two responses

TWO RESPONSES TO LAST NIGHTS ARTICLE

Hi, Jerry

I looked this up, it's in Wikipedia! It's called the tragedy of Antuco of 2005. Five companies of conscript teenagers, a little under five hundred of them, were sent into the mountains by Major Patricio Cereceda. They were around five thousand feet above sea level when they got hit by a storm and caught in a whiteout. Only one company had winter survival gear. The sergeants had objected to the risk, the officers brown-nosed. Forty-five died. Ten were cited for heroism, nine officers were punished including the major who got 5 years in prison but was paroled after 3 years and nine months.

Worst peacetime disaster in Chilean military history, for the want of decent sleeping bags! That's why I've got an overbag , Superlight, and Antarctic bag. I can't remember the last time I've slept cold outdoors.

Charles

[Charles thank you for the letter as it corrected the date, in 2001 the Navy SEALS were on a training exercise on Fort Richardson Alaska when sixteen men were caught in a snowstorm for several days and they had to be medevac’d back to the base hospital. Twelve had frost bite and hypothermia. All survived.

The common denominator to each incident was the fact that all of the sleeping bags used at the time were insulated if you want to call it that with a chopped staple fiberfill product. I know this because Wiggy’s is the only company in the world that uses a continuous filament fiberfill insulation, Lamilite. Had they been using my Lamilite sleeping bags there would not have been any casualties.

In the case of the SEAL’s, they were using sleeping bags made with primaloft, a chopped staple fiberfill product. I do not know what bags the Chilean military had.

Two more reasons to stay away from chopped staple fiberfill so called sleeping bags.]

Mr. Wigutow,

In late 1995 I became honored to serve in the 10th Special Forces Group (A) at Fort Carson, CO. The unit had just moved there after the closing of Fort Devens, MA. Of course, everyone was issued the standard “green worm” sleeping bag but I remember after arriving to Colorado, the guys in the teams could buy what we wanted (within reason). I don’t know who produced it and I don’t really care but we had a Wiggy’s bag. For my entire tenure with the Special Forces, I never saw anyone use their “green worm” because we all had a Wiggy’s. In the late ninety’s I purchased a Wiggy’s bag for my personal use. I liked the bag so much that instead of the Army issue bags, I always took my Wiggy’s on all seven of my deployments throughout the 2000’s and 2010’s and it has never worn out. I still have it today and used it most recently this past spring. When I retired from the Army after 28 years, I turned in my Tennier bag…still wrapped in plastic. I had it for 12 years and never used it once because I always had your bag.

Now that I’m retired however, I need to buy another bag for a warmer climate (60-70 degree bag) and when I can, I will buy it from you.

For the past 25+ years I have always recommended your bag and if I had one complaint, it would be that it’s too good.

From a retired soldier to a merchant, I want to thank you for your service. Because of what you do and what you make I was able to do my job and be well rested (as much as one can be). I know I’m just one person but you have a customer for life.

Phillip

[Phillip thank you for your historical account of your use of my bags.

I did supply 10th SFG when they went into Bosnia with Ultima Thule bags and mukluks. Then I received an order from the 150^th Infantry also in Germany for Ultima Thule’s because the 10^th group told them to buy them.

Some time in the 1990’s after 1995 we received a huge order for the SUPER LIGHT FTRSS model from 10^th group at Ft. Carson. I would be interested to know how many returned their issue bags unused.]

When I was starting the manufacture of my sleeping bag’s I started making them private label for a company called Brigade Quartermaster in GA. they been using north face with minimums of three hundred bags per order. I was able to give them whatever they wanted such as 5,10,20, or even three hundred if needed. As time went by the business faltered but I had already become known to the military so I was receiving orders directly from the small units.

As time went by other companies the makers of the no sleep sleeping bags using chopped staple fiberfill stepped in to compete with me. They offered their piss poor non-performing trash at a lower price which they still do today. So, I lost out for the most part.

Over the years I have received e mails from gsa contractors for pricing of various bags in quantities of 50 to 500 and in almost all cases I never get an order because some charlatan company comes along with what they claim is an equal to a Wiggy bag at a much lower cost.

I do not care as Wiggy sales to the general population of the USA far exceeds any other company that gets their products made in Asia.

Have you ever heard of one of those company owners or representative ever step up to extoll the benefits of what they are getting made in Asia, hell no. Why is that [?] because they know the bags do not work and therefore, they can’t say anything good about them, other than how nice they look. The same holds true for the military suppliers. The reason I believe is because they whoever they are have never used what they are selling especially in cold weather conditions.

Over the 34 years I have been Wiggy’s I have received well over one thousand letters just like Charles and Phillip with a significant number from military personnel active as well as retired, something I am very proud of.