Ensuring Your Peace of Mind

We make every effort to ensure that when you purchase/use a Criterion product it will provide you with peace of mind, reliability and help you enjoy your time in the outdoors. We use what we think are the best materials, but we also manufacture to the best standards possible. All of our finished products are subject to two full independent quality control checks, as well as several smaller checks throughout the processes that lead to your outdoor use.

The main raw materials used in the construction of our sleeping bags and clothing are ethical goose down and Pertex fabric. Before purchasing these materials they have already been checked by their manufacturers. In the case of the ethical goose down, we also receive additional certification relating to its quality and fill power.

Criterion Quality Control Checks

During manufacture, our machinists are responsible for their work, which they check as they progress. We keep a record of the bags a machinist makes and are able to follow their work from its creation to despatch to our retailers. In the case of an issue, we can easily check other bags in a particular batch. Our system allows us to quickly highlight any errors and enables us to provide training and positive feedback to our manufacturing staff.

All of our finished products undergo two comprehensive quality control checks. Firstly, at our factories and, secondly, on arrival at our HQ and distribution hub in the UK. This allows us to keep our manufacturing standards high and reducing as humanly possible the frequency of products with faults.

1. Every single seam, including zips, are checked for the quality of its stitches, stitch tightness and length.
2. Every single baffle, including zip and neck baffles, are hand checked to ensure they have been filled correctly. The Stitched Through, Boxwall, Trapezoid and Brick baffles we use in our products are all visually different and we check to make sure that these are correct for the product in question.
3. Zips are fully opened and closed in both directions to ensure smooth operation.
4. The Velcro on neck retainers and neck baffles (on appropriate models) is checked for stitching quailty. It is also tested to ensure that it is fully operational and in the correct configuration. Our neck retainers and baffles can be folded in such a way that they can be left open, but not rub on skin.
5. All bungee and drawcords are fully opened and closed to make sure that they work with their toggles and there is no fraying/abrasions on them.
6. There is a visual inspection of the bag both internally and externally to ensure there are no marks or abrasions on the fabric, or any down is escaping.
7. All bags are rolled and compressed which allows us to see if there are any holes in the fabric/stitching to see if down is escaping. It also allows us to see if the bag and hood will loft.
8. Product embroidery is checked for its quality and location. As well as the accuracy of the brand name, product name and temperature rating (if applicable).
9. Labels are checked to ensure they are correct for the product and located in the appropriate places.
10. All of our sleeping bags and quilts come with a mesh storage bag and stuff sack. Our jackets come with a stuff sack. You can also purchase a roll-top dry bag which offers waterproof protection. These all have their stitching, branding, drawcords and toggles checked.