Duck Down vs Goose Down

[Cedar1974]

I was looking at down jackets on one of those direct from china wholesale sites, and it seems they are all filled with Duck down, and most are white duck down. I was wondering if there was any difference warmth wise between Duck and Goose down. Mind you, these jackets are rather less expensive than most so I am not sure on the construction. But considering that a good number of them are under $100 US, it might be a good source for filling for a DIY project, like a Top quilt or in my case an Under quilt.

[BananaHammock]

Duck down is more readily available and therefore cheaper. All down is byproduct of the restaurants and duck is eaten more than goose. Some may be more affected with allergies with duck down but I don't think it's a major issue. White duck down means it was probably bleached to give it a white color. Only geese can really create high fill down like 900-1000 but ducks can get you to the 800 range. I always buy duck because...it's cheaper!

[calpal]

It just depends on the fill power. The best goose down is better than the best duck down. If fill power is not listed it is usually because the down quality is poor. Dutch and Ripstopbytheroll both sell 800 fill power duck down in addition to goose. I really doubt the jackets will beat the value they offer.

[PappyAmos]

I'll take a stab at this. My take on it is:

Down is down! Two inches of good quality duck down should keep you just as warm as two inches of good quality goose down. Due to the nature of the two birds, goose down lofts somewhat more than duck down.

Personally, I haven't seen duck down available that lofts much above 800 cubic inch per ounce. Goose down OTOH is available at 950 cubic inch per ounce

The principle difference? Goose down will lighten both your pack and your wallet more than duck down. Both will keep you warm.

Regarding the Chinese jackets, the remaining issue is how generously filled they are. I tried harvesting down from jackets - found it to be a time consuming messy business. Good luck with that.

Pappy

[Passinthru]

As I understand it - 1 inch of Duck down has the same insulation value as 1 inch of Goose down. The difference is that the duck down does not 'loft' quite as much (measured in 'fill power') so therefore it takes a little more duck down than goose down, and thus slightly more weight, to get the same insulation value.
Good quality duck down has no more feathers or other impurities than good quality goose down and color makes no difference to the warmth either.

[silentorpheus]

As I understand it - 1 inch of Duck down has the same insulation value as 1 inch of Goose down. The difference is that the duck down does not 'loft' quite as much (measured in 'fill power') so therefore it takes a little more duck down than goose down, and thus slightly more weight, to get the same insulation value.
Good quality duck down has no more feathers or other impurities than good quality goose down and color makes no difference to the warmth either.

As long as the fill powers are equal, then the weights should be the same, and so should the insulating values. So there is no difference between 1 oz of 800 fill power Duck Down and 1 oz of 800 fill power Goose Down, except that the Duck would be cheaper, because it is more readily available.

The only benefit to Goose is that higher fill powers are possible. You just aren't going to get anything higher than 800-850 fill power in Duck Down.

Check out the TQ Buying Guide from the UGQ subforum, for some info on the difference between Duck and Goose:

https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...T-BUYING-GUIDE

I think PappyAmos about sums it up in his comment above. You'd have to evaluate how much down the jackets come with, how difficult it would be to harvest, process, and re-use versus just buying from someone like Dutch or RBTR, and what that's worth to you. That's a evaluation that only you can make, for yourself.

Good luck!

[Tacblades]

There is no getting around the cost of down, if its cheap then its poor down there is a massive different between downs. Ethically sourced high fill power goose down is expensive for a reason its the lightest warmest stuff on the planet.

[Tacblades]

This is a good video
https://youtu.be/UTTLDl_Y98U

[Alamosa]

With the Duck, you keep sitting. If its Goose you get up and run around.

[Keehar]

With the Duck, you keep sitting. If its Goose you get up and run around.

That's some funny stuff right there!