I am not an economist, I am a manufacturer and as such I must make decisions about the most efficient ways of producing that which I make and sell. At this time Wiggy’s is for all intents and purposes the last manufacturer of sleeping bags in the USA. There are two or three companies that [...]
A commonly used expression these days is “that’s a no brainier.” What does it actually mean; that you do not have a brain! However, it appears that its use is when something appears obvious you do not have to think about whatever it is that is obvious. That is a contradiction, if in fact you [...]
The need to remove moisture from the skin surface of the human body in order to stay comfortable has I believe become paramount to the fiber, fabric and garment manufacturers. They have recognized there is a problem and they are making enormous effort to solve the problem. That is as rapidly as possible get the [...]
This is the title of an article published in Outdoor Business magazine. The writer Lou Dzierzak decided to do some research into the temperature ratings applied to sleeping bags having noted a wide disparity at specialty outdoor stores. He further found there is no true formal standard for temperature ratings. He then heard of R.E.I.’s [...]
I do not know about other industries other than the outdoor industry so I wonder if people with knowledge in other industries experience seeing, reading the many talk forums pertaining to that industry and also see, read erroneous information. People who are I expect legitimate ask questions about one product or another and someone [...]
The greatest form of flattery is when a company that wants to compete with you makes an effort to copy what you have done. A few years ago the Mountain Hardwear Company chose to copy the Wiggy’s bags by laminating a continuous filament fiberfill and making a sleeping bag. I reported their effort in [...]
In 1968 I became aware of the US Army Research and Development Center, (USARDC) Natick, MA. I was at the time the sales director for the first company that ever produced the continuous filament fiberfill for Celanese; it was named Polarguard. We introduced the product to Natick and they actually embraced it at the time. [...]
We, the working class of America in my opinion can produce any product in the world and probably as good as or better than can be produced in any other country. Toyota and Honda are perfect examples of companies that set up production in America; you know how particular the Japanese market is about quality; [...]
I recently received a copy of Shake n Bake Sergeants by Jerry Horton. During the Vietnam War we needed sergeants and the army set up a program to train men who showed leadership ability to be sergeants in 12 weeks. The term “shake n bake” came from the product that also came about in the [...]
Dehydration in a cold environment is a far greater risk to humans than when it occurs in a temperate environment. When you are generating sweat from work or play when the weather is warm the body’s normal mechanism is a chain reaction to the sweating. The body sweats, causing the blood volume to decrease (water [...]