Anyone ever heard of this down packaging?

[silentorpheus]

I work as a bartender, and yesteday at the bar a couple older ladies came in for a drink. They were chatting about various craft projects they are working on and I got to chatting with them about my wife's crochet hobby, and it eventually led to talking about how I make my own camping gear. One of the ladies then perks up and starts talking about how she used to do that back in the day, and talking about making down jackets and sleeping bags and the like. She mentioned that there used to be kits you could buy that came with down pre-packaged in measured packets, and that the packets would dissolve. So all one had to do was sew the shell of the item to be filled with down, place the number of packets of down in each chamber or baffle, seal everything up, and then wash the garment or item. The process of washing dissolved the packaging the down packets came in, releasing the down into the chambers, and voila, you had a full baffle with no mess!

Looking around on google, there is mention of a patent filed in 1973 for this process - which matches with the time frame she was talking about. But I could find little else about it. Anyone ever heard of this, or know why it didn't catch on?

It would be awesome if the cottage suppliers of down could get a hold of this stuff, package the down they sell in user specified sizes, and then all you'd have to do is stuff the packets in the baffles of your UQ or TQ, then run it through a gentle cycle in the washing machine, and have a fully lofted quilt without ever having to clean up down, or find a way to fill baffles using a vacuum in a tent, or any of the other creative ways people have come up with to control the mess.

[Ramblinrev]

Way long ago there was a kit vendor by the name of Frostline. They shipped their down in marked bags which could be inserted into the baffles of the finished kit. I don't think they used dissolving bags but they might have. In any event all one had to do was place the packet into the empty baffle and push the down out with something like a broom handle used to turn the bag inside out. Frostline went out of business decades ago. Packing and shipping the down like that was handy. But if I remember correctly it was wicked pricey.

[RePete]

If I remember correctly I think stormcrow will package your down by weight. He may or may not be doing that now but I am pretty sure he did.

[millarky]

Hospital laundry is placed in a bag that melts. The laundry vendor throws the whole shebang into the washers without having to sort; which can't be a bad thing. I wonder who manufactures those bags? They must have different sizes. Pre packaged might entice even me to do a DYI quilt.

[Jsaults]

Yep. There was a company in competition with Frostline that sold it's down packaged in PVA sleeves. Frostline's method was the paper tube-pushed-inside-out design, which resulted in the usual amount of loose down barbules escaping.

The other company (name started with A but memory fails me) had a "better idea". PVA dissolves in warm water, but apparently the residue was devilishly difficult to completely rinse from the inside of a jacket or bag. Result was down coated with a certain amount of PVA which negatively impacted the loft.

Dang, I wish I could remember their name.......

Jim

[turnerminator]

I use PVA bags regularly for fishing, you put the bait in the bag and hurl the lot in the water. There are many different qualities to this stuff-the cheap bags don't dissolve well and leave a sticky residue, but the good quality winter/4 season pva bags dissolve quickly in cold water and with no residue. They come in all sorts of sizes, and also with micro perforations which would allow the down to breathe in the bags.

[beep]

I remember the Frostline kits, and still have a mountain parka I made using 60/40 cloth. This was "state of the art" for the 1970s!

IIRC, Holubar also had some kits, though they were known more for their own line of down sleeping bags, parkas, etc. I still have a fully functioning (though heavy) 10 degree Holubar bag I bought in 1970!!

While I remember the down kits prepacking the down in little portions, I can't remember specifically who made the dissolvable packets.

[Jsaults]

Sure were pricey though. Is yours one of the "Ultimate" series with individual rectangular compartments?

Jim

[beep]

Sure were pricey though. Is yours one of the "Ultimate" series with individual rectangular compartments?

Jim

No such luck...mine was a step down from that. 'Twas pricey at the time, but I've had it and used it for many years. I don't remember exactly, but the down was probably 550 or 650 fill down, the "state of the art" at the time.

[Jsaults]

I posted a Q on Paddling.net, and stirred up some memories. Here is that thread, and an answer:

http://www.paddling.net/message/show...ce&tid=1345695


Yes beep, "state of the art" sure has evolved! I have a late 70s Sierra Designs 200 bag, and compared to the 800 and 900 fill power down it feels like an old GI processed duck feather bag.

Jim