Why you need to know what's inside your coat
Eventi postato da teganlucas || 8 anni fa
With winter coats, labels matter.
They might even mean the difference between simply surviving a bone-chilling winter and playing contentedly in a delightful white wonderland.
Here’s a guide to what you need to know about winter coats -- and how to choose the correct one.
• Down vs. synthetic: There are two key categories of insulation: down and synthetic, said Woody Blackford, vice president of design and innovation at Columbia Sportswear Co.
“On one hand, down is expensive but has set the industry standard for lightweight, comfortable insulation and has been relied upon for years, despite issues with clumping when wet,” Blackford said. “Synthetic insulation, on the other hand, offers an alternative to down and excels with wet weather performance but doesn’t offer the same degree of loft.”
• Water-resistant down: By its nature, a down coat isn't water-resistant, said A.J. Curran, director of outerwear for Columbia Sportswear Co. "That’s been traditionally the biggest downfall of down." In the past few years, though, water-resistant treatments have been added to down coats. In areas where moisture isn't a big concern, he said, a down coat that has been treated is a good investment.
• The details on fill power: Fill power is important when looking at a down coat, said Dawn Levy, director of design at the luxury coat maker Dawn Levy. Higher is better -- from 650 to 850 -- with down fill power, Levy said.
• Percentages: The greater the percentage of down, Curran said, the better. "If you see that a coat is 5 percent down, then it’s not a down coat, he said. Curran suggested going with 100 percent -- either with a synthetic coat or with a down coat.
• Synthetic warmth rating: Synthetic coats are rated by grams of insulation. A very lightweight coat would contain 60 grams -- a suitable number for a coat for a spring, summer, fall or warm winter day, Curran said. A winter coat should be 150 grams and higher (with 200 being about the maximum).