Jump to content

What is warmer: down jacket or fur coat


Guest minkwoman

Recommended Posts

A down coat...a real one...is also an animal product since it contains feathers. Feathers are a great insulator. However if it is then used in a coat made of petro chemicals it is far more environmentally damging and wasteful. When it is torn for example, it is irrepairable.

 

Advertised as lighter than fur and as warm...this is a fallacy. Such coats are useless in places where temperatures can plummet to minus 40.

 

The problem is that the synthetic material can trap human sweat, then when the temperature falls it can make you cold. Fur allows you to "breathe".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hi there minkwoman.

my wife not only LOVES fox furs but also is a real climber (mountian) and she says the her furs are much warmer than her down jackets. she now has a fox that she stuffs in to her pack for light trips. we say go for fur baby!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got a pieced [flanks] Blue Fox Spread over a year ago and had a very nice Down Comforter before.

 

No doubt at all. The Fox Spread is warmer, not to mention soooo much nicer.

 

Fur is actually very High Tech. I've discussed this before.

 

New "High" Tech is not always the best .. in anything.

 

I'll have a full pelt Red / Cross Fox spread soon.

 

I have a light weight 100% wool flannel as a backer without any quilting. They work together very well.

 

welcome furnz

 

OFF

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fur is THE best insulator there is!

 

As a matter of fact, caribou fur is the best insulator of any fur, as far as we know.

 

The Inuit who live in the frozen north have been using caribou fur to protect themselves from the sub-zero temperatures of the north pole winters for thousands of years.

 

You don't see very many cold Eskimos. Do you?

 

They must be doing SOMETHING right!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am going to disagree with Worker slightly...

 

The historic use of caribou fur by first nations people of the far northern latitudes was more due to availability than quality. Because theirs was/is a subsistance lifestyle, they used what was available. And caribou were plentiful during the annual migration.

 

There are a few qualities of caribou or reindeer pelts that make them somewhat less than ideal as a fur for garments. First, the leather can be quite thick and very heavy unless carefully fleshed (scraped) to thin it. Second, because the hair is so dense, it can be difficult to sew. And because the hair is hollow, it is more brittle and easily broken than many other furs, which can lead to a short useful life of the garment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Inuit also have free access to Seal Furs which are incedibly warm.

 

I recently had a leather jacket lined with it and I don't feel the cold at all. that's with me wearing only a cotton T shirt!!! I'm taling Zero wind blowing cold!!

 

 

OFF

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also the Inuit, Evenk etc have the highest abundance of Arctic fox too.

There is no doubt that they all do the sam job actually. Seal has similar propeties to caribou. The point is it is less bulky than say polar bear or fox. BUT there is no doubt that when buggering about in sub zero temperatures on ice floes gutting marine mammals then you also need something that has bulk so wetness does not permeate the hide: in this situation ploar bear leggings are used as then it also offers better insulation against wind too:

 

WARNING not for the squeamish:

http://www.arcticphoto.co.uk/supergal/qq/qq77/qq7720-00.htm

 

 

http://www.arcticphoto.co.uk/gallery2/arctic/peoples/greenlandw/qq9805-04.htm

 

But normally caribou or sealskin would do just as good a job. Fox is reserved for whre softness is need...around the face for example. It wouldn't offer pratcical reistsance in a situation like gutting a walrus in icy winds . Something coarser and bulkier is needed hence polar bear.

 

And OFF is very correct in what he says. Nature is a far more efficient designer than man so yes fur is the ultimate high tec of 400 million years of "mathematical" experiment by a far better creator than us humans.

 

You can read more about natve peoples use and trade in furs in our wiki:

 

http://vdsden.thefurden.com/fdwiki/?n=Political.NativeCulture

 

And needless to say please buy native furs if the opportunity arises. Several furriers and couture houses use them nowadays: indeed they always have but traidtionally it was thought best not to tell a lady in the 1930s that her fur was produced by "savages" and there is still a bit of this mentality around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...