The warmest, lightest, most ethical down on earth.
Down is the most efficient natural insulator humans have ever found. We've spent nearly fifty-five years sourcing the best of it, and being transparent about every plume.
Track exactly what's keeping you warm.
Every Feathered Friends sleeping bag, jacket, pant, comforter, and pillow ships with a Down Tracker tag. Enter your lot number to see where the down was sourced and the full composition test results including fill power and material analysis.
Track Your Down
Enter your lot number to view the specific Down DNA of your product.
Fill power, explained.
Fill power is the standardized measurement of how much loft a single ounce of down produces. Higher fill power means each ounce of down traps more air, which means more warmth at less weight. It's the most important spec on any down product. Here's how it's actually measured, and what each tier means.
How fill power is measured
One ounce (28.35 grams) of down is placed in a graduated cylinder (think of something like a science tube with measurement markings on the outside). A 68.4-gram weighted disk is set on top of the down. After the disk settles, the volume the compressed down occupies, which is measured in cubic inches, is the fill power. So 700 fill power down has a volume of 700 cubic inches per ounce. The test is typically ran three times for consistency. It is standardized across the industry, certified labs only, repeatable batch-to-batch.
Why higher fill power matters most for weight-conscious gear. Let's say a jacket needs ~9 oz (255g) of 700 fill power down insulation to be properly "warm". If that same jacket used 900+ fill, you would only need about 7 oz (198g) of down to deliver the same warmth. The jacket weighs 2 ounces (57 grams) less, packs smaller, and lasts longer. For backpacking and mountaineering where weight is paramount, the difference compounds. For bedding, where weight matters less, 700+ is genuinely excellent.
The right down for the job.
Different products demand different down. Bedding doesn't need the same fill power as a summit jacket. We match each product line to the down it actually needs, not the highest number we can put on a label.
700+ & 850+ Fill Power
European white goose down. 700+ is excellent and our most popular. 850+ is the lifetime-investment upgrade for those who want the absolute best.
See Down Bedding →900+ Fill Power
The entire line. Carry warmth, not weight — every Feathered Friends jacket, vest, pant, and bootie uses exceptionally lofty 900+ fill goose down.
See Down Apparel →900+ & 950+ Fill Power
Sleeping bags need a lot of down to keep you warm. We use the highest lofting down available so you shed weight without sacrificing warmth.
See Sleeping Bags →Fill power vs fill weight.
These two metrics get mixed up constantly including by competitor brands who'd rather you didn't notice the difference. Both matter. Neither tells the full story alone.
Fill Power
How much volume one ounce of down produces. A standardized lab test. Higher fill power means warmer per ounce of down and means you need less down to deliver the same warmth.
Fill Weight
The actual physical weight of down inside a product, regardless of fill power. A jacket might have 9 oz of fill weight, which means 9 oz of down inside, no matter how lofty it is.
How to read both together
Fill power tells you the quality of the down. Fill weight tells you how much they used. A premium product gives you both numbers. If you only have one number or the other, you don't have a good picture. Every Feathered Friends product page lists both. Every sleeping bag, comforter, pillow, or garment also includes a tracker tag with even more details.
Down plumes are not feathers.
We get it: words get thrown around and are often used interchangeably. Down. Feather. Down feather. We are Feathered Friends after all. Geese and ducks have both down and feathers. However, they are not the same thing. They look different, work differently, and one is a vastly better insulator than the other. Here's the actual difference.
Down Plume
Down is a three-dimensional structure that radiate out from a central point. No quill shaft. Light, lofty, exceptionally compressible, resilient to repeated compression. This is what does the actual insulating in a properly-built comforter, pillow, jacket or sleeping bag. We source down that generally contains more than 90% down cluster.
Feather
Feathers are flat, two-dimensional shape built around a central tubular quill shaft. Heavier and stiffer than down. A feather offers some warmth, but the warmth-to-weight ratio doesn't come close to a down plume. This is what lower quality "down" products bulk-fill with.
Some brands cut their down with feathers to drop costs. We don't, ever. Our down routinely tests over 90% down cluster, meaning less than 10% feather, fiber, or quill, even unblended. We keep our down the way we receive it, because the only reason to add feathers is to save money at your expense.
Goose down and Ultrasonic Muscovy™.
