How Jerry Wigutow Built Wiggy's

I use the YKK number 10, molded-tooth zipper for all my sleeping bags and outerwear garments. The reason is simple: they are the strongest zippers you can buy.

When I became involved in the camping equipment business in 1968, all of the quality sleeping bag manufacturers used the number 10, molded-tooth zipper. Sometime in the mid-1970s they all changed to the coil zipper. Why? Because it is lighter. (I weighed one, cut the exact same length as what I use. The weight difference is less than one ounce.) I've heard from many people who are replacing whatever brand of bag they owned because these zippers failed. The coil zippers, simply put, are inadequate for use on sleeping bags.

I remember a fellow coming into Wiggy's, a few years ago, with a bag made in the early 1970s. The bag was flat as can be. The fellow said he needed a new zipper. He needed a new bag. The zipper was a number 10 YKK molded-tooth zipper, and it was in perfect condition, all that was needed was a new top slider.

When I was starting to solicit retailers, they all commented that the zipper was too big. They said I should use what every other company used, so my bags could be mated to other brands of bags. My initial response was to say that a left zip Wiggy bag would only mate to a right zip Wiggy bag! I then told them I wanted my customers not to have to worry that the zipper might fail while in the field.

My customers are always telling me how great it is to have these big zippers on the bags.

A QUESTION

The most often-asked question of me is how or why I got into the sleeping bag business. I started in the business world selling interlinings and interfacings, i.e., construction fabrics used in the manufacture primarily of outerwear. All sewers will know what I am talking about. One of the materials was insulation made from reprocessed nylon. This was eventually replaced by polyester fiber.

I was fortunate to work for people who allowed me to experiment. I started experimenting with the lamination of fiberfill to nylon. After about five years, I found that continuous filament fiber worked best. I knew that by eliminating the quilt stitching the insulating properties of a jacket or sleeping bag would be enhanced. With this knowledge I went to all of the manufacturers of sleeping bags that were in business between 1968 and 1973 to show and try to sell them the on new way of using continuous filament fiber. I received a universal NO for my efforts. The stock answer I received was "the consumer will not buy a synthetic sleeping bag that does not look like a down bag." My response was, "even if it performs as well as a down bag?" Still no!

Therefore, if I was to sell my laminated insulation, later named Lamilite, I had to sell it as a finished product. After a 13-month sailing sabbatical I went into business, a partnership with a fellow who was, as I learned able to sew anything. That was when I learned manufacturing, in my first company known as Olam Outdoor Sports Products. The fiber we used was Polarguard. They were made with laminated Polarguard, and every now and then I will come across someone who still has one. The loft is pretty much gone, so they use them for warm weather.

I sold out in 1977 and went into the laminating business for the next nine years. I developed Lamilite at the end of that time and then decided to make sleeping bags. The laminating business wasn't doing well at the time, so I closed it, opened Wiggy's and moved from the southeastern U.S. to Colorado. Best move of my life. I decided not to show or sell the Lamilite to any other manufacturer of sleeping bags, but instead applied for a patent, which I received, and started to produce the bags, myself. By the way, there is an endless demand for the production of Lamilite.

I started out in mail order and slowly I received a call from a retailer here and there. Some were retailers that carried the Olam line and others were new to me. There weren't many, but it was a start. I put on sales representatives, and they were not able to develop additional stores. The reasons were the same as those given by the manufacturers: who will buy a sleeping bag that looks like yours? Some said to stitch the fabric so it looks like it is quilted. I'm pretty independent, so I told them we couldn't do business. In any event, mail order sales kept growing, so I terminated the sales staff and decided to stick with the mail order business.

I am happy to see companies in other industries, which make good products, pick up on the Wiggy's slogan "Simply the Best." I believe very strongly that if you make a good product, you should be proud of your accomplishments.

WET IN A WIGGY BAG

I have published letters from many customers attesting to the fact that they have stayed warm in a Wiggy bag even though they were sleeping in a pool of water, caused by a leaking tent or for some other reason. I was always happy to know they were warm, however, it wasn't until recently that I realized why they were warm.

Have you ever experienced using a wet suit? If so, you know that the water that gets trapped in the wet suit is warmed by your body's heat. When the water is trapped in a Wiggy sleeping bag the same thing occurs. What sets the Wiggy bag apart from all other brands of bags is the Lamilite insulation. Its ability to retain the heat produced by your body is so efficient; that the heat absorbed by the water does not get out. Therefore, you stay equally warm in a Wiggy bag even if you have to share some of the space with a little water, as you would if it were dry.

LETTERS FROM CUSTOMERS

I receive letters every week from satisfied customers. To state that it is gratifying is an understatement. I take great pride in bringing them to you.

E-mail received Feb. 4, 1999

Hiking on Mt. Jefferson in the White Mtns. Of NH in January has generally excited us with sub zero temperatures. Two of us set out on Jan. 15, 99 a day before the rest of our group, to have an extra day on the Mt. (just can't seem to get enough). We started out in sleet but the higher we climbed the warmer it became needless to say we hiked several miles in a hard rain. Soaked to the bone and totally spent we pitched our tent at dusk, looking very forward to climbing into our new Wiggy's Ultima Thule bags which we purchased the week before, which by the way had gotten wet in our packs. I stripped of my outer layers and climbed into my bag still in my long underwear, which I could have rung out. The temperature went from 34 to 6 that night (perfect hypothermic conditions.) Almost immediately the tent filled with fog that was rolling out of our bags. We actually found this hysterical and were thankful we decided to replace our old bags when we did. Within 4 hours I was bone dry and enjoyed the most comfortable night's sleep I can remember in the mountains.

I am a very skeptical person in believing what is written about a product and this is what prompted me to write to you. I have never been so impressed with any gear that I've purchased. I will be on Mt. Washington in two weeks and hope that I can experience pushing the bag to its limits in the temperature dept.

Thank you very much for an awesome product.
Tom Scott
P.S. I'm very thankful I've entered into the "WIGGY Zone"

E-mail received Dec. 29, 1998

Dear Sir:
I am an U.S. Marine First Sergeant and would like to share my personal observations about your company's sleeping bags with you. First I must make it clear that these are my "personal" observations and are in no way the official views of the U.S. Marine Corps.

To begin with I have twenty years of active duty behind me as well as having been an avid outdoorsman/hunter for over thirty years. Approximately two and a half years ago I was issued the sleeping bag system your company is producing for our Marines. I have used this system extensively in conditions ranging from the dessert of Twenty-Nine Palms, California, in August/September time frame to the cold of Bosnia in March/April as well as all manners of conditions in between. I feel my experiences qualify me to state that your sleeping bag is by far the best I have ever used in my more than thirty years of being out in the elements. In the time I have used this sleeping bag I can honestly state that is has never let me down, it has always kept me warm and given me many comfortable nights of sleep, something that is very precious to most Marines.

After the bag has been packed in it's compression stuff sack all day it comes back to full loft in a matter of minutes and is just as your product information claims, very easy to maintain. After a six-month deployment it took nothing more than a washing machine and a clothesline to make it as good as new.

Soon I will join the ranks of the civilian world and continue enjoy my love for the great outdoors, hiking and hunting. I can assure you that you will hear from me again when I am ready to order one of your sleeping bags for my personal use, I won't be without one ever again.

Thank you for a great product and keep up the good work.

Semper Fi
L.J. "Holly" Hollingsworth