Ryan DionneSHARE
Don’t get down wet. From sleeping bags to jackets, down and water just don’t mix.
Until now.
While “waterproof down” is far from the right word combination, that’s one of the hottest buzzes in the outdoor textile market for next winter. But the down isn’t waterproof. It’s hydrophobic/water-repellent.
“There’s been people who have tried different methods, but this is the first time that didn’t damage the down, that didn’t damage the loft, that still had some favorable results-wouldn’t wash out,” says Russell Rowell, American Recreation Products’ product development vice president.
American Recreation Products, which owns Sierra Designs, Kelty, Isis and others, is one of a handful of companies that will introduce hydrophobic down products in 2012.
Sierra Designs DriDown demo
“I think the impact is going to be huge,” Rowell says.
Jeff Blakely, Brooks-Range Mountaineering’s general manager, thinks more and more brands will use hydrophobic down in sleeping bags and jackets. Brooks-Range is one of those companies introducing it this year.
But there can be a premium.
“It definitely increases costs,” Blakely says. “That’s why we’re putting it into more premier products where price isn’t as sensitive.”
Powderhorn USA’s managing director, Kate Saunders, echoes that saying her customers know they’re getting something extra when they buy a down jacket, and the customers are willing to pay for it.
Saunders hopes that the extra cost is offset by the hydrophobic down’s functionality, and suspects more brands will use it in their line-and they should.
“As long as every brand continues to have a different look and their product is appealing to different types of consumers, I think there’s plenty of room for people to have a waterproof down story,” she says.
Not all brands report seeing higher manufacturing costs between untreated and treated down.
Rowell says Sierra Designs isn’t seeing much of an increase in manufacturing costs because of the hydrophobic application-which, for all brands, can be thought of as a DWR-coated down plume.
“It’s pennies,” he says. “I can’t go into how we treat it, but it’s part of the normal down processing. That’s probably why it (doesn’t) cost any more.”
Cost aside, all three manufacturers say the biggest benefit of a hydrophobic down jacket isn’t being able to wear it in wet conditions. The product developers say body moisture is what usually kills down. Treated down will help protect from sweat just as much as it will from rain or snow.
Rowell says the Sierra Designs team has tested its DriDown sleeping bags against non-hydrophobic down in humid environments. The untreated down can lose an inch of loft in wet environments-something that doesn’t happen with the treated down, he says.
photo by Jeremy McBride
While other brands are using the same or similar technologies in down gear, many continue relying on a waterproof/breathable outer shell to protect down insulation.
But companies like Powderhorn, which introduced hydrophobic down in its line for the 2011-12 season, say the biggest downside to a taped outer shell is cost.
Saunders says Powderhorn has a Gore-Tex outer shell protecting its down insulation in some pieces, but there isn’t always a need for that much water protection (like in Colorado where Powderhorn is based), and that increases costs. Finding the balance between taped seams and untaped is why Powderhorn has both options available, she says.
As more companies use hydrophobic down, though, one thing has yet to happen: establishing a testing standard.
Rowell says nobody has a standard way to test down in humid environments because, until recently nobody wanted to put down anywhere near water. Each company likely has its own way to test it, but establishing an industry standard could be beneficial.
No matter what path down insulation takes from here, all three brand managers agree that hydrophobic down opens up the market to new users, and, as technology improves and cost comes down, implementation will increase.
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