How to choose a down jacket for the winter?

Down jacket is an excellent solution for wearing in winter because of its low weight, long operating time and excellent appearance. But are downstocks all equally well protected from the cold of their mistresses? To understand how to choose the right warm women's down jacket for the winter, you need to literally look inside this warm jacket.

Properties of the filler

At once it is necessary to be defined with that on what lowest temperature your down jacket should be calculated. After all, if you live in a fairly warm climate, you should not buy outerwear designed for the cold of the extreme north. For the index of heat resistance, there is a special index, which should be marked down jackets - CLO. The value 1CLO indicates that you will not freeze at -15 degrees, 2CLO allows you to feel comfortable even in -40 degrees, well, down jackets with 3CLO will withstand even lower temperatures.

What filler to choose for a down jacket for the winter? This is one of the most important issues, since in our country any kind of warm jackets with a filler is called a down jacket , although this is far from being the case. If the jacket is marked with the word down, then before you a real down jacket. However, down jackets with a filling of 100% fluff are very rare and they are quite expensive. Usually in the stores are sold models with filling and fluff (eg, goby, swan, duck or goose), and a feather (labeled as feather). There are also fillings cotton - cotton wool, wool - wool, polyester - synthetic, but, of course, jackets, insulated by them, can not be called real down jackets. In a quality down jacket, combinations of down and feathers can be in proportions 80/20%, 70/30%, 60/40% and even 50/50%, but the higher the percentage of fluff, the warmer the thing.

A quality winter women's down jacket should be chosen with such a mark on the label as DIN EN 12934. It indicates that the raw materials have been prepared, cleaned in accordance with European requirements, selected and dried.

Another indicator, important when buying a warm thing - the elasticity of down (FP, this index should be at least 550). When checking, after compression, the down jacket should easily take the original shape.

After you have rated all the indices and markings, it's time to choose a good down jacket for external indicators. And the first of these is the placement of fluff. In high-quality models, the fluff is packed in special bags, about 20 × 20 centimeters in size. This allows fluff to lie evenly, do not roll down to the bottom edge of the down jacket, and also not get out. If the fluff is simply laid between the layer of lining and the upper fabric, then such a down jacket will quickly lose its warming properties, as the feathers will come out and roll closer to the seams. Feel your thing, fluff should lie tight and evenly, and you should not feel a tingle from the feathers inside the thing.

Finishing and accessories of a quality down jacket

The down jacket should be sewn from a dense upper fabric, well protected from getting wet. Now, also, down jackets with a top layer made of leather are also very popular. The fittings must be securely fastened, as well as the presence of spare buttons, rivets, and parts.

Sleeves of a quality down jacket are supplied with special cuffs on an elastic band, which allows to exclude the possibility of wind blowing. Lightning on the top thing should be easily fastened and unfastened, and the fur, if it is trimmed down, should not get inside the lock when fastening. Well, if the down jacket is equipped with a hood, as well as a system of puffs and kulisok at the waist, at the bottom of the down jacket, around the hood, which can be adjusted depending on the temperature in the street. All Velcro and buttons on the down jacket should be easy to open and close. In a quality thing there are pockets, not only for warming hands, but also all kinds of pockets for small things, for example, for an mp3 player and headphones.