SOCK TESTIMONIAL

SOCK TESTIMONIAL AND OTHER SUBJECTS

I have been working on the North Slope of AK for 13 yrs. now. I have tried everything from two pairs of socks to wool socks and nothing comes close to Wiggys. When I first started working up here I wore cotton socks and Bunny boots and that worked for a while then switched over to Smartwool and that worked for a while. Then the North Slope went all steel toes so I switched to Baffin’s and wool socks and wore that for years. Until one day I was shopping for a sleeping bag and a guy I work with said get a Wiggy's I said what's a Wiggy's? So that night I googled Wiggy's and it has changed my life. Back to the socks. Today it was -30 degrees Fahrenheit here. So what I wear now is a pair of Lacrosse rubber boots and Wiggy's socks and my feet are warm. A simple change of the socks and now my feet are warm. When I take the boots off at the end of the day the outside of the socks are covered in sweat and my feet are barely clammy. If you decide to wear them with rubber boots I would get the 13" ones. I tuck my pant legs inside the boot and it seems to be OK. The socks seem to ride down my feet, every once in a while I slip the boot off and pull the sock up. My socks are size ten my boots are an eleven. I usually wear a 10.5 in footwear. Lacrosse doesn't make half sizes. One of my Whites boots is a 9.5 and the size ten sock fits just fine. If Wiggy's made a steel toe Lamilite boot I would buy it in a hurry. The only down side I see is that my stitching is coming apart on the heel on both socks. You can actually put your finger through it. I would buy more Wiggy's in a heartbeat but the shipping to AK is expensive. My feet are finally warm; I would like to try out one of his FR coats because we have to wear that up here to. This Korbana stuff they give us is crap. BUY WIGGY'S YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I KNOW I WILL CONTINUE!!!

Sincerely Justin Cox

Isn’t it great that I have so many customers who are writing about their experience with products I manufacture, I think so. And I am very grateful that so many take the time to tell me and I am happy to pass on what they say.

MORE RECOGNITION FOR SUPPOSED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Today I read an article on the Sporting Goods Business web site where they are recognizing Polartec Company for “spearheading the active-insulation category” as “the innovator of the year”. Polartec makes the claim which I believe is false that their Polartec Alpha will keep you warm when the temperature is plus 30 degrees F after you have worked up a sweat. They state and I quote; “The ingenuity of Alpha is that the insulation is a single sheet of lofty, lightweight and compressible material that doesn’t require complete encapsulation like other fills, resulting in a more breathable insulation that moves chill-producing moisture fast”.Having seen this material I believe that not one person at Polartec has ever actually used a garment made with this fabric in a +30 degree temperature outside. If so I can categorically guarantee you they will know about getting a chill and the moisture will under no conditions “move” away from you. As a matter of fact if you stay out for very long you will probably experience the moisture starting to freeze.

I find it appalling the simple fact that companies such as Polartec, Primaloft and Gore to name but three of dozens that are so self-absorbed with what they think their material is capable of and without I am sure actual use by themselves versus someone they pay to test their fabric in a finished garment are so happy to say the things about it that they say, after all these testers are being paid. The testers will not tell them the material doesn’t work will they!

To say that the Polartec fabric is insulation is very misleading to begin with. The sweater I am wearing today is about as thick as this material give or take a centimeter so I can also refer to the sweater as a form of insulation. Their use of the term for their product is really a stretch. In reality it isn’t much different than any fleece fabric that they and other companies have sold for 30 years or longer. Anyone who believes what they say about their material will be “fleeced” in my opinion if they purchase a product made with it.

PrimaLoft Company reminds me of the Sunoco Gas Company pumps from the 60’s when they had a dial on the pump that went from I believe 190 octane to 260 octane. When you turned the dial up the price of the gas went up. We joked that there was one quality of gas and six different prices. Well the Primaloft Company in my opinion is basically using one quality of chopped staple polyester fiber even though they have a multitude of names for each one. The latest being a fiber that can be blown through a down blowing machine. Big deal, companies have been doing it for years. I used to work with a company in Fairfield Connecticut. They sold pillows, and they may still be in business today, blowing polyester fiber into a ticking.

What is also appalling is the fact that PrimaLoft, Inc. bills itself as and I quote; “the world leader in providing comfort solutions with high-performance insulations and fabrics”. In all the years I have been in business working with polyester fiberfill for insulation and then as a manufacturer they have never approached me as a possible customer and for good reason. When the Albany International Company first started marketing the Primaloft I told the president of the company that I had and could again make a better product for about one quarter the price. Today what they sell is in my opinion excellent for quilting cheap bed spread material for use in cheap motels.

The undisputed leader in insulations; polyester or down is continuous filament fiber called Climashield which is what I use to make Lamilite but you already knew that. Therefore, Harvest Consumer Insulations is that undisputed producer. As I have told the president of the company one hundred years from now there still not be anything to replace it.

AND FINALLY

Next week I expect to have a picture of the DUCKSBACK pullover on the web site so you who want to can order one. The size range will start at small and go to triple extra-large. Production will start in late January. The price will be about $200.00 each. I want to thank one and all who have shown such a strong interest in this product. The zipper version will follow.