Introduction and 1st Question

[Noelmck12]

Hi,
my first post and a question already.
I am new to the whole hammock experience, having owned a couple for the last 2 years but never tried sleeping overnight. I have decided on making my own underquilt having watched numerous videos and read numerous on-line articles.
My question is related to down and would greatly appreciate any advice. Being located in Ireland, its is proving somewhat difficult to find and local (uk) supplier of down. I had resigned myself to purchasing an 2nd hand quilt that would only guarantee me a % of down vs feather. I recently got a reply from a UK supplier of down, but can only supply 500 fill. The down in question will cost around $74, excluding delivery for 500gms of 500 fill down. However, I can get a 80 - 20% hungarian goose down vs feather single quilt for around $50. I cannot get a fill rating off the quilt, but will probably receive much more down for a smaller price. I know this is an impossible question to answer, but what would suggest would be the best option.
Thanks, Noel

[oldpappy]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry, I can't help with your question (I don't use down). Someone should chime in soon..

[bodhran4me]

Welcome from the Ontario shores of the St. Lawrence River.

It seems that I read on BCUK that a member had bought bulk down from this company in Scotland. http://www.thefeathercompany.com. I can't seem to locate the post at this time though so maybe I am simply making it up.....

Having said that their are options in Canada and the U.S. for purchasing bulk down. If you chose to go that route please read below.

A note on my experiences having things shipped from outwith my own country......
If the items are sent through companies such as DHL , you not only pay duty but exorbitant broker fees as well . I once bought a $100 hammock from a member and had it shipped either Fedex or UPS and ended up paying $20 duty and $30 in broker fees. I have since used both USPS and Royal Mail for deliveries of items up to $150 declared value and never paid either duty or brokers fees.
I have found that even if they state they ship through FedEx etc. some folks will make an exception and ship either USPS (not UPS) or Royal Mail.

Good luck mate!

[TZBrown]

Welcome to the forum

Quite a few folks buy high end down filled pillows from E-bay, then salvage for the quilt

Good luck and post pictures of your DIY stuff, we all love pictures

[The_hanging_dog]

i got a quote from that scottish company and its rediculous!
i live up north in ireland i know the feeling, its hard to find any good down suppliers.
during my search though i discovered an article detailing how they get the down from the birds.
if its duck or wildfowl, its gotten after death, if its geese, they get plucked while still live, 3 times usually, before the bird is killed for food. kind of put me off using down a bit.

but! my friend was getting rid of a double feather/down duvet so i took it off his hands, emptied it into a diy uq i made and so far it has been the biz!
no idea of quality of feathers, no idea of the tog rating on the duvet but it worked a treat

there are sellers on ebay sellign 5kg bags of feathers (for use in duvets / pillows etc) at real cheap prices but that may not be what your looking for as i dont know if there is any down at all in with the feathers.

may be worth a look though.

[Noelmck12]

Cheers for the replies guys.
Bodhran4me, I know what you mean. I ordered about £25 worth of bits n bobs off dutch gear last week, only for the postie to leave be a note today that there is £12 cost still outstanding. Looks like the tax man does indeed took at small packages.
Think I may go for the quilt and take a chance.
Thanks, noel

[FLRider]

Well, the quilt will likely recover more down than the outright purchase of it. On the other hand, it'll be more of a pain to work with (and down can be downright frustrating occasionally). You need to ask yourself if the extra savings is worth the extra aggravation.

On the gripping hand, most high-end synthetic insulations are just about as warm as 500 FP down for the weight (most of 'em were designed to compete with 550 FP). Given your climate, the ease of working with synthetics versus down, and the cost factor, it might be worth looking at Primaloft ONE and Climashield APEX (the two that actually compete at that level).

For a full-length 45º F/7º C underquilt, per CatSplat's calculator, you'd need ~13.2 oz/372 g of down and ~0.6 oz/17 g of no-see-um for a 9-chamber, 20% overstuff design with 500 FP (most folks recommend 10% to 20%, especially in a wet climate like yours). That's ~13.8 oz/391 g of insulation, aside from the shell and suspension weights.

At that temp, you'd need 2.5 oz/sq yd (~85 gsm) Climasheld APEX (the easiest insulation to work with). At the same dimensions, that comes out at ~6.74 oz/191 g of insulation and no baffling.

At heavier weights, let's take a look at the two insulations, including the baffle weight for the down (all baffle construction assumes an 0.9 oz/sq yd no-see-um mesh)...

20º F/-6.67º C:
500 FP Down @ 20% overstuff: ~28 oz/793 g
5 oz sq yd/170 gsm APEX: ~13.5 oz/383 g

0º F/-17.78º C:
500 FP: ~42 oz/1191 g
7 oz sq yd/237 gsm APEX: ~18.9 oz/536 g

All of this assumes a perfect fit to the hammock, a baselayer worn to bed, and no flaws in construction. Note that these are not finished weights; they don't include the shell fabric or suspension method. Also, if you're looking for pack space, the down is going to be better; it compresses one heckofalot more than the synthetics.

I just wanted to point out that there are other alternatives out there. Hope it helps!