| The freezing hunter that I am
referring to is not one who is lost, but is the average hunter who
is dressed wrong, for the weather. Why is he dressed wrong? Because
the so-called outfitters to the mass hunting market are offering
clothing items that promote the retention of moisture.
As many of you know I have written
extensively about the danger of moisture on the skin surface in a
cold environment. I have explained what should be worn that will
allow moisture to escape so you stay dry and warm.
I recently received a copy of the
Cabela's catalog, dated fall '98. They consider themselves the
"world's foremost outfitter of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear." I
disagree. They may be the largest single retailer, but they
certainly do not sell the best available. As a point of fact, I
believe that most of the outerwear garments they sell promotes being
cold. They are not alone, the products they buy and put in their
catalog are also available from other retailers, although, they are
sold under different labels.
After reading the limited information
about the materials used, I called Cabela's. I inquired about
the composition of the shell materials used. All of the shell
fabrics are made with some cotton content such as 70 percent
polyester and 30 percent cotton. The cotton is used in the fabric
blend to make the fabric soft. The fabric is then brushed or napped.
This process is actually detrimental, since it weakens the fabric.
The primary reason to
create a brushed surface is to make the fabric
quiet. Hunters want the shell fabrics of their jackets and bibs to
be as noiseless as possible. However, if you are in a
situation where snow is falling, as it melts, the fabric is going to
absorb the water. The brushed surface holds the snow much more
efficiently than does a smooth-surface fabric. As the heat rises
from your body and causes the snow to melt, the cotton content of
the material absorbs the water.
The garment now gains weight from the
water it has absorbed, and the wet part of the garment absorbs
heat-from guess who-you! Not an efficient garment, but that doesn't
stop them. Let's examine what they are advising you to wear under
this outer garment.
The first layer they recommend in
their advertisement is some long underwear that is of an extremely
dense knit. Some are either all silk or silk and wool. Each of these
materials is guaranteed to absorb themoisture you release. The rest
are polyester which don't absorb moisture; however, the knit is so
dense that moisture hasn't much chance getting through it. Although
they state that moisture will be wicked away from your body, how
that is accomplished is a mystery. I do not believe anyone at the
company can explain it. So, now you have a wet jacket and wet
skin surface. Starting to feel chilled? If you were in the woods
with these garments on, you would. And it doesn't end here
either.
Let's check what type of insulation
goes into these garments. How about Liteloft; I have written
extensively about this product. Again I will say that it is unfit
for use as an insulation in anything. All manufacturers of sleeping
bags in the U.S., to the best of my knowledge, have learned how bad
a product it is, and no longer use it. Sooner or later the outerwear
manufacturers will learn the same thing.
Is it any wonder that I get more and
more calls for my products from hunters? Each year I hunt the third
season here in Colorado. Most of the hunters who come to the
outfitter I hunt with come from eastern states. They generally have
Cabela's products and they are always uncomfortably cold. Some ask
me get products shipped to camp for them, which is gratifying.
Others call me a year later, before the new season.
So, if any of you can identify with
the above senario, give me a call and I'll be happy to share with
you what I have learned while hunting at altitude, the first week of
November here in Colorado.
EXPOSE
During the past year people who have
surfed the Internet for information about camping equipment have
probably logged on to the Backpacker Web site at one time or another
and possibly noted the "flame war" created whenever the Wiggy brand
or my name appeared. There have also been individuals who have taken
direct aim at me personally. When this situation got out of hand, I
appealed to the Backpacker site managers to remove every post
regardless of the nature of the comment. That would include the most
glowing of comments too. They have cooperated to a point, but refuse
to remove everything including references to me, even though my name
is not mentioned. Since the management of the
Backpacker magazine has had a bone of contention with
me for some years, it is possible they are allowing one fellow the
leeway to say what he wants, for them. Therefore, I am going to
present all of the facts, which I have documented to prove beyond
question that they the management of Backpacker would very much like
it if Wiggy's Inc. did not exist.
