Holofiber or synthetic winterizer: which material is warmer?
At the time of buying winter clothes You should pay attention not only to the style, fabric and finishing of the product, but also to the insulating material, since it largely determines how comfortable, comfortable and warm a jacket or coat will be. Hollofiber or padding polyester: which will be warmer, more practical and more durable? To find out the answer to this question, you need to carefully study all the properties of these materials.
Synthetic winterizer is a lightweight, elastic, voluminous non-woven synthetic insulation material that has been successfully replacing natural materials such as down, feathers and sheep’s wool for several decades.
The technological process for producing padding polyester is based on bonding polyester fibers into a homogeneous fabric in one of three ways:
The latter method is considered the most effective, since the canvas becomes especially durable and dimensional stable. The insulation obtained as a result of thermal soldering is called Eurosynthepon.
The density scale of padding polyester fabrics is quite large - from 40 to 1500 g/cm3. To insulate various products, they are laid out in layers and fastened together.
Interesting fact! Sometimes natural wool is added to synthetic fibers to increase heat-saving characteristics. The resulting material is called sherstepon and is used to sew blankets and mattresses for strollers and cribs for small children.
Synthetic winterizer is a popular insulation material because it has a number of positive properties:
The undoubted advantage of padding polyester is the low cost of production, which makes all products with it affordable in price.
However, synthetic winterizer also has negative qualities, and very significant:
However, synthetic winterizer still remains one of the most popular insulating materials used in many industries.
Due to its operational and heat-saving characteristics, as well as optimal ratio"price-quality" synthetic winterizer is used:
Interesting! IN Lately Sintepon began to be used as a filter material during installation air systems, as well as in household air conditioners. Its fibers successfully retain even tiny particles dirt, completely purifying the air.
Compliance with the rules of care for things insulated with padding polyester will significantly extend their service life and maintain their original appearance.
It is important to know! To prevent the synthetic padding filler from getting loose during washing, it is recommended to place two or three tennis balls in the drum of the washing machine along with the clothes.
Translated from English, “holofiber” means “hollow fiber”. Indeed, this innovative material consists of thin polyester fibers with air inside. It is its presence both outside and inside that provides the wonderful warming qualities for which this material is famous.
Each holofiber fiber is twisted into such a tight spring that it seems like a small ball. In general, the mass of insulation resembles a fluffy snowdrift or an air cloud. 
The method for producing holofiber was developed and patented in 2005 by the Moscow Termopol plant, which produces several types of material:
Even at the manufacturing stage, holofiber fibers are subjected to sterilization, so in future use they can withstand not only numerous washes, but also hot steam treatment and even boiling.
Interesting to know! There is a technology in which polyester and silicone fibers are processed high temperatures in special thermal chambers. The result is a “thermal fiber” material, which differs from holofiber in its increased heat-saving properties.
Another modern insulating material, Thinsulate, has similar characteristics. The difference between it and holofiber is that Thinsulate is similar in its properties to natural swan or eider down - just as weightless and warm.
In terms of performance characteristics, holofiber resembles high-quality cotton, but unlike it, synthetic material is much more resistant to abrasion, does not bunch up and does not lose its original shape.
In addition, holofiber has the following qualities:
Holofiber is not susceptible to rotting, mold, pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms, does not accumulate odors, and therefore is an indispensable material in bedrooms and children's rooms.
Many different products are produced under the “holofiber” brand. The most common areas of use of this insulation are:
In addition, holofiber fabric is even used in the aviation and space industries.
Jackets and coats with holofiber are as warm as down jackets, and these products are much easier to care for. It is enough to remember a few simple rules.
It is important to know! If the pillow or blanket after long-term storage However, they have lost their shape, just take out the insulation, fluff it up with your hands and put it back. It is for this purpose that most products with holofiber have a zipper.
By carefully reading all the characteristics of padding polyester and holofiber, you can understand the difference between these two materials.
The only advantage of padding polyester is its low price, but against the background of all the above, this does not look very impressive.
In general, the right to choose insulating material for outerwear, filling for items home environment or bedding remains with the buyer.
With the arrival of cold weather, it’s just the right time to think about the question of how to choose a down jacket. And how can you do without this warm and light outerwear if you are young and active, prefer a jacket that does not hinder your movements, and dress in a sporty style?
Well, it's time to go to the store. Just think carefully first - what criteria are you going to choose a down jacket for?
The main thing when choosing a down jacket for the winter is the filling. In Russia, for some reason, any jacket equipped with insulation, even if it is of artificial origin, is called a down jacket. But the amount of heat that this jacket can retain directly depends on the degree of naturalness of the filler.
