Two designers explain why most down jackets leak heat through their seams and quilting. Down traps air to create warmth, but visible labels and too many stitches puncture the fabric and let that heat escape. Marketing calls them the best, but the design flaws make them barely functional.
Don't get fooled by the little woven labels you see on the side of the jacket. It doesn't mean the jacket's actually protecting you from the cold. Look how much space there is between each square. All this stitching in this quilting pattern is letting air in because these are all punctures that are made in the fabric. So if you wear something like this, you're actually going to be very cold. And you can see how it's very evenly distributed everywhere. The light is getting through the same amount in every part of the fabric.
Down is not warm. Down is— it traps the hair, and so it creates a barrier with the external temperature and your body temperature. So we call it an active warmth because it keeps your natural body temperature, so it's not heating you. Whereas with polyester, what happens is that you start to sweat when you're overheating, you know.
So all of this to make the best jackets in the world? Yeah, correct.
