testimonials and facts

EXCELLENT PRODUCT REVIEW AND NEW INFORMATION AS TO WHY GORTEX AND THE LIKE FAIL

Wiggy,

I'd like to share yet another experience with your O* Super Light rectangular bag with hood.

I've known for years that I can count on your bags to be warm at their advertised temperature ratings, unlike other bags I've used, but I had an experience a few nights ago that really impressed me.

I use my bag the most, from early through late fall hunting and generally in temps down to 10* F, but I've spent many comfortable nights in it in the low single digits, to zero. I've slept out in the open, with nothing but a tarp over my bag in those temps on more than one occasion and I've never been cold.

I used my Super Light a couple nights this past week, with the nighttime temps predicted to be in the single digits. I woke up the first morning as warm and comfortable as usual and I was surprised to see that it was -11* F when I looked at my thermometer.

Granted, it was a calm night, but I spent it under a makeshift tarp shelter, on a couple not so great ground pads. This is all the more impressive, considering the fact that I'm not as young and tough as I used to be and I have some circulation problems.

I've used nothing but Wiggy's bags since I bought one used in the 80's and I won't even consider using another brand. They're awesome bags and I know from years of use, through thick and thin, that I can always count on them. They're made to stand up to hard use, they're very comfortable, and they're not only warm at their advertised temperature ratings, but they’re also warm well below them.

I've never owned another sleeping bag that offers so much value for your money and I tried a bunch of them before I discovered Wiggy's bags.

Thank you and the others at Wiggy's for making such a great bag, a bag you can count on to keep you warm and comfortable even below its rating.

Bob Smith

Bob people out there really appreciate review such as yours, thank you.

And an appropriate testimonial about keeping feet warm.

1.Impressed with The Sunwalkers

I'm in my late 30s and being from Canada I grew up in pack boots, the old made in Canada Sorels with the felt liner is what I wore 5-6 months out of the year.

I bought new pack boots 5 years ago from Sorel only to find out that the boots are now made-in-china junk, the company was bought by Columbia sportswear USA and now everything is made in china.

I only remember having cold feet with my made-in Canada ones on very rare occasions (-40c/-40F), but always had cold feet with the cheap Chinese-made boots, they're useless below -10c/14F, I tried very heavy-duty wool socks inside them and still cold feet.

I suspect that Columbia sportswear being based out of Oregon has no clue about the cold and isolation, so they tell the Chinese to make the boots with thinner materials and the Chinese do and then the Chinese probably source the worst quality materials they can find so they can make a profit. That's the new sorel boots for you.

Since the heavy wool socks failed, I started looking for quality liners. I decided to give the Sunwalkers a try and wow, what a difference they make. it's like a brand new pair of pack boots, these are better than the made-in Canada felt liners from old.

They are truly incredible, even wearing cotton socks my feet stay warm. Combining with the Lamilite socks it blows anything I’ve tried out of the water. You can really walk fast and hard and not worry about cold feet (my feet do feel clammy though, but when I touch them they are dry)

Next year, I will be buying Kamik pack boots for made-in Canada quality and combine them with the Sunwalkers and Lamilite socks for the ultimate winter combo.

Once I buy my Kamik pack boots, I'll get the Sunwalkers booties tailored if they need it.

They're simply the best liners I've ever had, if you're hesitant just stop, get the Sunwalkers, and say goodbye to cold feet.

If Wiggys made kids sizes I would buy all sizes for my kids' boots.
Please make kids sizes for the Sunwalkers.

– K.D.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM THE ZEUS TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER ON “LOW TEMPERATURE PROPERTIES ON POLYMERS”

HOW TEMPERATURE AFFECTS POLYMERS AND THE GORETEX FILM IS A POLYMERMost plastics at room temperature show their familiar properties of flexibility (a low Young’s modulus) and high resistance to cracking but when the temperature decreases this can change rapidly and many common plastics become brittle with low failure stresses. Low temperatures can be more harmful to plastics than high temperatures. Catastrophic failures can occur if materials selection does not take account of the low temperature properties of plastics. What are low temperatures for plastics? Plastics consist of long chain molecules that are entangled with one another. The degree of entanglement varies with the length and exact shape of the polymer molecule. A basic model to visualize this is to consider a bowl of cooked spaghetti – it is tangled up and each strand of spaghetti can be thought of as a long chain polymer molecule. When spaghetti has just been cooked and is still warm the long strands can ‘slither’ over one another and the spaghetti easily takes up the shape of the plate or bowl. However, when the spaghetti is cooled then the strands begin to stick to one another and the individual strands of spaghetti no longer slither about – the spaghetti becomes fixed in the shape of the bowl and is much easier to handle but less tasty. Similarly, long chains in most polymers at moderate temperatures are able to slither over one another and the material is flexible and does not crack – they are considered to be in a ‘rubbery’ state. As the temperature is decreased, most polymers begin to stiffen up and they go through what is known as the ‘glass transition’ to become effectively glassy solids with all the properties of glass i.e., they become very hard and also very brittle. This is shown in the graph below for a typical polymer and the stiffness can rapidly increase by a factor of 10000 or more in the glass transition region:

I am a layman about this since it is new information for me to digest. But the simplest explanation as it pertains to the goretex is when the temperature drops the polymer that the film is made from starts cracking.

You are out in the field wearing a goretex rain jacket and it starts to rain. The temperature drop and the water is cold. This drop in temperature affects the polymer that the goretex is made from. The polymer i.e., goretex gets cold and the film starts to crack and after a while you begin to notice the rainwater seeps via deleterious water action. This means water will find its way through any available opening.

You’re out hunting and you are wearing boots that have the goretex film laminated to the inside of the upper [top of the boot] which is exposed to the atmosphere. The atmosphere is cold and you happen to walk through a puddle or stream, after all you are wearing waterproof boots. But after a while you begin to notice water in the boots. Could be the strands of polymers have started cracking due to the cold conditions so the boots have failed.

I have written for years explaining that waterproof and breathable materials like goretex and all of the others do not and can not work. This is now the first time I have learned why the material fails due to temperature conditions.

How about all of the glove companies who make ski gloves and I think literally all of those who buy these gloves regardless if they ski or not have cold hands. The polymer in the gloves is cracking and allowing water in.

I do not think it is necessary to give more examples; the stuff doesn’t work.

That said, if you want to write to me with a full explanation of why you believe the goretex has not performed for you as advertised and want to be a part of a class action lawsuit against gore write it to me and I’ll submit it to the attorney and he will contact you if he believes there is a case.

One more note; when the pandemic people told me, they called gore to see if the goretex was appropriate to use for face masks. They were told it wasn’t but I understand now they are trying to make a face mask. I would call them two faced.