We have selected the most important tips how to choose a down jacket for the winter:
1. If the tag says English word down(fluff) - everything is in order, in front of you is a down jacket with every right so to be called. In addition, the word most often present next to it feather, that is, feather, because jackets made from just down are very rare. Pay attention to the percentages of these two filler components. For colder climes, it is recommended to purchase a truly warm jacket, that is, 70% down and 30% feather. If your winter is warm, or you don’t plan to spend a lot of time outside, or you have a fur coat, then you can opt for a down jacket with a 60/40 or 50/50 ratio. By the way, they will cost less. If you are going to use a down jacket for outings or skiing, choose the warmest jacket, 80/20.
2. Not going to wear synthetics? This means that you should immediately discard products that have the following symbol on the label: polyester, cotton or wool. Under the guise of a down jacket, they are trying to “sell” you a jacket made of cotton wool, batting or synthetic padding.
3. The down should be stitched in even small blocks. Ideally, sections do not exceed 20x20 cm. In larger ones, the fluff will mat and deprive you of much-needed protection from the cold. Inside each block, the fluff should be distributed evenly. Feel the jacket and make sure there are no lumps.
4. For a city dweller who is not into skiing, a single-layer down jacket is quite enough. There are also two-layer ones - they store heat better and allow cold to pass through more slowly.
5. The filler should recover easily and quickly after compression. Therefore, it would be useful to check. Squeeze part of the jacket in your hand, then quickly release it and observe - did the fabric straighten out quickly? There are more reliable way: check the tag, the compression ratio should be indicated there, it is indicated by the letters F.P., that is fill power. On a quality down jacket you will see the number 550 or more.
6. When trying on a jacket, make sure that the feathers do not pierce the fabric. If you feel a tingling sensation, walking in this down jacket will be very uncomfortable!
7. And look at the label again. Look for the designation DIN EN 12934 - it indicates high-quality down processing. This means that the down and feathers have been properly washed, dried and disinfected before being filled into the jacket.
We checked the most important thing – the “filling”. But there are still other details that also affect the quality of the jacket.
The fittings should be strong and reliable; ideally, a bag with spare buttons or buttons is included with the jacket.
- The seams on a high-quality down jacket are smooth and strong, without any loose threads. The lining is also stitched, which prevents fluff from matting.
The cuffs of the sleeves, the bottom of the jacket or the belt at the waist should be in the form of an elastic band - this ensures that no cold will get under the down jacket.
It is very good if the down jacket has a detachable hood and fur trim. This will make the washing or cleaning process easier. It's even better if the product is equipped with an "undershirt" - a sleeveless knitted "second jacket" that can also be detached.
A high quality product must be supplied with a small bag containing a sample of down. This is what all self-respecting manufacturers do.
If you cannot find the information you need (country of origin, cleaning methods, down to feather ratio, etc.) on the label, refuse to purchase! Such a product definitely cannot be called high quality.
How to care for a down jacket
But finally, all stages of the meticulous check have been completed, you are convinced of the quality of the down jacket, and you have bought yourself reliable protection from the winter cold. Now, in order for the jacket to be worn as long as possible, you need to properly care for it.
Wash
should occur at temperatures up to 40 degrees, in gentle spin mode. Down jackets should not be soaked! Exposure to water should be brief. Drying a down jacket on a radiator means mercilessly shortening its life. Experts advise drying the jacket unfolded, in a ventilated room or on the balcony. You just need to lay the down jacket on a thick terry towel and wait for the towel to absorb all the moisture. From time to time the jacket needs to be turned over.
Detergents Down jackets for washing must be selected carefully. Special powders and liquids have antibacterial properties, do not allow microorganisms to multiply in the fluff, and prevent rotting. If you want your down jacket to not absorb water and remain just as warm and cozy, don’t skimp on your purchase special means to wash it. We also recommend spending money on buying a water-repellent spray, which you need to spray your down jacket with after each wash - then even the rain won’t be able to spoil your pleasure from your walk!
These care rules are quite simple, and the pleasure from a purchased branded down jacket will last at least 5 seasons. So, go ahead to the store for such a fashionable, beautiful, warm and comfortable down jacket!
The main advantage of winter clothing is the ability to retain heat and be reliable protection from low temperatures. This ability depends on what kind of insulation is used for a particular item. Materials such as down and padding polyester are widely used today. To determine which filler is better, let’s look at the properties of each of them.
It is common to use natural down to insulate outerwear. This was even fixed in the name of the things - “down jackets”. To prevent clothing from getting wet and keeping out the cold, its contents must have the property of repelling rather than letting in moisture. Therefore, clothes are filled with down obtained from waterfowl. Most often, duck or goose is used for this, and less often, swan down.
Reference! It is believed that the warmest and most suitable for regions with harsh winters is eider down filling. Products with natural eider down are more expensive than jackets with duck or goose down.
