it's a nuanced world out there. From origin to loft to fill power, there's a lot to take in, and it can easily become overwhelming. While our experts are always here to walk you though any questions you may have and steer you in the right direction, we've decided to put together a little cheat sheet for easy reference on the types of down we have on offer.
First thing's first - let's tackle a few key terms. Beginning with the basics, DOWN refers to the light and fluffy fibres that live beneath the layer of feathers on waterfowl. These soft quill-free clusters are natural insulators, which makes them the perfect fill for pillows and duvets.
LOFT and FILL POWER are synonymous terms, which essentially refer to the size of the down clusters. The larger the clusters of down, the better they are at doing their job (that is: insulating), so it's generally accepted that the higher the loft, the better the down.
In practice, what this means is you'll need fewer ounces of higher-loft down filling your duvet to achieve the same amount of warmth as more ounces of lower-loft down. As you need less of the loftier stuff, higher-loft down fills are typically going to mean less physical weight on top of you (think sleeping under the lightest cloud) while still offering ample warmth, while lower-loft down filled duvets will have a bit more physical weight to them (think sleeping under a slightly heftier cloud).
Here at Au Lit, we offer 3 different types of goose down fills:
100% Canadian White Goose Down: an excellent quality fill, humanely sourced throughout the nation. We use Canadian White Goose Down in our Au Lit Pillows & Duvets.
100% Canadian Hutterite White Goose Down: comes to us from the Hutterite communities out West, who grow their birds to greater maturity for larger, loftier clusters of Canadian Down. We use Hutterite Goose Down in our Mt. Tremblant Pillows & Duvets.
100% European (Polish) White Goose Down: a scarcer variety of down, these clusters are exceptionally soft, light, and lofty. We use Polish White Goose down in our Lausanne Pillows & Duvets.
Here's how each stacks up in terms of loft/fill power:
*We work closely with Downmark (i.e. The Down Association of Canada) to ensure strict quality assurance, humane practices, full transparency, and accurate labeling of every down product we sell.
