starting the day right

WHAT A GREAT WAY TO START THE DAY

Dear Jerry,

While your sleeping bags are GREAT to say the least, in reality how many nights does the average owner of one of your bags use it...a couple dozen at most.

I bought my first Wiggy's bag from BQM in 1995 and like it so much when I needed a couple more in 1999 I called for a catalog and ended up buying two more with a mated set of pads... But the non-bag items that really got my attention were the Sweater and Vest, both at the time being made of the same outer material as the bags, taffeta nylon.

There is just one problem with this pair...I stopped wearing everything else almost entirely ever since. So I have tons of coats that hardly ever get worn. This pair has been to 47 States, Mexico, Canada and South Africa. They have never let me down including in the rain. Worn together with the vest on the outside, I've been out walking at -10 F. Put a set of your chaps on, and windproof jacket and pants -20...

I've deliberately taken hour long walks in the rain in the 30s trying to get wet/cold and it has never soaked through... And this after being washed 1-3 times a year, every year, since 1999...

And so this morning I had noticed that the Sweater had gotten kinda dirty so I through it and the Vest in the washer with a cap full of SPORT WASH (great stuff for washing your Lamilite) and hung it to dry when it was done. About that time I was going outside to get the mail and look around the yard before the blizzard starts tonight and looking at the Sweater though...wonder how warm it is wet... So I took my sweatshirt off leaving just a wool long-sleeved t-shit, put the Sweater on and immediately became "cool".... It is 31* out with an 8-10 mph breeze. I was still "cool" getting the mail...then I walked out back and picked up some downed branches...then took a walk in the woods for an hour... I was cool for less than 10 minutes before everything started getting warm...and finally it was just like the Sweater was dry.

When I got back inside the Sweater was about dry...the hanging Vest was still wet... I have an old LL Bean down sweater that is just like the Wiggy's model...all I could think of what wearing that wet would have been like...in a survival situation...

I have the newer models of both the Sweater and Vest but they only get worn "going out"...from late August to late May you'll usually find me in one of my "old friends"...

Bob

NOT SURPRISED

When I received my mail one piece was an industry magazine. It has a section “FALL/WINTER’19”. Lots of items that will be in the stores for next winter. As for jackets almost all are made with fabrics that feature “waterproof fabric with excellent breathability (20,000mm/39,000 MVTR)”. What do the numbers in parenthesis mean? How about a new name for me to read; the perm by intuitive. Provides air permeability, is also stretchy and was able to hit 20K on the waterproofness scale. What does that mean?

What this means to me is that this is a fact of life with respect to garments made with these bogus fabrics for the foreseeable future. We already know that all of the companies that have been making garments with these same non-performing materials will be selling them so long as they can get away with the con job, and that means others will join in. Everyone wants their piece of the pie.

There were a few mini write ups about new insulations being quilted in a manner that somehow makes them work better, both down and polyester. Of course they were all quilted, so they ignore the reality of the quilt stitching being cold spots. One company is using an insulation that I have never heard of, “verticlex a high loft synthetic. What don’t they identify it as polyester? Maybe in their mind polyester fiberfill has a bad name, which it does if it is chopped staple which is what it is. One company says they have or use "thermacapture seams" that trap radiant heat and retain warmth without adding bulk and weight. Fantastic to learn that it is possible to do the impossible trap radiant heat. this company is saying this about their sleeping bag that uses "eraloft" which is a polyester but they don't say it. They skirt speaking clearly and truthfully about the products they sell or try to sell.

After all is said and done by these high faulting companies they will never receive testimonials about their jackets like I receive.

I am very much of the opinion that exposing all of the fallacies of the many fabrics now being used for outdoor clothing that does not perform will not stop the charlatans from continuing to offer them. What I read in the industry magazines never seems to be used in consumer ads other than the wp/b story.

So I take pride in knowing that Wiggy’s provides products that go beyond what I say about them.