Synthetic winterizer, a material made from artificial fibers, has replaced natural down as a modern insulation material. Bonded together using heat, glue or mechanical bonding, synthetic polyester fibers have become a substitute for down, making the filling cheaper.
Each of the materials has its pros and cons.
One of the main advantages of down insulation is its natural origin and environmental friendliness.
Down has other positive qualities:
Reference! Adding feathers to the down filling increases the life of the product. Their price should be lower than products with 100% down insulation.
Disadvantages of down insulation:
Manufacturers artificial material managed to endow it with many qualities of fluff.
Advantages of padding polyester:
The negative aspects of synthetic insulation are associated with its washing:
Finding out what qualities they have various materials, let's see how these qualities manifest themselves in finished product. This will help you decide what is better to choose, clothes made with padding polyester or with natural down.
Main advantage down jackets - reliable protection by cold. Natural down makes the jacket light and very warm. Down jackets with eider, goose or duck down are best purchased by residents of northern regions where constant low temperatures are observed in winter.
In temperate latitudes, down jackets may also be needed by people who spend long periods of time outdoors.
However, these products have several shortcomings. The main ones are the high price and difficulty of care.
Important! Professional dry cleaning instead of washing it yourself at home will preserve the quality appearance and extend the life of the down jacket.
Advantage synthetic padding material becomes practical and functional, affordable price. Winter clothes with synthetic fiber insulation also retain heat well. Their lightness and water resistance make the products most convenient for active people who do not change their lifestyle even in winter. Padded jackets provide comfort during long walks, sports, and outdoor games.
Another advantage of artificial contents is ease of care. You can wash these jackets yourself.
Flaws winter jackets with synthetic padding are also related to the care of the product. Sintepon, which tends to bunch up when wet and washed, will force you to work hard to return products that do not have quilting to their former appearance.
Important! To prevent the insulation from crumpling during washing, you need to place tennis balls in the drum of the washing machine along with the jacket.
Knowledge of properties and features different materials will help you decide which jacket to buy.
But choosing a specific product will require attention to the item, because no filler can save a low-quality jacket.
Choosing a winter jacket is a serious matter, it depends not only appearance, but also human health.
In the shop women's clothing There are down jackets, short coats and coats with different insulation, so you can’t help but wonder what filling to choose for a winter down jacket so as not to freeze in the cold? Important indicator The ability of a down jacket to retain heat is the filler. The durability of the product and the preservation of its original properties even after a couple of seasons of wear depend on the quality and properties of the insulation.
You can find one- or two-layer fashionable down jackets on sale different styles. For the Russian winter, two-layer jackets are more suitable, but for European and southern regions a single-layer jacket is quite suitable; it can withstand temperatures down to minus 12 degrees, and there it doesn’t get any lower.
Before we start choosing a down jacket for the winter, in accordance with, let's look at its filling and study the entire list of candidates for filling a winter jacket. So, manufacturers choose artificial synthetic fibers and natural materials as fillers.
Natural ones have been a priority for a long time, as they retain heat well, but they require complex care and the creation of special conditions for washing. New-fashioned synthetic ones are slightly inferior in heat-protective properties and some even surpass natural insulation materials. The main advantages of synthetic insulation include ease of maintenance and hypoallergenicity.
Each type of filler has its own characteristics and features. Do you want to figure out which filler is the best? Let's study the qualities and properties of each of them.
Pooh. It can be duck, swan, or eider down. A jacket stuffed with it proper care will last more than 10 years. Thanks to this filling, jackets stuffed with down got their name “down jacket”. Advantages of the material: high heat-saving ability, lightness, softness and durability.
The photo shows natural down filling for women's down jackets
As for the shortcomings, we include them high cost of the final product (although it is formed not only by the filler, but also depends on the covering fabric, style and brand). To care for and wash a down-based down jacket, you need: special conditions. Sensitive people also notice the appearance allergic reactions while wearing.
Among all downs, the most expensive and warmest is eider fluff. It is used to insulate products for women living in harsh climates. Jackets with eider down are suitable for country outings and long walks in the fresh air.
Goose and duck down the most common option. Recently, it is often mixed with synthetic fibers to reduce cost. In principle, this has little effect on the heat-saving capabilities of products. And judging by the reviews, women's down jackets with duck and goose down mixed with artificial fibers are easier to wash and retain their properties after being manipulated in a washing machine.
Feather+down. Quite a common filling for women's down jackets and coats. The feather, on the one hand, reduces the cost of the product, and on the other hand, creates a certain basis for volume. On personal experience I will say that a down jacket with a feather can be washed at home.