Now the facts:
David Getchell, the equipment editor
wanted to get a bag for review and called me in June 1988. "He said
he wanted to get a bag." I told him I would sell him a bag, not give
him a bag. He agreed to purchase an Ultra Light, and it was shipped
June 6, 1988, Wiggy invoice #9922. The bag was never paid
for.
Some weeks later I received a call
from Larry Amkraut. Larry told me he had received the bag from David
to review for the magazine. I did not know Larry prior to that
call. Larry happens to have walked across the U.S. in the
early 1980s and wrote a book about it, so this qualified him to test
products. In all fairness to Larry, he is the best product- tester
I've ever dealt with. He walked from the New Mexico-Mexico border to
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Most of his trip was with a Wiggy bag. Although
he did receive bags from other manufacturers, I'm happy to say he
always came back to Wiggy's.
In any event, Larry submitted his
review, as far as I can tell, in November 1988. The review was not
published. I inquired as to why it wasn't. Tom Shealy, one of the
editors, told me, and I quote, "Larry wrote verbatim what was
written in your catalog."
Shortly after the conversation I
received my complimentary issue of Backpacker. In it appeared an
article by Cindy Ross reviewing a Kelty bag. (I wonder what happened
to her, she is not listed in the current Backpacker credits.) She
incorrectly stated in the article that the bag was somehow
constructed using a lamination process.
David Getchell also reviewed a bag
from Gold-Eck, an Austrian company.
Having read these reviews, I wrote to
John Viehman, executive editor of Backpacker pointing out that all
of the information used in each of the articles came right out of
the companies' literature. And in the case of Ross's reference to
lamination, it came out of the air.
At the time I wrote to Viehman, I had
still not seen the review written by Larry, so I had no idea what or
how much information came from my catalog. My letter was dated 28
November 1988.
I received the following response on
or: dated 30 January 1989.
"Dear Mr. Wigutow:
I'm sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with
BACKPACKER.
It's not
our policy to share our product reviews with manufacturers
in
advance of
publication. And ultimately what appears in the magazine
is
independent of the
advertising side; we're primarily interested in
serving our readers' interests,
which in the end serves our advertisers'
interests.
It's unfortunate that you've decided to withdraw your
advertising but I'm not clear on
your rationale for doing it. If it's
because we failed to run a review of your pack,
then you're taking us to
task for maintaining our editorial
independence. That independence
translates into credibility with our readers,
which in turn creates a
unique environment for your advertising
message. In the end, that
credibility spills over to the advertiser, as
I'm sure you've
discovered.
(What I specifically wrote to Viehman was:" If your
underlings
who are responsible
for reporting to your readers about the new
products, etc. were doing their jobs, they
would know what over 110,000
purchasers of Wiggy's sleeping bags already
know..Wiggy bags are simply
the best. I then decided not to advertise in
Backpacker any longer. I
relented several years later, but I recently
terminated the advertising.)
Tom Shealy [one of the
editors] described one part of the
problem we encountered with Larry Amkraut's
equipment review. It was a
major item, however, enough to make us question
the integrity of the
entire piece. A kill fee was issued and rights
to the manuscript were
returned to Larry.
Since technically we no longer own rights to Larry's manuscript, we
had to gain his permission to photocopy it and send it to you for
review. Please be aware that what you've received belongs to him,
not BACKPACKER. If you want to discuss any part of it, you should
call him directly and leave a message. He is currently hiking
the
Continental Divide
Trail, which is why it has taken us this long to respond to your
request.
Finally, I'm compelled to add that your approach to this situation
appears to be counterproductive. Your letter affords no middle
ground for either party."
It was signed John Veihman, Executive
Editor.
What follows is Larry's
review.
What if there was a
sleeping bag that had the longevity of down,
and the low price and wet weather insulating
abilities of a synthetic?
Nice
bag, wouldn't you agree? Jerry Wigutow, the founding genius
of
Wiggy's Bags might just
have the sleeping bag.
