THE FROSTLINE SUCCESSORS-- please note this general fact:
to the best of my knowledge, no one is currently manufacturing
complete kits like Frostline, Holubar or Altra sold in the 1970s
and 80s. By "complete" I mean kits with all the material
pre-cut; all the notions packaged and ready; the down in neat
little packets; and a great set of instructions. This is sad,
and if any readers find a company currently making such kits,
please contact me asap!
Here are several Links to the few but admirable companies now
carrying on the Frostline tradition--- The Rainshed <http://www.therainshed.com/>,
in Corvallis, Oregon, near Oregon State University (OSU)... this
is one of the most complete stocks of fabrics, patterns and notions
that one could ever desire, I myself have purchased from them
in the past...they've been around for many years (I have their
wonderful, thick 1993 color catalog)......Also in Oregon, and
also a place I've visited and purchased from in the past, is Green
Pepper <http://thegreenpepper.com/>,
which has been around since Frostline times in 1973---their main
products are all patterns for outdoor gear (also see mention of
them under Canvas Works).......In nearby Idaho state is Idaho
Outdoor Fabrics <http://www.owfinc.com/>,
which is a truly righteous successor to the Frostline heritiage,
with a huge selection and even bulk rates for big buyers. Note:
while they do carry patterns, they don't make true Frostline-type
kits...... Washingtonians in Seattle are blessed with Seattle
Fabrics (SeattleFabrics.com)
which stocks many of the very newest, most innovative materials,
such as Polartech Power Shield and Spandura. In the South Puget
Sound area is a great place in Olympia, WA called "Canvas
Works," <http://www.canvasworks.net/>
which carries a large selection of outdoor fabrics, including
the required zippers and other notions to put together almost
any pack, parka, or misc. piece of gear. They also carry a big
selection of outdoor clothing patterns from "Green Pepper"
.......Also try FabricLine/Rose City Textiles, a Portland,Oregon
company with a diverse selection of fabrics, patterns and notions--
on the web at fabricline.com <http://www.fabricline.com/>.
Note: although Fabricline carries many fabrics that could be used
to construct backpacking/climbing gear, I could find no patterns
that might apply to such sewing. However, Annette at Rose City
Textiles is really fun to talk with and very encouraging toward
any and all would-be outdoor gear creators.(Note: recently, Feb.
2010, the Fabricline website seems to have become only a "portal"
site-- readers with info. please tell me what has happened!)......A
new contributor has told me about "Rockywoods"
in Loveland, Colorado,http://www.rockywoods.com/
. This company has a wide variety of both classic and more modern
high-tech fabrics, plus a few kits, but not pre-cut kits, and
definitely not kits equipped with nice little down packets like
Frostline used to have! ..Finally, I've had a number of inquiries
from owners of old, classic tents from various makers who have
needed some type of new pole, or pole repair parts-- they should
go to the "Tent Poles and Parts" section of QuestOutfitters.com,
based in Sarasota, Florida. They have many pole supplies, as well
as an excellent discussion......Although the successors to the
Frostline tradition may be few and far between, they all seem
to love their mission.....
How to Buy Goose Down--- And here's information sent to me recently by contributor Bill K........"Yes, there are several online sources of good down. Thru-hiker.com, which I mentioned previously, sells 800+ fill-power goose down in 3-ounce bags for $25.95/bag plus shipping. This is excellent down (I made the Whitney Jacket from the thru-hiker kit). Customer service is as good as it gets. Also a good source for synthetic insulation (Primaloft and Climashield) and ultralight fabrics.
Feathered Friends in Seattle will sell down, although they don't advertise it on their web site. As of several years ago, the 800-fill stuff was $8 an ounce in 6-ounce bags. They also sell what they call "floor down," which is what they vacuum up after a day of making sleeping bags. It's half the price, but not worth the extra effort required, as it has to be washed and picked-through, since it contains dust, pieces of thread, and possibly other foreign material (I found a small piece of wood in the batch that I got.) I made a sleeping bag with it.
Also in Seattle, recommended to me by Rainy Pass Repair, is Jack's Comforters, recently renamed to ALL ABOUT DOWN. Jack Sukalac's card says, "Down Specialists, Renovation and Repair." phone 206-784-3444. They do sleeping bags, and could be a good place to take a classic down bag that has some "issues."