For information:
P uh is usually denoted on the manufacturer’s labels with the word “down". Inscription "feather" means a mixed type of feather and down. Word "Intelligentdown" indicates that a combination of down and synthetic fill is used. Do you want to know how to choose good down jacket feminine in content, you will have to learn these characteristics by heart. In addition to these inscriptions, the label may contain the designation “Cotton" or "polyester". This means that cotton wool, batting or padding polyester was used for filling.
The label also indicates the ratio of down to feather content (fraction on the label). 70/30 or 80/20. Usually the first number is the percentage of the pen. Check the percentage before buying a down jacket. Normal is 70-80%. It is with this level of fluff that the product will be adapted to harsh climates and cold winters.
Looking ahead a little, I’ll tell you how to determine how to determine whether padding polyester or down is in a down jacket. To do this, squeeze the filler through the fabric with two fingers and rub it between your fingers. With synthetic padding polyester, holofiber and other artificial filler, you will hear a squeaking sound and it will seem to slide between your fingers. Down does not make such a sound, but if the filler is created in a combination of down and feather, then between your fingers you will feel thin feather rods; they are quite noticeable to the touch.
Wool.
This natural material for filling jackets. They are called down jackets conventionally, since they do not contain down. Winter Jacket or a short coat stuffed with wool retains heat perfectly and is inexpensive. Sheep or camel wool is often used for filling.
Disadvantages: the final product is heavy and shrinks when washed. Also causes allergic reactions. Recently, manufacturers have been using a mixture of filling down jackets, using wool and synthetic fibers. Thanks to this combination, such jackets can be easily washed at home in automatic washing machines.
Sintepon
. Popular and most cheap material for down jackets and coats. Lately he has been pushed out modern views fillers and it was rarely used for stuffing clothes. Advantages:
Disadvantages: it loses volume after the first wash, and after several washes it clumps, with the exception of quilted products.
Isosoft
. Excellent material for filling down jackets. This is European membrane insulation from the manufacturer Libeltex.
Advantages of Isosoft:
The disadvantage is the high cost.
Holofiber.
Artificial insulation made from synthetic spiral fibers. It is used as insulation for women's and children's clothing. According to reviews from owners of holofiber down jackets, this a real find for the Russian cold winter.
The following advantages of this material are noted:
It is believed that holofiber does not allow air to pass through well, but if it is used in conjunction with the fabric covering of a down jacket, this disadvantage disappears.
Thinsulate
. The insulation is made of highly siliconized polyester fiber, twisted in a spiral. There is air around the fibers. It is also called artificial swan down. The thickness of the fibers is 60 times less than the thickness of a human hair. It has a high ability to retain heat. To achieve identical characteristics, a thickness of 10 times less is required compared to conventional fillers. Initially, Thinsulate was developed by order of NASA for clothing for astronauts and polar explorers. Currently, this insulation is considered the warmest and thinnest of the fillers for down jackets.
Advantages of Thinsulate:
Disadvantages: can cause overheating of the body, is expensive and accumulates static electricity.
Sintepooh. This is a fluffy bulky mass made of synthetic fibers with a hollow structure. It consists of white springy fibers, intertwined, they form a dense structure. There are several types of synthetic fluff, including siliconized fluff. Twisted polyester fibers are additionally processed silicone emulsion. This allows them not to cling to each other and maintain volume for a long time.
The characteristics of the insulation are as close as possible to down.
Advantages of synthetic fluff:
So, if we compare fillers for down jackets, which is better, we can note the following: if you are looking for a light and warm down jacket, then your choice is synthetic down or Thinsulate filler. For allergy sufferers, it is also better to choose synthetic insulation; they do not cause allergic reactions and do not contribute to the proliferation of microorganisms. The combination of feather + down is recommended to all adherents of natural insulation; they have the best performance characteristics than 100 down or feather. If the label indicates the proportion: 80% down in a combination of 20% feather, you will not freeze in a down jacket even in extreme weather conditions.
Recently, more and more often on clothing tags opposite the word “filler” you can find the following phrase: spray-bonded cotton wool. Many of my friends and blog readers ask what kind of filler this is, how it behaves in winter, and how to care for it.
Spray bonded cotton wool is environmentally friendly, safe material. On the label of a down jacket or jacket it is designated as: spray bonded wadding. It is made from natural cotton and cotton wool. This is a soft, wear-resistant and breathable material. By technical properties This filler is close to bio-fluff. He has high quality thermal insulation, does not cause allergies, does not rot and corrode, does not crumple, and is breathable. Be sure that the spray-bonded cotton wool filler will not harbor microorganisms, moths or other insects. Spray-bonded cotton wool will not crawl out through the seams and roll into lumps. It will help you withstand the harshest frosts.
I hope I answered the question what is the best filling for a down jacket and now you know for winter.
