If the Truth Be Known...

For about two maybe three years now the down industry; whether down processors, companies that market down outerwear (none has a factory to produce these jackets themselves) or chemical companies that make durable water repellent finishes have touted that they now had the ability to make down a water repellent form of insulation. The down processors and the down garment sellers all agree to a man that down has this drawback of absorbing water rendering it useless. Therefore if it can be coated with a water repellent so it does not absorb water that would make it a better product. It would still be far inferior to Lamilite.

I am not so sure as to how well down filled products with the water repellent treatment are doing, but I suspect not very well. This process increases the cost and down stuff is expensive to begin with, so the higher price stops some from buying and the sales of Wiggy’s bags has been increasing regardless of what is done or not done to the down because Lamilite is superior which also reduces the purchasing of down filled products.

I just saw a video done at the Outdoor Retailer trade show of an interview with the owner of Nikwax Company. They have been selling water repellent chemicals to the consumer to re-water repel the waterproof breathable jackets that people have been buying for years. I always ask why does a waterproof breathable garment need to be re-water repelled, well ask Bobby Gore since he got into that business of making durable water repellent chemicals a long time ago, maybe he is trying to tell people his stuff isn’t waterproof and breathable.

Nik during his interview stated that mountain climbers always experience the down in their bags and jackets getting wet from the moisture they are giving off and the down absorbs the moisture compromising the loft and insulating qualities of the down in a couple of days. However, if the down is treated with his water repellent the down will actually fare better for 5 to 7 days. That was a revelation comment for me to hear. And of course he is saying his water repellent is better than the other water repellents out there. So the other water repellents will last less than 5 days. Until now I thought you had to wash the water repellent out of the material it was put on, but according to Nik that is not the case. Maybe the moisture that does get into the down dissolves the water repellent chemical, just a guess on my part. But what is the difference if the water repellent breaks down. So now you have a down filled bag that no longer is filled with water repellent treated down. You could have bought a non-water repellent down treated bag for less money to begin with

So now we know the truth as stated by a person well qualified to make the statement, since according to the article that accompanied the video, Nikwax has been around since 1977. If you can’t believe him who can you believe?