Bringing Nanga down jackets back to the Hong Kong market this season is expected to allow more friends to know Nanga, the excellent Japanese down brand. Among the many models this time, I mainly chose the Aurora series because I think it is one of the most iconic down jackets in Nanga. The following article will give you a deeper understanding of the excellent technology produced by "Aurora Down Jacket".
Aurora-Tex
The waterproof material exclusively developed by Nanga is similar to other brands that launch their own waterproof materials to reduce production costs. At the same time, users can own a high-quality waterproof jacket at a more attractive price.
In particular, down should not be wet for the first time. After it gets soaked, the down absorbs water and forms a ball, causing the air cells to disappear and greatly reducing the warmth retention properties of down. Therefore, the fabric of a down jacket is an important check. Even when the weather changes unexpectedly when hiking in winter, the down jacket forms a protective layer when it rains or snows, and can still maintain warmth.
Photo by: KAWADA FEATHER
Quality Philosophy
"Kawada Feather" is a down material manufacturer founded in 1891. Nanga and Kawada have been working closely together. The two parties have an exclusive feather production site on the east side of the Pyrénées Mountains at the border of France and Spain. Since this area is not within the flight path of migratory birds, the risk of infectious diseases is small and high-quality Spanish duck down can be stably produced.
Kawada has advanced equipment, hygienic environment, and vast grazing land. A long growth period is also an important secret to high-quality down. Generally, raw wool is obtained from young birds that have been raised for less than 40 days, but in Spain, they have been raised for more than 80 days and are said to account for about 10% of the total wool. This allows the feathers to grow with high repulsion and volume.
Photo by: KAWADA FEATHER
High-quality down requires not only fluffy raw wool, but also cleanliness. Only by being able to do these two things can heat be retained and moisture released. Raw wool contains impurities such as dust and dirt, but the KAWADA factory is able to remove most of the impurities to perform its functions. Before washing, perform dust removal to remove fine dust, oxidized grease, sand, etc. in the raw wool. Cleaning is done in a large front-loading washing machine using ultra-soft water and feather-specific detergent. Dry quickly at high temperature of 140-150℃. It is then cooled, dusted and sorted. The machines used in each process are original to KAWADA , and each machine contains unique theories accumulated over more than a century.
Photo by: Nanga
The KAWADA Feather Processing Factory is located in Meiwa Town, Mie Prefecture, Japan. Ultra-soft groundwater with a hardness of 3 to 5 mg/L originates from the Odaihara Mountains, where rainfall ranks highest in Japan. The factory makes extensive use of abundant groundwater to clean feathers. Ultra-soft water is close to pure water and can penetrate every corner of feathers to remove dirt. It also has high reducing power (antioxidant power), so it can repair damaged parts of feathers.
Photo by: KAWADA FEATHER
Of particular note is the cleaning process, in which complex streams of water are used to rub the feathers together to remove all dirt without damaging the feathers. Cleaning twice and rinsing four times is also the reason why KAWADA reaches a high cleaning height of 2000mm. This far exceeds European cleaning standards and shipping standards set by the U.S. and Japanese industries. Therefore, the down made from KAWADA feathers is clean and has no odor, allowing you to feel the original functionality of feathers.
