What's the Difference Between Goose Down and Duck Down?
Duck Down Vs. Goose Down
by David Smith
Last Updated: 07/13/2022
When you’re shopping for luxury bedding, you might be wondering what the difference between a duck vs goose down comforter is. You might even ask, is goose down better than duck down? First, let’s talk about what down is. Down is the soft, fluffy feathers found closest to a duck or goose’s body. They’re fine feathers and intended to trap air to keep the birds warm.
The main difference between duck down and goose down is the size and fill power of clusters. Geese generally have warmer down clusters with higher fill power as compared to ducks. This is because geese are larger than ducks and their down clusters are generally bigger. Also, the cold environments that geese reside in demand that their down clusters be large and fluffy.
Goose vs. Duck Down Quality:
- Goose down clusters are generally larger than duck clusters.
- Goose down clusters are usually from larger and older geese.
- Goose down clusters typically have fewer odor issues unlike duck.
- Goose down clusters are the only clusters large enough for luxury down bedding.
Overall, white goose down is softer and better insulated than duck down. Furthermore, goose down is the only type of down that can be used for high fill power. Higher fill power means the down can trap more air which allows for greater insulation, making it higher quality with more loft and a longer-lived down item. Geese are the only birds large enough to provide large down clusters and create high fill power.
Why use goose down? Geese don’t like meat! In fact, they are herbivores. This lack of meat in their diet significantly reduces the oils in the feathers and down that can smell when exposed to moisture and perspiration.
Why not use duck down? Ducks are omnivores and will eat meat. Their meat consumption impacts the oiliness of the feather and the down they provide. These oils have a tendency to smell ‘gamey’ when exposed to moisture or perspiration and not properly dried.
Where Does Down Come From?
Let’s never forget that goose down is a by-product of the mainland European craving for the sweet taste of goose meat and liver. Those European farmers that raise geese do so primarily for the meat, but soon realized they had additional waste after harvesting the goose that they could sell. Typically, the bones and the feathers are a nuisance for the farmer and they didn't have customers that wanted or needed either the bones or the feathers. Eventually, both the bones and feathers became an additional way to make money for the farmers. The food and cosmetic industries found the bones useful for any number of items that we either consume or apply to our faces while the feathers continued to remain a nuisance until the bedding industry realized the opportunity.
Hungarian geese farmers take a tremendous amount of national pride raising their geese knowing that the down and feathers, once a nuisance and byproduct of raising geese, have become known the world over as the finest in the world. Hungarian white goose down is considered the ‘Gold Standard’ in the industry. So much so that the Hungarian geese farmers have adopted the international Responsible Down Standard for the care and feeding of the geese. We only use RDS Certified farmers to confirm the supply chain is both humanely and sustainably monitored. With this pride comes the need to make sure the geese are well fed but more importantly fed a healthy diet.
Why Choose Ultra-Premium Hungarian White Goose Down?
We are very proud of the fact that all of our down is species specific Hungarian goose down and Hungarian goose feather. We do NOT use duck. We use ONLY Ultra-premium Hungarian white goose down to fill all of luxury down bedding for many reasons. Perhaps the most important reason is the consistent quality. One component of quality in the world of goose down is fill power and the consistency of the fill power and quality associated with Hungarian geese is incomparable. The difference in quality between a duck vs goose down comforter is absolutely noticeable.
Another reason we use Hungarian goose down from Hungary is their commitment to quality. Hungarian geese farmers take tremendous pride in knowing their luxurious Goose down is considered the finest in the world and they want to keep it that way.
Another factor that makes Hungarian white goose down the best on the market is the ethical treatment and sustainability of Hungarian geese by Hungarian geese farmers. Hungarian geese farmers work diligently to maintain the best care of their birds to guarantee the highest quality down feathers.
The Finest Quality White Goose Down In The World
The larger the down cluster the finer the quality the finer the quality the longer it will last. It's that simple.
All of our Hungarian goose down is independently tested for cleanliness to ensure our Hypo-allergenic Guarantee. All of our down is cleaned using only soap and water ensuring that no chemicals that could damage the down are used.
