random thoughts

ODDS AND ENDS

The first comment I received about the second Clo article was a very nice compliment. I hope that there were many more that were educated as Marty was.

Great follow-up article & summary of your bags’ actual capabilities! Here’s what I’ve learned:

1. Continuous filament fiber surpasses any other insulation
2. The thicker the filler, the better the insulation
3. Laminating avoids the cold spots caused by quilting
4. Insulated products should be tested under conditions of actual use
5. Your temperature ratings are conservative
6. When the rest of the mfrs. realize the error of their way, there will be a huge surplus of manikins

Thanks,

Marty

ETHICS

Did you know there is a company that honors companies as most ethical in their industry? VF Corporation the parent company of The North Face was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2017 World’s Most Ethical Company. The reason is stated as follows and I quote; “VF is a leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.”

VF owns maybe 50 clothing companies but the only one associated with “ethical” business practices is The North Face. That I do not understand. The North Face promotes the practice of killing ducks and geese for their down. They have set up a whole supply chain mechanism to oversee that the birds are taken care of until their heads are chopped off. Let us applaud their concern for the birds.

Then there is their concern for promoting their sleeping bags for use in conditions that they can never work in. you may recall that I did a video demonstrating the very poor quality of one of their bags. Why should it be different than the rest of them, my opinion it is not.

No I do not think that recognition of the company as ethical is warranted.

REDUCE OXYGEN INTAKE AND GO FASTER

According to Nike Company they have a new running shoe that and I quote; “Embedded in the midsole is a thin, stiff carbon-fiber plate, which is designed to reduce the amount of oxygen needed to run at a fast pace. Nike said the plate saves 4 percent of the energy needed to run at a given speed compared with its other popular racing shoes.”

Maybe it’s me but isn’t that statement a contradiction? I always thought that being able to take in more oxygen would give one additional strength?Of course the answer is yes to both questions. Who was the source of information at Nike, how did they arrive at the 4 percent number; BLANK?

What they are doing is wanting to have a footwear product that will allow a marathon runner go under 2 hours and take credit for it by saying he couldn’t have done it with any other shoe.

Maybe they too should get an ethics recognition placket as well.