Jerry Wigutow is no
newcomer to manufacturing sleeping bags. Twenty
years ago he developed the technology for
laminating Polarguard. He
worked with the U.S. Army Testing Labs, Natick,
Ma. and the Paul
Petzoldt
National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) in Lander, WY. He
determined that non-quilted
Polarguard was the most effective way to use
it. But, no one else wanted to use it
non-quilted. His lamination
concept allowed for a smooth outer shell (no
stitch marks at the end of
baffles as in quality down) and the bags do not
look like all the best
bags on
the market. So, since others didn't want to work with him, he
made his own bags and jackets using
his laminated Polarguard under the
name Olam Outdoor Sports Products.
His present
bags are made using the same construction method. But,
now he uses Lamilite T insulation.
Lamilite T is an UNBONDED silicone
coated continuous filament fiber. Lamilite T
physically adheres to the
nylon fabric, eliminating the need to quilt it
(as in other synthetic
bags)
to prevent migration. To further stabilize the LamiliteT each
component is safety stitched around
the edge, then double needled
together. This permanently locks the LamiliteT
in place and causes it to
uniformly drape around the sleeper. Unlike
Polarguard it has no resin
sprayed on it, it is unadulterated pure
continuous filament fiber (resin
can absorb water e.g. when a sleeping bag is
washed. This will then
destroy
a bag's loft.) It stays lofty and resilient.
All right, all right
already, how well does the bag work? I used a
Wiggy's Ultra Light for four summer nights in
Tuolemme Meadows in
Yosemite's
high country, and many other nights along the central
California coast. The temperatures
never hit freezing, but I am
confident that I would have slept comfortably
at the bags listed +20
rating.
The price, a mere
$100.00 (today the bag is $146.00) for a bag that
weighs less than three pounds (2 3/4) (Actually
it weighed 3 1/4 pounds,
I've
never been comfortable putting a bag on the market lighter in
weight with a +20 degree rating.) Has
a draft tube set in with the
zipper (no cold air enters here) and should
take most sleepers
comfortably
below freezing.
Sure, Lamilite stays
lofty and resilient, but for how long? What is
its durability? Will it go flat as some
synthetics do after just a few
seasons use? We at Backpacker cannot answer
that, the bags too new; they
just haven't been around long enough yet. But,
Jerry Wigutow feels so
strongly that continuous filament fiber when
used properly is the most
efficient insulation in the world that he
guarantees the loft of his
sleeping bags for life. That's right, for
life!
So, if you want a bag that will take you below freezing,
weighs
under 3 lbs., can be
easily maintained (machine washed) and has its loft
guaranteed for life, drop a line
to:
(He gave my old address in South
Carolina.)
Having now read the review I wrote to
Viehman stating that I still didn't understand why it was
rejected.
I pointed out that at Backpacker's
request Larry used the bag. Having found the bag a good bag,
Larry researched the manufacturer and designer, as he had no
previous knowledge of either.
After which he wrote the
article.
I further noted that I had read
articles on the subject of insulation since the mid' 60s and could
tell who had done research or not, pointing out two additional
articles in the Backpacker that were obviously not
researched.
Jim Chase had an article in the July
1987 issue, "Heavenly Rest." He notes that Polarguard is "long
staple insulator." Long staple polyester fiber does not exist. (Had
Chase been in the industry for any length of time he would have
known what Polarguard is: continuous filament fiber. It's only been
used by sleeping bag manufacturers since 1969.)
Article #2 was written by Marita
Begley, July 1987 issue, titled "Behind the Label". This was a story
about Caribou Mountaineering. The crux of the article dealt with the
construction of the Caribou bags. They called it "louver
loft." Louver loft is nothing more than a fancy term for "shingle
construction," which has been a main stay of North Face bags since
1971. They, The North Face used Hollofill fiberfill sandwiched
between two scrims. This proved to be a disaster, so they went to
Polarguard in 1976.
