learn what not to buy that is reprented a winter outerwerar

AND THE BEAT GOES ON ABOUT FALSEHOODS

Some time ago I happened to look at the Patagonia web site and the result was/is, is that they picked up my e mail address and almost daily I have been receiving an e mail from them. Almost always I just delete it, but today I decided to see what they have for winter parkas.

What I was looking for specifically was temperature ratings for their parkas, but they do not exist. What I did read was what they at Patagonia believe is more important for the potential customer to know. The following came off of their web site for a parka model named “Wanaka”. I quote; “With an urban-friendly design, this warm, stormproof Patagonia Men’s Wanaka-down jacket has an H2No Performance Standard shell with a waterproof/breathable barrier, a DWR (durable water repellent) finish and removable hood; insulated with Traceable Down 600-fill-power duck down traced from parent farm to apparel factory to help ensure the birds that supply it are not force-fed or live plucked).

Patagonia and North Face and several other companies proudly state how concerned they are about the ducks that they happen to kill for their down. (The birds that supply it as if they had a choice).These companies are warped in their thinking or lack of it when it comes to killing these birds for a useless obsolete product that they claim is the most efficient insulating material in the world. I have factual news for them, down is not what it is cracked up to be. Note that these companies do not give suggested temperature rating for their garments! There is a good reason, because they have no idea what they maybe.

H2No came about years ago if memory serves correct maybe from Patagonia or a mill and who it is credited to I don’t recall, but it is the equal to Gore-Tex which means it does not perform any different which means it doesn’t perform as advertised at all! I am surprised that this duck down hasn’t been treated with the DWR so they could say it is waterproof down. I also noted that they are using duck down versus goose down probably because the cost of goose down is higher than duck down. But, the cost of the garment is not reduced.

As I perused the web site most all of the “winter” jackets are quilted with very small quilt patterns which means very light weight polyester insulations. An example is the fact that they are using 60 grams of Primaloft. The equivalent when you convert grams to ounces is 2.11, I suspect that is per square yard. If you were to lay the fiberfill un-quilted on a table and measured how thick it is it is possibly one quarter of one inch thick. (WHEN QUILTED IT GETS THINNER). The other aspect of the fiberfill to observe is its density. Polyester batting this light has the density of a screen door. Without density to stifle the movement of the warm air that surrounds your body which is warmed by the heat your body generates, the heat will very quickly move away from you and you will get cold. Of course the preponderance of quilt stitches allows for even more heat to get away from you even faster.

You justifiably question how come these companies that have been in the business of making winter outerwear for as many as 40 years do not know this? My personal opinion is their number one consideration is fashion. Also, the young people in the employ of these companies have no foundation of what insulation is. So they function on the basis of ignoring actual performance. Mind you I singled out the Patagonia company but there are a couple of dozen out there and they all function exactly the same. My proof of this is the fact that each of these company’s garments look exactly the same. They even use the same colors and probably the same fabrics. I do know they for the most part use the same factories in China.

For those of you who have not seen my video giving the “history of synthetic insulation” it will be worth your while so you will know why some garments should not be considered for purchase. It would be beneficial for the young people who work for these companies as well, as they need an education. Now if the people who own or work at Primaloft happen to view it they will then learn why they should not be in the business of selling polyester battings that do not function as they claim, just like the bogus waterproof breathable companies. There is also a video exposing why waterproof/breathable don’t work as advertised.

Technically air sticks to any surface for a distance of 1/8 inch and if you can reduce the distances between the surfaces the movement of air is much more difficult and that is one of the reasons that LAMILITE/CLIMASHIELD in the weights that I use make it such a good insulating medium.

So when you start looking for a new winter outerwear garment keep these things in mind as well as the thicker and more dense the insulation is as you will find in a Wiggy outerwear garment and you will guarantee yourself to be warm.