Extraction of down (Sleeping Bags)

Mammut follows the best practice as worked out with IDFL, the leading down testing company with laboratories in Salt Lake City, Switzerland and China. This is a very expensive but safe process with testing at every stage.

1. Contracts
Only well known and well respected down producers are given the opportunity to tender for Mammut production. All of these are members of IDFB. When we make contracts for down, we specify the following and require definitive quotations on the following basis

• Test Certificate with each batch from an approved IDFB laboratory, preferably IDFL
• Fillpower - defined as Lorch Cylinder, steam conditioning method to IDFB
• Cleanliness, species and content in accordance with standard test requirements
• No live plucked down

2. Testing before contract is awarded
Before the contract is awarded, tests are done on the down samples at an IDFB approved laboratory. The tests for cleanliness will reveal if there is blood in the down. Also the inspection of the down reveals any skin tags from rough handling.

3. Testing before down is shipped
The same tests are repeated on the down before the shipment is released. This set of tests verifies that we have the specified down in the shipment.

4. Testing of final product
The same tests are repeated on a small random sample of sleeping bags from each seasons production. The main purpose of this testing is to verify that the down we have purchased is in our production.