Ethical Down Part 1

Posted 20 March 2020

The magical ingredient pictured above is a Down Cluster and in our -30 bags there are around 8.6 million of these ethically collected clusters – providing great warmth with a very low weight.

The quality of down is measure by Fill Power, the volume in cubic inches filled by an ounce of down. The higher the Fill Power the better the performance – warm and lightweight. Our Down has a fill power by Euro Standards of c.880 (which equals c.US 1100+).

Photo by Torkel Pettersson: Instagram: @torkettilphotography

Most commercially available down is a by-product of geese raised for eating. The birds are young when the down is collected, making the Fill Power low (c.400). We collect down from mature birds kept for breeding purposes. These geese moult naturally in the spring and their down is collected by hand. It is very rare and of the highest quality. We use this down to provide the maximum warmth in a lightweight sleeping bag - our -50 bag is under 2 kilos. There is an ethical and compassionate bonus to collecting down from mature birds: they are allowed to live naturally, sometimes as long as 20 years. We are very proud of our geese and the down they produce, it is used in all our products and can be found keeping adventurists warm on all seven continents.

To find out more look at www.tundrasleepingbags.com or await our forthcoming newsletter on the subject.