A Very Nice Picture

Adak Island, Alaska - September 2018

Obviously they are hunters and they are wearing Wiggy’s Multicam Cagoule’s. The Multicam pattern is best in Alaska since that is the only camo pattern we sell in the state of Alaska.

I was reading some comments on the Alaska Forum about winter boots. It is quite remarkable to me that these guys are wearing liner socks and heavy wool socks and they still have cold feet and do nothing about it. They also have wet feet and socks that are wet. Not one comment included a statement about whether or not the boots were lined with goretex but I am sure they are. Alaska is a very wet environment and people who live there should know to wear clothing from head to foot that is not affected by water. Unfortunately so many just like the guys who participate on this forum choose to ignore their own experience and continue to I guess believe that some company is making a wool sock that will keep their feet warm just like the guys who think that goretex will work because some other company has made a boot that they never bought from before.

Maybe someday these guys will finally understand that moisture in any environment starting at a temperature of 50 degrees F and lower is you’re enemy. Obviously the lower the temperature environment you are in the faster the moisture that is coming out of your body is going to get cold and therefore will absorb the heat that your body is giving off very quickly with the result to you of getting chilled. There is no getting around this action. The body will do whatever it has to, to protect itself and by not wearing clothing that will allow the moisture you produce to easily escape from you the more uncomfortable you are going to be.

What I continually find astounding is the number of people who claim correctly so that they have cold feet, why (?) see above. The fact that they choose not to understand what they have experienced leads to not wanting to continue to stay out because once their feet get cold walking becomes a burden. What I also find astounding is the fact that so many do not go back to the source of the footwear such as the store they were purchased from and return these products because they failed to perform as advertised. If a person who purchases any product that is falsely advertised that does not perform it should be returned. If this were the case almost every jacket and boot made with goretex would have been returned years ago and the result would have been the early demise of goretex. Tragically that did not happen, but it may in the future, not too distant I hope.

Big Box Sporting Goods Stores

I keep reading about big box stores opening more and more locations such as Dick’s, Bass Pro, REI, L L Bean, Sportsman’s Warehouse, and Gander outdoors to name a few. I foresee the eventual demise of the independent one store outdoor products retailer. These chains will ultimately buy the same items from their suppliers and the volume will be so great they will not want to deal with the one store entity unless the one store entity will buy what the big box has bought. Of course the one store entity will not get the same pricing due to the small volume.

The suppliers will eventually be directed by the big box what to make and whatever creativity still exists in the industry which is very limited in my opinion, will now disappear completely. The quality of product will further deteriorate as has been the case for some time now. The big box stores are run by corporate managers who have a fiduciary responsibility to their stock holders and the bottom line profit margin takes precedence over product quality. It is always in the best interest of the big box to have product that will never last more than one season at best. That is planned obsolescence!!!

The manufacturers make claims that they have finally improved their product over the one that was sold last season, only aside from color the new product does not look any different nor will it work differently, failure is the name of the game. If it doesn’t fail how can it be improved upon? This is the philosophy of government development, as it is a guarantee of job security. If you succeed in making a product that lasts and lasts why change it? That is my philosophy, why change when you have a product that just works as it was intended. My sleeping bags have been made the exact same way as I made them when I had Olam Outdoor Sports Company. The only thing that has changed is the quality of the insulation, Lamilite made from Climashield is far superior to Lamilite that was made with Polar Guard. The construction, nylon and zippers are the same, and that has been since 1977. I have job security because I make products that do not fail.

In the event you are not aware that Walmart acquired a small retail chain named Moosejaw and some months later they at Walmart decided to open a new upscale web site to sell premium outdoor product brands. These were brands carried by Moosejaw but some of the brands said they would not allow it. The reality is that Walmart needs to compete with Amazon. The face of retail is surely changing. Who is the loser with all of these shenanigans going on; THE CONSUMER!!!

Every retailer is going to have the very same products with color changes and whoever has the lowest price gets the customer. All of these big box stores are what I call drug stores wanting to carry every product they can. How well they pay is another concern for the suppliers. That is why I have steadfastly remained a mail order company.

Just remember when you go into a big box store you are going to get if you buy products that will probably not meet expectations for what they are advertised to do and they will need replacement next year.