Comfort Evaluation of Down-filled Apparel Available to Purchase

In the present study, the “comfortability” of down-filled apparel has been evaluated in two different areas. The first aspect of the work deals with the evaluation of insulating capability of the down-proof fabrics and down-filled pillows in relation to relative humidity using the KES-F7 Thermal instrument and ASTMD1518 test method. Considerable differences in terms of true thermal transmittance have been obtained when fabrics and down-filled pillows are put under different relative humidity environment. With regard to the increasing requirements for comfort of the product, sensory feeling of the inner lining materials becomes a very important criterion for the selection down-filled garments. In this respect, the second aspect of the paper is concerned with the relationships between the fabric constructional, mechanical and transport properties and the psycho-physiological response of judges on the sensory feeling of lining materials. Significant relationships between the fabric transport properties, mainly wettability and transient heat conduction was obtained.