Switzerland is freezing Which material is actually the warmest?
The cold is following us wherever we go: what material should jackets, hats and gloves be made of to keep you as warm as possible?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Clothes made from down are the warmest, closely followed by wool.
- Both materials are of animal origin. This is no coincidence: sophisticated warming systems are found in nature.
- Nowadays, there are also man-made materials such as fleece, which are modeled on nature and therefore keep you nice and warm.
- What all fabrics have in common is that they can store body heat.
1st place: Down
What is down actually? It is the fine under-feathers of waterfowl such as geese and ducks. Unlike feathers, they do not have a solid stem, are lighter and look more like fluffy balls.
Down is nature's ingenious warmth system: it sits directly under the outer, firm feathers of birds and keeps them warm in cold water in winter. We make use of precisely this system in jackets, sleeping bags and blankets: a single down has many fine branches that enclose a large volume of so-called "resting air". This layer of air prevents body heat from escaping to the outside - on the contrary, the body heat actually warms the trapped air.
The biggest advantage: products with down not only keep you warm, but are also very light. This is because down needs almost no weight or volume to store a lot of air.
The biggest disadvantage: down loses its insulating power when it gets wet. They then clump together and the trapped air escapes. This is why down jackets are rather unsuitable for heavy rain without good waterproofing.
Good to know: down is a by-product of the food industry. The animals are not slaughtered specifically for this, but for meat. The down and feathers are then removed from them.
2nd place: Wool
What is wool actually? Wool is made from animal fur. Most commonly from the fur of sheep, but the fur of alpacas or goats is also often processed into wool - goat fur is used to make cashmere and mohair, for example. The animals are sheared and the fur is then spun into yarn.
Why does wool keep you warm? It has a natural crimp, which creates many small air chambers. Body heat is stored there and cannot escape.
The biggest advantage: wool stays warm even when you sweat. It can absorb up to 30 percent of its weight in moisture without feeling wet. It also transports moisture to the outside.
The biggest disadvantage is that it requires a lot of care. Wool can easily shrink or be damaged if it is washed incorrectly. Therefore: only clean by hand or on the wool wash cycle!
Good to know: A single sheep produces as much wool per year as is needed for around 8 to 10 sweaters. Around 450,000 sheep are currently registered in Switzerland.
3rd place: Synthetic down
What is synthetic down? Fake down that is industrially produced and shaped in such a way that it imitates the structure of real down as closely as possible. They are made of plastic.
Why do they keep you warm? For the same reason as real down: they have many branches that store air.
The biggest advantage: unlike real down, synthetic fibers do not clump together when they get wet. They retain their structure and thus their insulating properties - and can therefore withstand rain, snow or sweat.
The biggest disadvantage: a synthetic winter jacket is bulkier and weighs more than a down jacket of the same warmth. This is because synthetic down is heavier and less compressible than real down.
Good to know: The first high-tech synthetic down was originally developed for the US military because soldiers needed insulation that would keep them warm even when wet.
4th place: Fleece
What is fleece? A soft, warm, man-made fabric made mainly from the synthetic material polyester. Fleece was developed to mimic the benefits of wool.
Why is it warm? The surface of the material is roughened during production, creating a wool-like structure that stores air and therefore insulates well.
The biggest advantage: unlike wool, fleece is very easy to care for and dries quickly.
The biggest disadvantage: when machine washed, tiny plastic fibers, known as microplastics, are released into the environment and are difficult to break down.
Good to know: Fleece was one of the first materials to be deliberately marketed as "vegan" - as an affordable, animal-free alternative to wool in outdoor clothing.
