Feathered Friends, located in Seattle, Washington has been producing high quality down products since 1972. We sat down the Brent Zwiers, the Director of Operations for Feathered Friends and got some insight about the company and how he handles the 9-to-5 grind. Make sure to check out Feathered Friends at http://www.featheredfriends.com

Brent Zweirs

AI: Tell us about Feathered Friends.
BZ: Feathered Friends was founded in 1972 by Peter and Carol Hickner who still own the business and operate it today. They started essentially in their basement. Carol learned to sew and in the 70′s there was an economic downturn. They took their skills and just started making gear for themselves. Their friends found out and started saying ‘hey, can you make me this, can you make me that?’ so really Feathered Friends was making everything, tents, sleeping bags, jackets, backpacks, anything that needed to be made. Somewhere along the line it was decided that down sleeping bags and jackets were really an avenue they could pursue from a business perspective, but we sold direct to the customer and that’s still about 80% of our business. We opened a retail store in 1988 and the rest as they say is history. Today we enjoy a very organic, grassroots following of loyal customers from around the globe.

AI: With all the outsourcing occurring these days, talk a little about where your products are made.
BZ: About 90-95% of our products are made here in Seattle. Now, we’ve have to switch it up the past couple of years because we could no longer meet the demand out of our facility and we’ve had difficulty finding skilled sewers. It’s not for lack of trying or for economic reasons that we’ve outsourced, it’s purely the fact that we couldn’t meet the demand. We’ve moved some of our products to a factory in Vancouver. As far as profit margin is concerned it would be really easy to outsource to Vietnam, or Cambodia, or Laos but some of the people that work for us have worked here for 20 or 30 years, almost as long as the company is old so we feel we have a responsibility to them. They’re not just employees, in some ways they’re like your family.

AI: And what about the options you offer to your customers?
BZ: One of the things we allow customers to do is customize items.  So it’s not “here’s your sleeping bag and it comes in red”, you can get it in any color and made of any of the fabrics we have. We try to have standards but if you’re willing to wait and maybe pay a little bit extra in terms of a custom fee we’ll make it for you. We really try to deliver to the customer’s needs.

AI: What is on the horizon for Feathered Friends? What should we be looking for?
BZ: We’re always working on new things. We have a new sleeping bag that we’ve been working on for the past couple years that has taken a little work to get together but we’re getting a lot closer. It’s called the Spoonbill. It’s a double person alpine bag and has no insulation on the bottom and the two people sleep pretty close but you can save a lot of weight. And in July we launched a new jacket that will be the first new jacket design in about ten years. Feather Friends makes very classic styles so we tend not release new products all that often. It’ll be a super-light down sweater called the Daybreak.

Since this interview the Spoonbill has come to market, we will be launching a lightweight jacket called the Jackorak in March and we will also have our first ever women’s specific down jackets. We have a lot of other projects that we are working on and hopefully our customers will see some great new products continue to come to market.

AI: What are your earliest memories of the outdoors?
BZ: My parents were both teachers so we used to always be outdoors. They both had summers off so we would always take summer family vacations. Probably my absolute earliest memory is from Oak Grove Park in Iowa where I grew-up, riding in the backpack with my dad. I remember there being this really big rock and you got back as an adult and the rocks really not all that big. I was fortunate I got to travel so much. I’ve been to all 50 states and almost all the national parks.

AI: Do you feel that working here, especially as you move up in the company, precludes you from enjoying getting out as much as you used to?
BZ: It’s an unfortunate truth that the busier you get in work the less time you have to devote to the outdoors.

AI: And how do you deal with that?
BZ: My wife and I, instead of trying to go outdoors every single weekend like we used to do we now try to do more scheduled trips. Book off a week and go to Utah and ski or take a trip to the southwest and now we’re looking at doing a trip to the Argentina/Chile area. You have to plan a little more, it’s not as easy as waking up and asking “Who wants to go to Smith Rock?”.

AI: What’s your favorite activity?
BZ: I would say it’s a split between sport climbing and skiing. I grew up climbing and then I moved out west and I took up skiing. I never thought it would take over, but as your skills improve and you can deal with the powder it makes it a tough call.

AI: What’s your favorite crag or mountain?
BZ: I love Smith Rock, there is so much variety. You can get down into the basalt you can stay out on the front side. There is so much variety in not just styles but its difficulty. You can get as much as you want. My favorite place to ski is probably Kicking Horse in Golden, BC right near the border. My wife and I also got engaged there so it holds a little sentimental value.

AI: I know it’s not an easy question but what is your favorite piece of gear?
BZ: Wow, that is a tough one. When you have a basement full of gear it’s tough to pick one thing. I’m going to have to go with the Feathered Friends Hummingbird sleeping bag. It’s been with me for a really long time and it just does everything and covers a very broad spectrum.

The North Face Beeline

Looking for a ultralight sleeping bag? Well, then look no further. The 900-fill down TNF Beeline +30 weighs in at 1 lb. 3 oz., but don’t let the light weight fool you. In this case, warm things really do come in small packages. When packed, this bag takes up only slightly more space than a Nalgene bottle, but thanks to the 900-fill down European goose down (the highest down quality available) and impressive loft when unpacked, this bag is surprisingly toasty.  The shell is constructed of HelioLite HD fabric, which is lighter and more compressible than other fabrics.  Room inside the bag is (as Goldilocks would say) just right — allowing enough room to move around (they even include added a little extra room for your feet with the ‘vaulted footbox’) yet not excessively roomy and thereby tough to keep warm. I found the the Beeline to be comfortably warm even below it’s temperature rating.

The North Face Beeline

I do have some minor complaints about the bag, not the least which is the lack of a zipper. I’m not altogether sure whether what’s saved in the overall decrease in weight isn’t sacrificed in ease of use. Sure, shimmying in and out of the bag isn’t the most difficult maneuver in the world (it’s not a wetsuit), but it does make late night calls of nature slightly less than desirable.  Another problem with the lack of a zipper is that it can get tough to regulate temperature when it gets a little too warm.  The zipper in the footbox helps somewhat, but it isn’t a complete fix, especially during the summer.  Another nice feature would have been a small gear pocket — these can be handy for keeping track of small items such as glasses or your headlamp.  Last but not least… the catch .22 of the ultralight bag:  because of the high expansion rate of the down, anytime the down gets compressed (such as when the bag touches the side of the tent) you get a cold spot. Best advice for avoiding this is to try to ensure you have sufficient room to sleep without compressing the insulation but otherwise this could be an issue in this (or any ultralight) bag.
TNF has paid particular attention to the weight of the bag (even the logos are heat-applied as opposed to stitched to save on weight) but it leaves me wondering whether they may have gone a bit too far.  All things considered, it’s not perfect, but this may be as close as it gets for three-season backpacking.  The North Face really sets the standard in ultralight sleeping bags with the Beeline +30.

[UPDATE - Feb 2008] My research shows that The North Face has made some changes for the 2008 model.  Alas, a zipper.  It also appears they have moved away from 900 fill in favor of 850.  In addition, it appears they have added my coveted internal gear pocket. These changes have increased the weight by 3oz. (to 1lb. 6oz.)  I have contacted TNF about these items (the website has some inconsistencies) and will keep you posted.