smarts in the outdoor industry do not exist

Wiggy's Standard Ground Pad

After using my Wiggy's pad over the past winter, through spring and now midway through the summer here in the Northeastern U.S., I feel that I've used it enough and under a wide enough variety of conditions, to be able write an honest review.

I bought the Wiggy's pad based on my experience with their sleeping bags. They're built to withstand hard use, they're the most comfortable bags I've ever had the pleasure of sleeping in and in my experience, they're warm well below their temperature ratings.

My Wiggy's ground pad is no different. It's a very well made and rugged pad, comfortable and very warm. I've used it directly on snow and frozen ground with nothing but a cheap poly tarp over my Wiggy's 0* Super Light, in temps down to -11* F and been perfectly warm and comfortable and I've never felt a hint of cold through the pad.

I've always carried and had to use two closed cell foam pads to insulate me from the ground in cold weather and at times I've had to use my coat and other clothing between the above mentioned pads and my bag to avoid feeling the cold through them.

With my Wiggy's pad, I just squeeze the quick release buckles on the built in compression straps, unroll my pad, which lays flat, by the way, lay my sleeping bag on top, crawl in and sleep warm and comfortable at half the bulk of the 2 CCF pads that didn't work half as well.

This is my new all season pads. It's comfortable enough to replace my inflatable warm weather pad, it can't go flat and there's no valve to deal with. It's warmer than any of the other pads I've used, alone, or in combination and like Wiggy's bags, it works as advertised and it's made to last for years. Another great product from Wiggy's, I just wish I'd gotten one sooner.

Bob Smith

It is once again a great pleasure to read a story about how well Wiggy products perform. So, a BIG thank you to Bob.

THE INCREDIBLE SOMETIMES DOES HAPPEN

Sometime in the 1980’s Marmot Mountain Works was the poster child for the Gore company and they started making goretex shell sleeping bags. the idea was to have a waterproof/breathable shell fabric with down filling for insulation. So, you would stay warm and dry.

There were problems. Stuffing the bag was difficult because getting the air out of the bag too superhuman strength. Once in the stuff sack at the end of a day of hiking you would have to remove the bag from the stuff sack only to discover it did not start puffing up because the goretex fabric on the inside stuck to itself. This was just like saran wrap will do. Pulling the bag apart took the same effort as stuffing it.

Now you may ask why I am writing about this. Yesterday I was contacted by a fellow who wanted an arctic sleeping bag because he was going on the alone program I suspect. He wanted to know about Wiggy bags shedding water because he was considering a goretex down bag. I asked who was making one since I hadn’t heard about one since the Marmot debacle. He told me it was being made by Mountain Hardwear. I did find it on the internet and the cost is $850.00, it is at this time not on the MH website. It is called the phantom.

The people who are involved with sleeping bag development at MH were not born when Marmot made their product. So, they have no knowledge of the debacle and the salespeople at gore also have no knowledge of the past.

As you can see the incredible sometimes does happen, as in the past will repeat itself especially when it comes to stupidity. The gore people as well as the MH people are just that simply stupid. Nobody actually thinks, if there was one person who did think they would have said “how does the air get out”? but no one did because no one involved with the project thinks.

There is no doubt in my mind a few of these bags will be sold and I like to think returned, but who knows. By the way the bag is rated for -30 F, a pipe dream.

What is incredible is the stupidit,,,.