lamilite socks for the motor cyclist

ANOTHER MARKET FOR LAMILITE SOCKS

The other day one of my customers sent me a link to a web site that deals in motorcycle garments and one of the products shown; his reason for sending the link, was the most incredible socks that a motor cyclist could wear to keep his/her feet warm.

They were nothing more than a over the calf or calf high stretch sock. These socks are basically no different than any other knitted sock. Since they are synthetic close fitting, actually form fitting any and all moisture emitted from your feet will not get away from your foots skin surface so that moisture just like the moisture trapped in wool socks will draw heat from your feet and your toes will get cold. Once your toes are cold the next area of discomfort is your arches, after being on a bike for an hour or two when you get off of the bike walking is unpleasant.

Speaking of unpleasant as I reported a week or so ago the army has purchased any number of socks from more than one manufacturer to have the soldiers based at Fort Wainwright in Alaska to test. It is my opinion they will love them when they put them on but once they start experiencing cold feet, they will find the new socks unpleasant. Why (?) because the sweat from their feet has been absorbed by these socks and the moisture as well as the fabric will be absorbing the heat their feet are producing. In addition they will be wearing combat boots that are goretex lined and probably thinsulate lined as well.

I am thinking a number of years ago, maybe the late 1990’s I was working with three officers based in Ft. Wainwright who had purchased my two-bag system (SUPER LIGHT FTRSS RATED FOR AS COLD AS -40 F) and

they went into the field and used them at I believe – 60 F or there about. If you scroll down in my testimonials you will come across the actual account written up by the LT. COL., who was one of the three. They presented their experience to the CG but he rejected buying 1500 bags from Wiggy’s, maybe to expensive, who knows why, however, this Lt. Col., was the commandant of the paratroop unit and he was able to buy my bags for his men. That unfortunately was the only time my bags were purchased for any unit at Ft. Wainwright.

I am very sure those soldiers who go into the field during the winter months are uncomfortable because they are most likely sleeping in their clothing which has retained all of the body moisture that they have produced all day. Since and I believe this to be true the bags are inefficient at trapping their heat they generally experience being cold. If they were in my bags they would find-out in short order each night they would sleep because they are warm and they as well as their clothing would be dry. If this is the case with civilians as we know from the hundreds who have written to me having this experience it will also happen with soldiers. How do I know, easy every soldier is a human being and as such will experience the same thing a civilian experience because every civilian is a human being as well.

I have spent as I know thousands of you out there have in cold snow conditions and you know how easily it is to sweat since you are moving slowly in snow conditions and you are wearing several layers of clothing, you also learn very quickly that stopping means you will get a chill very quickly. This is just what happens and there is no further discussion. Of course if one is wearing fishnet underwear the chill does not happen for all the reasons I have previously expressed.

What I do not understand is why those hired by the government to work in the field of improving the clothing worn by soldiers do not and I mean DO NOT take into consideration “the worst enemy of the human being soldier or civilian is the sweat produced by the individual specifically in a cold climate”. It is as if these people were born and raised in south Florida and come to the north thinking they can make products that work by visiting shows like Outdoor Retailer and visiting with people who have no knowledge of insulations or what will work in cold conditions. Since these folks were raised in south Florida, they just succumb to the verbiage that is wrong. They further do not understand that goretex used in any garment from footwear to headwear and every garment in between will very successfully retain 100 PERCENT of the individuals sweat the primary reason the soldier gets cold and I believe have foot sores. What we have here is a perfect example of the deaf dumb and blind leading the deaf dumb and blind.

The purpose of this article is to make it very clear that the moisture each individual gives off as sweat is their worst enemy when you are in cold conditions.

Whatever the company is that is selling what they think of as winter socks to motor cyclists is no less a charlatan than the w.l. gore company and all the rest of the retailers who shout how wonderful their waterproof breathable products are.

There are two things I would like to make as clear as one can about something, the something being body produced moisture which is dangerous if you cannot allow it to move away from your skin surface and number two; ALL of those who work in this industry and those who work for the military have no knowledge of what they are doing. There is an old adage that states “cotton kills” when you are in a cold environment, well so does any close- knit material regardless if it is made from natural or synthetic fibers because they knit the fabrics with the yarns close to each other.

The moral of this story if it is one is to wear fishnets and loose-fitting clothing.

One last note by no means the least is that if not for Lamilite/Climashield my bags and clothing wouldn’t perform as they do when it comes to wet anything.