January 17, 2008

THE MAKING OF A SLEEPING BAG

     Many years ago I learned when insulation was uniform surrounding an object such as a sleeping bag surrounding a human the heat retention was far superior to a sleeping bag that had high and low spots. The sleeping bags made with quilted insulation have the high and low spots so the high areas trap heat and the low areas let it out precipitously and as it leaves the bag it draws like a fire place the surrounding warm air located in the high areas of the bag. When you have a uniform loft the heat does not escape easily from any area of the bag. So, you stay warmer longer. For more on the subject you can refer to my article “ABOUT WIGGY PRDUCTS” on the web site.

     The lamination of the fiberfill is a sewing aid which is necessary when using continuous filament fiber; this is how I have been able to make sleeping bags that have a uniform loft. It is now 22 years that I have been making sleeping bags in this manner without making any changes; if it is not a problem (broken) why change. That has not been the same experience experienced by the other companies that market sleeping bags (none has a physical factory of their own so they are not actually manufacturers any longer), they are always making changes striving to finally have a sleeping bag that works as they claim. This has been, is and could always be the experience experienced by the people who are in charge of developing a sleeping bag for the military. That is until now.

     I have been told through the grapevine that the primary contract holder Tennier Industries is actively looking either for a laminator (laminating company) or a machine so they can make a Wiggy’s bag for our military. At one time I worked with a staunch competitor of Tennier, Propper International. They were / are desperate to get into the sleeping bag market to compete with Tennier for military contracts. They came to me and I taught them how to make Wiggy’s bags. The first contract they entered they lost to Tennier on price however they didn’t loose on performance. When their bags were tested (Lamilite insulated) at Kansas State Universities Environmental Labs; i.e. the copper-man versus the quilted Tennier bag and they were significantly more efficient. We know the military in almost all cases goes with the lowest price versus performance as they did in this instance. The second time Propper bid against Tennier they were the low bidder I believe but they again did not get the contract because the geniuses who have never made a sleeping bag in their lives rejected their bag because it was not quilted, Tennier bags are quilted. They claimed the fiber would migrate. When I was given the letter from the military stating this ridiculous conclusion I wrote to the base commander letting him know that I did not like being insulted when my method of manufacturing had proven itself from as early 1968. Of course it meant nothing; they love to placate people who demonstrate that they in the government are wrong.

     Sometime in early 2007 the Marines came out with a request of information to get a sleeping system that would weigh almost nothing but keep you warm at 0 degrees. See my newsletter dated May 2007. Propper International decided to submit a sample for evaluation. I discussed with them using Lamilite. Their response was they tried Lamilite and it was rejected, and they alluded to the fact that the military did not want a laminated bag. Imagine that, and now the only manufacturer who has received contracts (Tennier Industries) for sleeping bags since about 1980 is looking for the means to copy Wiggy’s.

     The question is; is Tennier acting on their own and saying to the military our (the Tennier/ Natick) bag isn’t working (if it were working why would the military like the non-military marketers  constantly look for a new bag) and since Wiggy’s is working lets copy him, or is the military saying to Tennier copy Wiggy’s?  It would not surprise me to find out that they; the two of them discussed copying me; just my opinion.   

     In 1987 I received a call from Howard Thier the owner of Tennier Industries. He told me he had a customer who wanted him to make 14,000 sleeping bags but was unable to give him the production time. At the time Wiggy’s was a fledgling company just getting started in the sleeping bag business. Acquiring an order of this magnitude was certainly a feather in my cap. To make a long story short the order grew to 39,200 bags and enabled me to relocate to Grand Junction, Colorado. For his introduction to the company needing all those bags which were for the U.S. government I am very grateful. It helped to put me on the map as a sleeping bag manufacturer and it got me certified as a qualified government contractor. 

     In 1995 the government came out with a solicitation for 202,400 two bag sleep systems. They were supposed to perform from warm conditions (+35 outer bags) to very cold conditions (0 degree inner bag) with a combined capability of -30 F. Tennier was the low bidder. As I recall the low bidder was to make 2400 bags for field evaluation. If they performed the balance of the contract of 200,000 would be ordered. Simply put the field test was the most successful failure that could happen; every user rejected the bag system. There was one opportunity for the bidder to present a bag system that would perform. I called Howard and suggested he give them my bag. He said mine was too expensive. I said the contract had a provision that allowed the price to increase if the bag system worked. He wouldn’t do it. It is easy to lead a horse to water, you know the rest. Had he accepted my offer I would have given him an exclusive at the time since my patent was still in effect. All of these years he would have been producing the Wiggy’s bag under his label for the government and I would have been supplying him with the Lamilite. That was not to be. For the past 13 years Tennier Industries has supplied the military with a bag that has not ever performed except south of Jacksonville, FL., in July (my opinion). As I said earlier if it had performed why look for a new sleeping bag system. Sometimes when someone does you a good turn as Howard did for me you can not no matter how hard you try to be reciprocal. Wiggy’s might not be what it is has become if it not been for Howard.

     Propper International I am told is the single largest supplier of uniforms to the military. They came to me about 7 or 8 years ago wanting to learn how to make sleeping bags. They sent 5 employees here for a week. They learned to make sleeping bags. However even though they found out via independent testing that they were now making the best bag in the world they chose to walk away from it. They observed while at the military offices the short comings of the bag being delivered by Tennier. Propper demonstrated to me an attitude towards the government employees of subservience. Even thought Propper knew they had a better product they refused to stand up to these people; they cowered. Maybe Propper thought they would jeopardize all of the other business they do with the government, who knows.

     The end result of the actions taken or not taken by each of these companies is reprehensible in my opinion. The end item users; the men who serve in the field in the combat zones of our military are short changed when they are issued sleeping bags that simply do not perform as the specifications require.

     At this time I am the sole supplier to the Australian military, and I have been working with other allies of ours and getting inquiries from more of our allies. If enough of the troops of our allies are using Wiggy’s bags maybe a ground swell will occur.

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