Buying Down For a DIY Underquilt.

**mercwithamouth5** · 12-06-2015, 23:45

Do any of you know anywhere someone could find down to buy in bulk?

If so, any fill power recommendations for between, say, 15° and 30°F?

I haven't even begun to look at measurements yet, so any advice on that would be a big help too.

Thanks!

**ksbcrocks** · 12-06-2015, 23:58

I buy mine by the pound from downlinens.com. I get the 800 fill WR variety. It's really nice stuff.

They have a new customer 10% off coupon and randomly have 15-25% sales.

**mercwithamouth5** · 12-07-2015, 00:10

Thnks! I really appreciate it

**PappyAmos** · 12-07-2015, 00:27

Wilderness Logics has bulk down. There are others. Some folks have found bulk buys direct from China (scary). WL also sells stuff it yourself quilt shells.

Whatever fill power will get the job done. Just more weight / less money with the 600 or 700 stuff. Most folks stick with either the 800 fill power duck down or 850 fill power goose down.

Here is a chart from a guy who used to sell stuff it yourself quilt shells - note: although this site is still up, this guy is not in business. Do not try to order anything from this site.
http://underquilts.com/down-fill-chart/

There is a down fill calculator around somewhere. Someone will have the link.

All that aside, I have made my own, mostly from ready made shells. When it was all over and done I only saved about 15%. The quilts I have purchased from our cottage vendors are vastly superior.

Good luck with your project!

**bkrgi** · 12-07-2015, 00:49

http://ripstopbytheroll.com/collections/insulation
Though there are sold out for now it seems.

**BananaHammock** · 12-07-2015, 07:12

If you can achieve 2.5-3 inches of loft I think you should be good in that range. Just gotta measure your baffle height. Others may have more suggestions on height as I'm not that experienced in down quilt building

**Mtn hanger** · 12-07-2015, 08:01

I think Dutch sells down also. I'm not 100%sure.

**boulderv7** · 12-08-2015, 17:42

+1 on downlinnens. I've bought multiple lbs of down from there and never been disappointed. 800 FP is the best deal IMO. Make sure you make your quilt the right amount of loft for the warmth your aiming for.

**BackpackingDude** · 12-10-2015, 16:07

So here's another "down n00b" question. I see lots of sites selling bulk down - as some of you have previously noted, but the financial part of my brain says ">$100 for a pound! Holy cow that's expensive". So I started looking into blends. 80/20 is substantially cheaper. Is there anything wrong with using a blend?
Does it increase the amount of down required exponentially?
Or is it just a horrible product to use for outdoor gear applications?

Thanks a lot!

**BananaHammock** · 12-10-2015, 17:17

Originally Posted by BackpackingDude

So here's another "down n00b" question. I see lots of sites selling bulk down - as some of you have previously noted, but the financial part of my brain says ">$100 for a pound! Holy cow that's expensive". So I started looking into blends. 80/20 is substantially cheaper. Is there anything wrong with using a blend?
Does it increase the amount of down required exponentially?
Or is it just a horrible product to use for outdoor gear applications?

Thanks a lot!

Hey BackpackingDude, getting a blend means getting feathers which do not compress easily and can poke holes in your bags due to the quill. Down linens will have periodical sales that you can wait for by signing up for their emails. 18-25% off means about $20-$30 off. Some 800 fill. Plus it's enough for multiple projects. I stuffed a Walmart down bag that had baggy baffles and made a winter quilt for about $135. (50 for bag + 85 for discounted down). That is about half the price of a winter quilt. I agree that down is not worth it so wait for a sale