Refilling a down?

Hello

I have a good down jacket (Klattermusen) since 7 years ago. The last time I got it cleaned in a specialized shop I found that it lost half of the down filling, but unfortunately I didn't check it at that moment.
It's specially in bad condition at the shoulder and higher back areas because I used it with a backpack.

I would like to repair it myself by adding new down.
Is it advisable to perform small cuts in the inner side (of every affected section), fill it, and sew it?
Or this (sewing with a home machine) would tear the fabric?, Is it better to try to unsew existing sewings?
Where can I buy 850+ down filling?
I've found some at Amazon but they sell 3 pounds of bad quality down for $90+shipping but I only need less than 1 pound, maybe 1/2 pound is enough. I couldn't find it at eBay.

ThruHiker has some 800+ fill down for sale i think 3 oz for about 30$

as for the cuts...if you cant open the original seams then i would make sure to close any cuts with seam grip to ensure a tight finish

home sewing machine will work on most nylon fabrics but they are difficult to work with if you dont have experience or practice.

It's not always that easy. It depends on the construction of the jacket. Is it a stitch-through jacket or is it box walled?

Also, why do you think you've "lost" the down. Where to you think it went? If you have cold spots then maybe the jacket isn't as nice as you thought, or the cleaners weren't as specialized as they led you to believe.

They didn't steal it... It's still in there somewhere.

The "missing" down may simply be clumped due to improper drying. Try beating on it, shaking it, putting it in a home dryer (low or no heat) with a running shoe or two.

If you must add new down, definitely open up the inner seams. There will be at least two and probably 4 rows of stitching to cut. Half a pound of down is plenty. 3 Oz of 800 fill down may actually do the trick. Heat sear the nylon edges or use seam grip to prevent fraying (since you won't be able to replace the overcasting that is likely there now). Good luck. It's actually not that hard! I've refilled my coat and an old sleeping bag.

For reference, most puffy coats that you see at a climber's campground usually have between 8 and 12 oz of down in them TOTAL. The light packable ones that are popular now have around 5 oz. With a half pound, you'd have an entirely new jacket! But with the cost of down and the amount of time that would take, you'd be better off buying one on eBay.

I recommend drying with some tennis balls, really brought the puff back into a zero degree down bag of mine. I'll probably do it again before it stars to actually get cold outside just to bolster the puff!

It would definitely be better to pull and re-sew existing seems. If you have to cut a hole, I would strengthen the edges that need to be sewn with some sort of tape or glue before sewing it back up.

I have a down vest that I've been thinking would be good for refilling an old garment, but I don't have anything that needs it right now. I'd sell it to you for $25 (shipping included to the Cont. US). Send me a PM if you're interested.

Hello and thanks for your explanations

The jacket is this one
klattermusen.se/produkt.php…

I don't believe is a bad jacket. In fact the first years was really warm, without cold spots. When it was new I compared it to similar priced jackets of my friends (North Face and other well-known brands) and it was as good as theirs.
All down jackets loose some "feathers" every day, that prick the cover and escape.
The shoulder are was more exposed to continuos effort because of the backpack.

After the last cleaning I'm sure that the jacket lost 5 times more down than all down lost before, because now is almost empty in some areas. And there is no clumped balls inside, everything is fluffy and loose but almost empty.
I tried to beat it and dry it more, nothing changes. The cleaner told me that they use tennis balls and that if the jacket is bad is because it was bad before.
I don't know what happened. My girlfriend even suggested that somebody stole my down.

Anyway, that already happened and I need a solution.

I contacted TruHiker and they have told me that don't ship to my conuntry, Spain.

Could you show me what seam grips I need?

regards jacket jacket

OK, thanks

Would I also need to buy some kind of sealant? (polyurethane adhesive or some fabric with adhesive)

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Hello

I add my message here because I'm not allowed to post new ones because I'm a new user.

Hi

I think I'm going to buy 3oz of down from extremtextil.de (because Thru-Hiker doesn't ship to Spain).

I will also buy a seam grip or adhesive from the same shop, to add extra protection.

Which one do you advise me?

Seam Sure (liquid): water-based urethan-seam-sealer. For seamsealing of lightweight, waterproof synthetic fabrics. Dryes as clear, flexible and durabel film. For heavy-weight-fabrics like Cordura 500den please use Seamgrip

Silnet (liquid): ideal for seamsealing of siliconcoated fabrics. Waterproof, elastic and UV-proof.

Repair-Tape, Tenacious Tape, McNett: UV-resistant, transparent tape for easy and fast repairs of tears in fabrics. Not suitable for very smooth surfaces like silicon-coated fabrics!

Gore-Tex repair kit: Self-adhesive repair patches for Gore-Tex fabric. The patches stick very good and last for several washings. Also work great on non-gore-tex-fabrics.

I've ruled out products that need to be ironed because I'm afraid of burning the jacket.

The question is only adhesive or adhesive and tape/fabric, and what brand.

regards

I had some leftover down from an old Holubar or Frostline kit from 80's,,,refilled a 40 yr old down sleeping bag with 10 oz and it was spectacular. Hard to undo the seams, agree that if you end up cutting in some sections, be sure to stitch up tight and seam seal it up really good to lock in that down. Those fuzzys seem to always find a way out of holes and seams.

Ask a buddy who goose hunts! All the free down you want if you're lucky. Just put it in a zipper pillow case and bleach it first.

Ok I swear I saw someone using something like a very large syringe (big as a Turkey baster) with the needle having a whole approximately 1/8" diameter to inject the down. Am I imagining this or is this a tool used for this purpose. Also, if no one has seen this for you think it would work?

Bill Woodward wrote: Ok I swear I saw someone using something like a very large syringe (big as a Turkey baster) with the needle having a whole approximately 1/8" diameter to inject the down. Am I imagining this or is this a tool used for this purpose. Also, if no one has seen this for you think it would work?

Bulk down is not that hard to work with. Just keep it in the bag it came in, open it up just enough to get in there with a couple fingers, pinch a ball of it and stick it in the small (2 inch) opening you've made in the jacket.  Using a syringe sounds like a real disaster; I can't imagine getting the down into the barrel without it going everywhere.