(In 1982 or '83 I was contacted by
Camp 7, and asked to put together a laminated package that could be
used for constructing sleeping bags similar to what North Face was
doing. The package included a scrim on either side of a fiberfill
product known as Hollobond II. Camp 7 closed before many of these
bags were made, I know, because I was one of two factories that made
them. Both, myself and the other manufacturer walked away from
making them because they were too labor intensive.)
Camp 7 sold out to Bristle Cone
Mountaineering. Almost immediately Bristle Cone sold out to Caribou.
Caribou management told Begley they invented the construction. Had
Begley been in the business she would have known about the shingle
construction as everyone else did.
I included with my letter a copy of my
catalog and articles for Viehman to read and share with his staff,
so they could familiarize themselves with my products and
insulation.
I received Viehman's reply dated Feb.
7, 1989.
"Dear Mr. Wigutow,
Please
accept my apologies for what obviously is a typographical
error. To confuse sleeping bags
with packs is not something I make a
practice of doing. at least not
often.
(You may recall that he referred to my
product as a backpack in an
earlier letter. Typo error it was not. He
probably didn't know the
difference at the time).
Thanks for
sending the additional information on your product, er,
sleeping bag. (A poor attempt
at humor.) I've made sure it becomes
required reading for our product editors.
(Right.) However, they'll be
the first to tell me that they reserve the
right to disagree. (How can
you disagree if you have no knowledge of a
subject?)
I can't argue
with your points about the two writers' technical knowledge. Whether
or not they would isn't important, I made a conscious decision not
to hire them when Rodale Press acquired the magazine last April. I
would appreciate your comments on technical material we've published
since acquiring the magazine, however. It should show a marked
improvement. (There are no
comments by me ever published in the
Backpacker, and not only haven't there been
improvements since being acquired by Rodale Press, it has gone
further down hill.)
I responded briefly on Feb. 17,
1989.
"I very
much appreciate your rapid response to my last letter and
am glad you are sharing my
information with your staff. They are
certainly welcome to disagree with what I have
written and they won't be
the first. My business is based on that
information and the general
publics' response to my products will be the
barometer for this
technology ultimately. I am happy to
state Wiggy's is now the largest
producer of quality sleeping bags in the U.S.A.
The general public has
proved me right."
I didn't have any further
communication with Viehman.
In 1992 I decided to reprint Larry
Amkraut's review and send copies to all of the retailers around the
country. I included a question asking the retailers if they
could answer why they thought Backpacker chose not to print the
review. One retailer called Viehman and asked the question. The
following letter was sent to him and a copy to me.
10/1/92
James Johnson
PJ's Adventure Sport
1705 W. Main
Rapid City, S.D.57702
Dear James:
Thanks for inquiring about the allegations from
Wiggy's. This is an item
of concern on a number of levels. Not only are
the charges of
impropriety unfounded but the arrangements
of "facts" here are grossly
distorted. It is, in the final analysis, a
pathetic attempt to cash in
on BACKPACKER's credibility.
(Impropriety means incorrect. James
told me he asked Viehman one
question: Why didn't you publish the review?
Viehman told him he would
answer it in a letter. The "facts" you are
about to read are a LIE. As
for Wiggy's needing help selling sleeping bags,
his statement is a joke.
By
1991 Wiggy's was the single largest quality producer in the
country.
Back to the
letter.)
To set the
story straight, the following may help:
1) The author of this "review" received his
equipment directly from
Wiggy's. He was not under assignment to
field-test this product from
BACKPACKER before or after he made these
arrangements.
2) The
editors knew of the author's whereabouts (i.e., that he was on
a
long-distance hike
and making good progress, etc.) because he called our
offices from time to time to
provide an update and inquire about writing
stories for the magazine. We receive a lot of
these types of calls, as
you can imagine. We had not worked with the
author prior to this and, as
such, would be reluctant to assign any story,
much less equipment
review, to someone we had no experience with.
Obviously, many issues
come to play, our editorial integrity chief
among them. He pressed us on
writing up some reviews on his equipment
(giving us the sense that he
was under pressure to "pay back" his sponsors,
etc.) and we indicated,
as we typically do with unknown authors, that
we'd be happy to take a
look at his material but only speculatively.