There's also Feather Industries in Canada, which sells down in various grades. They're a wholesaler, so prices are good, but they have a 2-pound minimum, with a 20% surcharge for anything less than 25 pounds. I've never purchased from them, but I've heard good reports. Also, hungariangoosedown.com, of which I know nothing.
http://www.featherind.com/
http://www.hungariangoosedown.com/bulkb.htm
And in November 2009, Miki, who formerly worked for Frostline in Boulder, offered this link for down:http://www.lodidownandfeather.com/bulkdownandfeather.aspx
Please Note: All Material on this page, and in all my "History of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com. ... Editors: Please contact me if you have interest in publishing....Others: if you were involved with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story to tell in these pages, please contact me soon.....Sponsors: if your outdoor company is interested in sponsoring this site, please contact me for details.
GOOSE DOWN was a key component of the success of both Frostline and Holubar Kits.... both companies created innovative methods to package the down for consumer sewing kits. Goose Down occupied center stage for decades during the History of Gear. It was the clearly superior insulation of choice.
Down terminology--- "fillpower" is one of the main parameters that determines down quality. Down with increasingly higher (better) fillpower costs more and more. Cheap down in department store jackets often has only 450-500 fillpower, and it's duck down with lots of larger feathers and feather shafts, etc. "Normal" down is goose down with a fillpower of 550, as measured in the supposedly standard testing cylinder-- under controlled conditions, how much volume will one pound of down expand to fill up? Typical levels of better quality down are 600, 650, 700, and then the ultra-premium 800. Some folks doubt the truth of claims as high as 800, but in my book, having owned a bag with 800 fillpower down, as you get into the highest grades, it's all mighty fine stuff, soft and luxurious and heavenly light and compressible. You really can tell a big difference, even over 550 down. The exact source of the down (the birds) formerly was held in great esteem, with eider down and Polish down being regarded as the ultimate, but nowadays many say it doesn't really matter where it comes from, as long as it passes the tests, one down is as good as any other--- and nowadays most of the World's down comes from geese raised for meat in (you guessed it) China....
The cleaning of older down garments and sleeping bags--- this is an important subject which I will write about at length at a later date. The brief warning is NOT to dry clean or machine wash older down items, IN PARTICULAR sleeping bags with their delicate interior structures of baffling... Hand washing with a good down soap is the method of choice. The key word is GENTLE, GENTLE, GENTLE. ... IF you must disregard my cautions, use only an appropriately-sized front loading machine and mild soap, and dry on a verified minimal heat setting in a large commerical dryer, with lots and lots of big dry towels to cushion and absorb moisture. Remove item from dryer frequently and very carefully and very gently pull apart the big wads of clumped-up wet down, then continue drying. Be prepared to spend at least two hours for drying of larger down items like sleeping bags. If you have a truly valuable collector's vintage bag like an old Holubar Expedition bag, or anything that is both old, and collectible, I highly advise that you spend the money (est. $30-40, plus shipping both ways) to have the bag professionally done by a specialist like Rainy Pass Repairs-- and PLEASE be prepared for the possible news that the washing may not be possible if the internal baffling and/or the stitching holding it has become weak or rotted due to age and hard usage (see my page about Repairs of Vintage Gear).
copyright Bruce B. Johnson 2006-2009. Reader input is welcome.
I hope this sheds some light on the fascinating subject of that
warm puffy stuff we love to cocoon ourselves in.
Shown is a Holubar Kits "Rustler" down jacket kit, which was a sewn-through construction. Those of us who were more daring and skilled sometimes would take such a kit and meticulously add baffling material between the inner and outer fabrics, thus creating a much warmer and infinitely more "braggable" personal creation.
...
Shown is the JanSport "Brass Bed" series, which featured down tops paired with Polarguard bottoms. This unusual design was meant to maximize the powers of down, while minimizing down's two main weaknesses-- compressibility under body weight, and poor performance when wet or damp.
Please Note: All Material above, and in all my "History
of Gear" webpages, is copyrighted, and no usage of my material
is permitted unless explicit permission is granted by me, Bruce
B. Johnson, owner of OregonPhotos.com. ... Editors: Please contact me if you have interest
in publishing....Others: if you were involved
with one of the old-line, vintage gear companies and have a story
to tell in these pages, please contact me soon.
