How should I wash and dry it?
Prior to drying, please wash it on 30 degree heat using Nikwax or Grangers down wash, ensuring all zips and snaps are closed.
To correctly dry your down item, you ideally need to use a front loading domestic tumble drier and a few old tennis balls.
Place your item into the drier and run on a low heat for anywhere from 2-4 hours - it may need more if it's a really large or bulky item.
Once running remove the item every 30 minutes or so and manually break up any down clumps with your fingers to ensure the down is evenly distributed around the baffles of the item
You will know when your jacket is fully dry when the down inside the jacket lofts up fully to the state it was prior to washing. Please be aware that even if the outside of the jacket is dry, it’s possible the inside is not.
Once dry, please do not store your down item compressed.
For further information and advice on down cleaning and storage please follow the advice of some leading suppliers of down items:
http://community.berghaus.com/knowledge-advice/how-to-clean-a-down-jacket/
https://support-uk.rab.equipment/hc/en-us/articles/115004238725-Storing-Washing-Down
https://www.montane.co.uk/down-down-blend-product-aftercare-i76
There are feathers showing through my down jacket?
If you are experiencing this there is no need to worry - it’s perfectly normal. Since down filaments compress so small, they are able to work their way through the tiny holes in the seams/stitching of a jacket. It’s also possible that some of the non-down feather content of the jacket will have a sharp end capable of poking through the ultra-light outer fabric.
If you do see some down or a feather poking through the fabric please do not pull it through the fabric. Try to pull the down or feather back inside the jacket and then gently rub the area between your fingers. Gently rubbing the area where the down or feather was poking through will move the fabric strands back together, helping to seal up the small hole that may have developed.
My down jacket has a fill rating, what does this mean?
Goose and duck down are all tested and rated for quality using a system called “fill power”. It’s quite simple: one gram of down is placed in a tube and the more it fluffs up, the higher the fill power. Fluffy down traps more air, therefore providing insulation and warmth. As such, one gram of 800 fill down will “fluff up” more than 600 fill, providing more warmth per gram of down.
How warm a jacket is will also depend on how much down you have in it. The more down contained, the warmer the jacket is going to be!
It's worth noting that it’s very rare for jackets to be made from 100% down feathers. You will most commonly see a 90%/10% or 80%/20% split of feather type, with the larger number being the percentage of down.