Rab Jacket Construction Methods Explained

Rab Product Marketing Manager, Gemma, talks through the different jacket construction methods used to create our down jackets. Down garments are usually constructed using a series of baffles. Baffles are individual chambers which hold the down in place, ensuring an even distribution of insulation and minimising cold spots. It is these baffles that give many down jackets their distinctive appearance. We use two types of baffle in the construction of our down jackets: stitch-through and box-wall. Stitch Through In stitch-through (or sewn through) garments, the baffles are created by stitching the outer fabric directly to the inner fabric. We use stitch-through construction in most of our down jackets as it minimises the amount of outer fabric and stitching required, which provides a significant weight saving. Whilst this is the best construction method for lightweight garments, it does have one drawback. Because the down is pinched at the seams, reducing the space it has to loft, stitch-through garments have a less consistent level of insulation than those constructed using box-wall baffles. Box Wall Box-wall garments are made from distinct box-shaped compartments that run horizontally around the body. Because the box-shaped baffles are not pinched at the edges, there is space for the down to fully loft throughout the chamber allowing for an even distribution of down and vastly reducing the likelihood of cold spots. The extra material used to create each box means that the