Down, feather and fill power, explained
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Buy a natural pillow and you meet a small vocabulary that nobody quite explains. Down. Feather. Fill power. Duck, goose, the difference between them. It is worth ten minutes to understand, because once you can read these words, you can read any pillow, ours or anyone else's, and know what you are holding.
Feather and down are not the same thing
They come from the same bird, but they do different work.
A feather is what you picture: a flat plume with a firm central quill running through it. Feathers give structure and support. They hold a shape, they have a little spring, and they carry a firmer hand. A pillow filled with feather feels grounded and supportive, and tends to stay where you put it.
Down is different. It is the soft, three-dimensional cluster that grows underneath the feathers, close to the bird's body, with no quill at all. Down does not lie flat. Each cluster traps air in every direction, which is why down is so light, so soft, and so warm for its weight. A pillow filled with down feels airy and yielding, and rises back up when you lift your head.
Most natural pillows use a blend of the two, and the ratio is what sets the character. More feather gives a firmer, more structured pillow. More down gives a softer, loftier one.
Fill power is a measure of quality, not quantity
Fill power is the single most useful word in this vocabulary, and the most misread. It does not tell you how much fill is in the pillow. It tells you how good that fill is.
Fill power measures how much space a fixed amount of down takes up when it is allowed to loft freely. Higher fill power means each cluster is larger and traps more air, so it can give the same softness and warmth with less material. It is a measure of the down's maturity and quality. A high fill power fill is lighter, lasts longer, and recovers its loft night after night, rather than flattening and staying flat.
So when you compare two down pillows, weight alone tells you very little. A heavier pillow is not a better one. It may simply be filled with lower-grade down that has to be piled in to reach the same height. The finer measure is fill power.
Duck down and goose down
Both are excellent. The difference is one of degree.
Goose down clusters are generally larger and more mature than duck down clusters, which tends to give goose down a higher fill power. In practice that means goose down can reach a greater loft and a lighter, softer feel with less material. Duck down is closer behind than most people assume, and gives a beautifully soft, supportive fill in its own right. Neither is a compromise. Goose down simply sits at the top of the range, which is why it carries the highest price.
Our collection is arranged along exactly this line. Comfort is a duck feather and down blend, the firmest and most structured. Above it, our duck down pillows soften that feel while keeping the support. And goose down sits at the top, the loftiest and most refined fill we make.
Why we build in two chambers
There is one more thing worth knowing, because it is where a considered pillow separates from an ordinary one. Our pillows are not a single bag of fill. They are built in two chambers. An inner core holds a firmer feather fill that gives the pillow its structure and support. Around it, an outer chamber holds the softer down, so the surface you rest against stays gentle. You get support from within and softness on the outside, rather than having to choose between the two. It is more work to make a pillow this way, and it is the reason ours hold both their shape and their softness over years rather than months.
And if down is not for you
Down is remarkable, but it is not the only good answer. Some people prefer a pillow made without it, whether for allergies, for easier care, or simply by choice. For them we make Ease, built on a recycled fibre that is hypoallergenic and simple to live with, with a soft, dependable support. It is a considered pillow in its own right, not a lesser one.
Once you can read down, feather, and fill power, the price of a good pillow stops being a mystery. You are paying for maturity of fill, for the ratio that gives you the feel you want, and for the way it is built to hold that feel over time.
From our sanctuary to yours.
Common questions
What is the difference between down and feather? Feathers are flat, with a firm central quill, and give structure and support. Down is the soft cluster beneath the feathers, with no quill, and gives lightness, softness, and warmth. Most natural pillows blend the two, and the ratio sets how firm or soft the pillow feels.
What does fill power mean? Fill power measures the quality of down, not the amount. It records how much space a fixed weight of down occupies when it lofts freely. Higher fill power means larger, more mature clusters that give more softness and warmth with less material, and that recover their loft over time.
Is goose down better than duck down? Goose down clusters are usually larger and higher in fill power, so goose down can reach a greater loft and a lighter feel with less material. Duck down is close behind and gives a soft, supportive fill of its own. Neither is a compromise; goose down simply sits at the top of the range.