This implies no commitment
on the magazine's part and is standard
operating language within
publishing circles.
3) When reviewed the comments from the author,
we couldn't help noting
the similarity between "his" words and the
descriptions featured in the
Wiggy's catalog. There was too much overlap,
which made us suspect less
than objective comments. Further, the author
mentioned in following up
his submission that he had provided a copy of
his review to the
manufacturer.
4) BACKPACKER has very rigid guidelines and
policies regarding equipment
testing, which include: All equipment requests
must come directly from
staff editors; all field testing is "by
assignment only" from the
Equipment Editor Dave Getchell; we do not
guarantee publication of our
field test findings, nor do we allow
manufacturers to preview what is
published prior to publication; we do
fact-check our data to
publication, however, we return all product
provided to us unless it is
agreed upon before testing that the product
won't be returned (i.e., the
manufacturer doesn't wish it returned). In
short, we take great pains to
ensure that our equipment reviews and field
tests are free from any
outside influence that the consumers themselves
would not encounter.
I
cannot say that the above policy was in effect prior to Rodale
Press
acquiring the
magazine in early 1988, so perhaps Wiggy's complaint has
its origins with the past
owner/staff of BACKPACKER. Or perhaps he's
just not comfortable with the black-and -white
nature of what we do here
at Rodale Press/BACKPACKER. In any event, the
tactics that he is using
to sell his product by questioning our
integrity are at best underhanded
and at worst unethical.
Thanks for bringing this item to our attention.
If you have any further
questions, I'll be happy to respond.
Signed, John Viehman, Executive
Editor
Cc: Jerry
Wigutow, Wiggy's Inc.
After I read the letter I called
James, and asked what he had done. He told me he called
Viehman and asked why the review hadn't been published. Viehman said
he would send him a letter of explanation. Viehman sent me a
copy, since he knew James would also probably have done so. After
speaking with James, I wrote the following letter and faxed it to
Ardath Rodale on Oct. 8, 1992. On Oct. 30, I sent via mail or
Federal Express a copy of the letter.
"Dear Mrs. Rodale,
"I am in receipt of a letter
from John Viehman, your executive editor,
copy enclosed. He truly is a man of little or
no integrity. If you refer
to his items you will observe that his "facts"
are not grossly
distorted, but "lies."
"#1 & #2, enclosed is a copy of
my account receivable showing an invoice
for the bag in question ordered by Dave
Getchell and given to Larry
Amkraut, never paid.
"Until Larry called and introduced
himself to me after using the bag I
had no previous knowledge of his existence.
Also, see a copy of John
Viehman's letter dated 1/30/89. As you can see
Larry was paid a kill
fee, why!, if he arbitrarily submitted his
review?
"#3, see copy of letter to John
Viehman with reference to my comment
about Cindy Ross review.
"#4, Backpacker will write reviews
that are favorable to its
advertisers. "Objectivity" is a word of no
meaning at Backpacker.
As for being underhanded and
unethical, that is a joke. He, John
Viehman, and/or any other employee of
Backpacker cannot substantiate a
single fact that can support any activity by me
in my business that can
even remotely be considered either underhanded
or unethical.
"When attacking a battleship, you
need more than a "pea shooter."
"Signed, J.N.
Wigutow
Cc: James Johnson
P.J.
Adventure Sport Shop
Larry
Amkraut"
Letter#2
"Dear Mrs. Rodale,
The enclosed is being sent to you
in the event that you did not see it
as it was originally faxed to you, which may
account for me not
receiving an apology.
Signed, J.N.
Wigutow
"P.S. You may want to call Jamie
Johnson and get his opinion of Mr.
Viehman's allegations."
I have never received a
response.
The prevailing attitude at Backpacker
magazine, is that they make companies. The Good Housekeeping seal of
approval for the outdoor industry. I am of the opinion they would
not exist if Rodale Press wasn't their
parent. | 