We use goose down, exclusively sourced from Europe, for the majority of our products. We also offer Ultrasonic Muscovy™ duck down for some of our products. Both are RDS-certified and Bluesign-certified. Here's the difference.
Goose Down
Sourced from European white geese. Larger plume size than most duck down, excellent loft retention, the industry standard for high-end down products since the 1970s.
Routinely tests above 90% down cluster, the meaningful spec for quality. Available across all our fill power tiers, from 700+ to 950+.
Ultrasonic Muscovy™ Down
From Muscovy ducks, which is a breed that produces unusually large, resilient down clusters closer in structure to Eider down than typical duck down. Cleaned with a proprietary ultrasonic process developed by our local Seattle-area supplier that removes contaminants and odors while preserving loft.
In our extensive in-house testing: similar compressibility, comparable loft, equivalent recovery after washing. The difference is mostly market price: Muscovy down is meaningfully less expensive than goose down of the same fill power.
Ethically sourced. Independently certified.
Every ounce of down we use, across every product, every fill power tier, every material, has been certified by the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). We've been using down certified to the RDS since 2015.
RDS certification means the down comes from animals never live-plucked, never force-fed, raised under welfare-monitored conditions, and traceable through every step of the supply chain. The standard is administered by Textile Exchange, and certifications are renewed annually by independent third-party auditors.
Our brand, distribution, and manufacturing are all RDS-certified. Every product ships with a Down Tracker tag. Enter the lot number at the top of this page to see the actual sourcing data and composition tests for the down inside your product.
Down frequently asked.
No they are not,. and this is the most important down fact most consumers don't know. Down plumes are three-dimensional, light, lofty structures that trap air and heat exceptionally well, with no central quill. Feathers are two-dimensional, built around a tubular quill, heavier, less warm per ounce, and far less compressible. Geese have both, and lower-cost "down" products often blend the two. We don't blend; ours tests above 90% down cluster.
No. Fill power tells you the loft per ounce of down. Two products with the same fill power can differ in fill weight (how much down they actually use) and in composition (the percentage of true down cluster vs. feather and fiber). A 900-fill jacket with 9 oz of fill weight and 95% down cluster will be much warmer than a similar jacket with 6 oz of 900-fill and 80% down cluster every time.
Yes. We've been using 100% Responsible Down Standard certified down since 2015. Our brand, distribution, and manufacturing are all RDS-certified under TE-99977174. There are no exceptions, no carve-outs, no "selected products." Every product we make uses RDS-certified down.
Never. We want our down as close to 100% down cluster as possible. Our down routinely tests well above 90% down cluster, meaning feather and fiber content tests under 10%. We don't blend, dilute, or pad. The only reason to add feathers is to save money at the customer's expense, and we won't do it.
Yes! All of the down we use, across every fill power tier and every product, is certified hypoallergenic. The cleaning process removes the allergens (dust, dander, contaminants) that cause most reactions to lower-quality down products. In testing, down needs 'turbidity' to be greater than 500mm to be considered hypoallergenic. Our down typically tests at 1000mm or more. Additionally, it needs an 'oxygen' test result that is less than 10mg. Our down tests much lower than that.
Yes! Apparel, sleeping bags, and bedding can all be washed at home with the right approach. Use a down-specific cleaner (Nikwax Down Wash, Granger's Down Wash, etc.), a front-load washer or commercial machine, and tumble dry on low with three or four clean tennis balls to break up clumps. Avoid regular detergent, which strips the natural oils that keep down lofted. See our complete washing guide →
Ultrasonic Muscovy™ Down comes from Muscovy ducks: a specific breed that produces unusually large, resilient down clusters closer in structure to Eider down than typical duck down. Our supplier (a local Seattle-area company) developed an ultrasonic cleaning process that lifts contaminants from both the down fibers and inside the tendrils, eliminating odor while preserving high loft. Ultrasonic Muscovy down is RDS-certified and Bluesign-certified.
Beyond the species, the main difference is price. Market factors, including availability, regional sourcing, and the unfair stigma against duck down generally, make Muscovy meaningfully less expensive than goose at equivalent fill power. We tested it extensively before offering it. In our results: goose and Muscovy of the same fill power show similar compressibility, comparable loft, and equivalent recovery after washing. Both are excellent. The choice is largely a budget one.
Questions about down?
The Feathered Friends Seattle store is staffed by people who know down. If you have a question this page didn't answer, ask us directly. We're happy to help!