CLOSED: 650 White Goose Down : Group buy?

[Tedinski]

I'll be ordering some 650 White Goose Down on Monday (12Jan10).
If anybody's interested, drop me a note. I plan on buying 2 pounds.

I originally mentioned this in another thread, but the "group buys" area is probably the appropriate forum.

My price per ounce comes to 3.18 (50.88 per pound after shipping to me) --
I'll call it $3.20 per ounce, PLUS shipping to your location.
All those extra 2-cents might get me a replacement filter for the shop-vac. ;)

This is pure down. not a down/feather mix.

If lots of people are interested, the price will only get lower. :) Lower is better!

If Monday is too quick, I can put off ordering for a few more days, just let me know.

Thanks much!
Ted

[Cannibal]

I'm a down snob, so I'll stick with Ed's stuff.
But, I'm sure folks will want to know your source for the down. Good luck with the group buy! :cool:

[Tedinski]

I don't blame you one bit -- when it comes to ultralight, 800+ is certainly more compressible. If I could afford it, I'd be going for it too. Plus, this is my first project, so keeping costs down (on everything!) is important.

I plan on making a quilt with this down. It's aprox 20% more weight for the same "fill", but at this price I can afford to make one. ;)

Down for my topquilt, and insultex for the UQ/Pad.

I was thinking of a vest & hat, too. Those types of items don't need to be quite so "compressible" for hiking purposes, cuz you wear 'em!
--------Edit----------
P.S. Did I break some sort of etiquette rule here by posting a group buy, even though I'm new? I certainly didn't mean to... I just thought some folks might be interested. I must admit to being a bit mystified by the lack of interest.

[Coldspring]

I think it would be excellent for warm weather quilts on a budget.

[Tedinski]

I've kinda given up on having good cold weather gear this year -- just not in the budget!

I'm thinking a 1-inch thick quilt might be about right, and I could use it 3 seasons (just kick a leg out in the summertime!) Perhaps an inch and a half might be smarter -- haven't decided yet.

It'll probably end up being the same weight as a "good" down quilt (one that's good for truly cold weather), but that still means it'll be light enough to pack & carry for 3 seasons.

I guess I'll find out! that's what first projects are all about. ;)

I've also promised the GF that she'll get a down quilt/comforter for around the house. Next I need to find some of that Wally-World 1.1oz ripstop nylon people have mentioned! I kinda like the quilt MacEntyre posted pictures of -- bright red on one side, w/ camouflage on the other. stealthy, but flip for safety.

[ref103]

that's super for starter projects. i have a 0 deg. marmot bag that is 650 fill and i was toasty at 18 deg. on the ground last winter. so instead of a 16 oz. quilt yours is 19. so what. i'd put a little extra fill in and deal with a tiny bit of weight for warmth.

[Tedinski]

How thick is your bag, ref103? That's exactly what I've been trying to decide lately -- the thickness I should go with.

Does it compress down small?? That's been my one concern with making a "winter" quilt with 650. I was worried I'd end up with a bulky mess.

The one for the GF can be plenty bulky -- it'll never leave the house! ;)

[ref103]

well mine is probably 3-4 inches thick. from what i've been seeing some of the better top quilt makers here use is 12-16 oz. of 800 fill down. so if you use 18 or 19 oz. i would say you would be good to at least 32 deg. that does depend if your using baffles or a sewn through. some of these guys here could probably tell you to the exact digits what temps you should expect with x amount of 650 fill in a baffled or sewn through quilt.

cmon guys help a brotha out

[ref103]

mine weighs about 3 lbs which is heavy compared to what these guys use but it's a full bag with a hood and draft tube. i'm a midget so i bought a non-girly looking women's bag to save a little weight. yours i would guess would weigh around 2 lbs if it had around 19 oz of fill and was only a top quilt.

[Tedinski]

The one you have is 650, though?
How small does it "smash down" to?

I've read some of the threads that talk about how much "thickness" to use for different temperatures, but I assume these numbers are for 800+ fill down. I don't know that 650 down has the same insulating value. ??

My current thought is to use baffles. I've done a fair bit of sewing, but this is my first quilt/lightweight project. I doubt I'll have trouble with quilting a rectangular quilt.
That's also one of the reasons I grabbed some Insultex from MacEntyre for an UQ... I won't have to worry about weird shapes AND baffles AND 3-D design.

Thanks for the input, ref103!
----Edit-----
P.S. Ref103-- we've gotta do a hang out in OhioPyle sometime! Bike Campers Unite!

[ref103]

i honestly haven't packed it down yet. all of my cold ground or hanging has been in the back yard. i have some insultex here too. i'm thinking of a double or triple layer UQ. it would be an easy starter project for me. i haven't sewed anything since 9th grade home ec. class. haha. baffles will be much warmer, especially for the little weight they add.

[Tedinski]

If you ever pack your SB tight, let me know how small it gets. Not that it'll make much difference... I'll end up w/ a quilt that packs however it packs!
I was thinking of "no-see-um" mesh for the baffles. depends on what I can find cheap ;)

[Tedinski]

Thanks to Scott of Backwoods Daydreamer, I've got my material coming in!
I was called out of town (work) for a couple of days, so I haven't placed my order yet. It'll be placed at the end of business hours today, so if even one single person is interested, let me know ASAP.

Many thanks to those who've helped w/ ideas on my quilt projects!

[TinaLouise]

The one you have is 650, though?
How small does it "smash down" to?

I've read some of the threads that talk about how much "thickness" to use for different temperatures, but I assume these numbers are for 800+ fill down. I don't know that 650 down has the same insulating value. ??

My current thought is to use baffles. I've done a fair bit of sewing, but this is my first quilt/lightweight project. I doubt I'll have trouble with quilting a rectangular quilt.
!

Ok, if you read about the thickness of the baffles, you know that the wider the baffle, the lower the temp rating is (like 1.5" = 40 degrees & 4"=0 degrees) Now you need to know how much down to put into these baffles. Here's your formula.... LxWxH / fill power of your down= amount of down in each baffle.
If you're making baffles... H will be the finished height after you sew it to the front and the back of your quilt
W is the width of each chamber that you'll be filling with down
You can adjust your amounts of down for each chamber too. Like say you tend to sleep with cold feet, just add more down in those chambers.

Have fun making your new quilts!!! Just take your time and think things through... I made my winter under quilt & top quilt with cheapo down too and it's working out fantasticly for me. I put a whole pound of down in each and so far I've been able to test it at 19 degrees +a wind chill and stayed toasty warm. I can stuff both into my backpack and still have room for my other stuff. I haven't weighed them though.
TinaLouise

[Tedinski]

Thanks, TinaLouise!
So, if I understand correctly, the 650 down will have the same insulating value per inch of thickness -- it'll just take more weight in down to fill each baffle.
That answers my main question! I was worried that 650 down might need to be thicker, as well as having a higher density (i.e. that it might have less insulating value).

What was the "fill power" of the cheapo down you used? I'm glad to hear it's working out for you, both stuff-size-wise and temp wise!

[jeffjenn]

Ted, I think Tina has you on the right path as far as the formula to find the amount of down, but it seems like most people add some overstuff to the quilts. Hopefully others with more exp. will chime in here, but I was thinking 15-20% was the norm for overstuff.