February 15, 2001


What do you think of Primadown insulation?

I've heard of a product called Primadown. It's a mixture of Primaloft and down feathers. Supposedly if the garment or sleeping bag gets wet it won't be totally useless because the Primaloft will keep working. Have you heard of this and what is your opinion? Thanks,

— Mark Hamer Fullerton, California

Sure —- I've heard quite a bit about it. Primadown is just what you describe: A mix of goose down and Primaloft, a very down-like synthetic insulation made by Albany International. And the intent of the mix is, as you suggest, a way to match the softness, light weight and high insulation of down with the warm-when-wet capabilities of Primaloft,

It's an interesting concept, though one that's finding a bit of a hard time finding a market due to some manufacturing problems. EMS and Polo RLX are two makers who are using Primadown. But L.L. Bean, after moving in that direction, has backed off for the time being. I think the stuff is just hard to work with.

Moreover, I think it's going to be tough to convince consumers that they need to buy this. If you're really convinced that getting wet will be a problem, then you're best off just buying a synthetic-fill sleeping bag or jacket. And if you don't think it will be, then get down. In 20-plus years of camping, for instance, I have never soaked a down bag. Gotten them damp, certainly, but never wetted out completely. The only way I can imagine that happening is A), to dunk my pack underwater, and even that won't be a problem for the bag if I have it stuffed inside a waterproof sack, which I typically do, or B), to have a leaky tent set up in the middle of a rising river, and I hope I'm smarter than that. When I do figure that moisture will be a problem, I just pack in my Primaloft-filled bag, and it's no longer an issue.

So I guess my opinion is that Primadown is an answer that's looking hard for a question.