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A New Location

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WIGGY’S OREGON

1132 N.W. Newport Ave.
Bend, Oregon 97702
Contact: Doug Hoschek - [Email]
503-929-4222

I have known Doug for 40 plus years and he is extremely knowledgeable of all that I do. He was responsible for Polar Guard being put on the market and later he was the creator of Polar Fleece. He has lived in the NW since the early 70’s and has been an outdoorsman all these years. So if you live in Oregon you now have a location to see the Wiggy’s products.

For the past 8 years we have had the Wiggy’s Alaska store. This store sells on average 2000 sleeping bags each year and I am confident that Doug will do the same if not better since he is serving a larger population. If any of you are interested in opening a Wiggy’s location in your state drop me a line or call.

1000 FILL POWER DOWN

It was just a matter of time before a company would come out with “1000 fill power down” and it has supposedly happened. The company is Patagonia. How are they doing this since down clusters do not grow that large naturally, by coating the follicles that make up a down cluster with and I quote “a plasma-based coating to create water –repellent down with unparalleled fill power of 1000.” This is accomplished by coating the follicles so they are straightened I guess, otherwise how could the cluster increase in size to increase the fill power? I do not believe it. I also do not believe the other companies that have been selling down filled products and claiming they are using 850 fill power down have ever had 850 fill power down.

Unfortunately those in charge of developing products of an insulated nature do not understand that the larger the down cluster if it existed would not only make a lighter product but a less insulated product. If you place 500 fill power down in a space that is 5 inches high by 30 inches long and 6 inches wide that had a weight of one ounce it would have a specific density. If you were to actually have a 1000 fill power down and placed ½ ounce in the same space from the outside it would look exactly the same, but would it work the same? The answer is an unequivocal NO! The answer is simple you would have ½ the density so warm air rising through the down would have less material to slow the warm air movement. Ultimately less weight and less insulation. Is it any wonder why people are and have been for quite a while been complaining that their expensive down bags have not been keeping them warm when used when the temperature is what the bag is rated fore?

As for the process that the down is being subjected too it is done by a company known as AeronClad and they apply a plasma polymerization to the down clusters. Hence the name “Encapsil” technology. This reminds me of the encapsulated paraffin otherwise known as Outlast. This product also is supposed to have insulating properties.

It would not surprise me to see Patagonia come out with a line of sleeping bags as well as the jackets they are already going to introduce next year. Because Patagonia has a strong name in the market place I expect they will sell some of these garments and sleeping bags if the come out with them. Buyer beware is all I can say.

Wiggy's Signature

Mannequin for Assessing Thermal Properties of Clothing

I was introduced to the copper mannequin located at the Army testing laboratory located at Natick, MA. in 1968. Since then I have become aware of copper mannequins located in several other locations in the USA as well as Canada. Then there is the plastic mannequin located at the REI testing facility in Seattle, WA. [...]

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Made In America?

Will made in America products soon be available at retail stores in the near future? Probably not anytime soon! Why one would ask, because although retailers are asked daily by potential customers for American made products and here I will quote a sleeping bag buyer at a major internet retailer “show me what is not [...]

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The Perpetuation of Significantly Erroneous Information

Since I have been in the textile business, 1961, I have seen a variety of fabric treatments enter into the market place primarily to enhance warmth or repel rain. In the 1960’s one company was weaving aluminum thread into the lining fabric to enhance warmth. One manufacturer used aluminum dust applied to lining fabric to [...]

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Sleeping Bags Must Be Big Business

I have been associated with the sleeping bag business since about 1970. During the years since I have seen either companies endeavor to make sleeping bags to go along with their other products, outerwear or tents or backpacks or some companies were started just to make sleeping bags and in both cases the failure rate [...]

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“Development of Synthetic Down Alternative”? Really

In April 1984 a report was issued called “Development of Synthetic Down Alternative” written by employees of Albany International Research Company for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Center, Natick, MA. The report is 197 pages long. Without going into unnecessary detail having read the report all that I found of value was; if [...]

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A New Use for an Old Technology

Sometime back when DuPont Corporation still manufactured polyester fiber they developed small balls of polyester similar to cotton balls and placed it in pillow ticking for pillows. They called this fiberfill product “cluster fiber”. Since it was never introduced to the outerwear market as an insulating medium I was not aware of its existence. I [...]

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A New Use for an Old Technology; Thermoball Insulation

Sometime back when DuPont Corporation still manufactured polyester fiber they developed small balls of polyester similar to cotton balls and placed it in pillow ticking for pillows. They called this fiberfill product “cluster fiber”. Since it was never introduced to the outerwear market as an insulating medium I was not aware of its existence. I [...]

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The Importance of Insulation to Large Corporations and The U.S. Military

“TEMPERATURE ADAPTIVE INSULATION” is the title of a sources sought notice put out by Department of the Army; Natick Laboratories, Natick, MA. The purpose is to see if industry is working on the making of an insulation that could be used in a single garment that will replace the multiple layers of garments currently utilized. [...]

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Failure Of A Copy Twice By The Same Company

The “Spring 2005” newsletter details an imitation sleeping bag manufactured in China that simulated a Lamilite laminated sleeping bag made by Wiggy’s. While the marketing company, Mountain Hardwear (MH), gave the Chinese factory the materials and manufacturing method the end result was a sleeping bag that looked like a Wiggy’s bag but that is as [...]

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Our Locations  +  Contact

Corporate Office & Factory

To place an order, please contact our corporate office & factory at:

Wiggy’s Inc.
PO Box 2124
Grand Junction, CO 81502

Store Location

2482 Industrial Blvd  •  Grand Junction, CO
(970) 241-6465

+1 (866) 411-6465 f:  (970) 241•5921 e:  

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