Staying Warm on the Water and in a Storm

When you are on a boat, whether it is a pleasure craft or working boat, you are going to get wet. (Except maybe if you are on the QE2.) Therefore, you should wear clothing that is unaffected by the water. Believe it or not the fishnets are by far the best first layer. For starters, they will allow your perspiration to get away from you. You certainly do not want to have a layer of clothing against your skin that holds water. If you have ever sailed in a summer squall, even though the air temperature is warm, you know that when you get wet, you get cold. Any item of clothing worn over the fishnets should be synthetic. Synthetic fabric will not absorb water. It should be loose fitting so, it is easy to move in. There is another reason for wearing synthetics rather than cotton or wool when boating: the natural fiber garments absorb water and become heavy as a result. If you should fall into the water, the less that you are wearing that absorbs water the greater your buoyancy.

INSULATION FOR SLEEPING BAGS

I have said it before and I'm saying it again, Lamilite is far and away the finest insulating material in the world. Lamilite has all of the good qualities of down: it is very light and compactible, and extremely warm, retaining your body heat, which is what keeps you warm in a sleeping bag better than any insulating material that has preceded it. There is nothing on the horizon that is going to change that fact for a very long time, if ever. Lamilite also has the advantages of being a silicone coated polyester fiber, which means it is unaffected by water, either in a vapor or liquid state.

I didn't want to become a manufacturer of sleeping bags, but a supplier to all of the existing manufacturers as early as 1968, when I developed the idea of laminating fiberfill rather than quilting it to eliminate the cold spots. Their reason they wouldn't buy my idea was "consumers won't buy non-quilted sleeping bags because they don't look like down bags." Therefore, if I wanted to sell the Lamilite I had to become the manufacturer.

LETTERS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS,

Dear Wiggy, I will tell you a short story of an experience that happened to me and a couple of buddies last February. We traveled thirty miles out the Copper River highway, then headed east across the Copper River Delta to our camp. The weather was about ten degrees and hardly a gust of wind. The next two days we spent traveling around exploring the Delta, hunting Ptarmigan, and checking our traps. At night we had great accommodations that included a big wall tent and a small cook stove. Sleeping conditions were great. The day we decided to leave it really started to snow, but still not much wind. As we traveled the 20 miles west back to the snow covered Copper River highway, the wind became greater every mile. By the time we made it to the highway it was blowing well over 100 miles an hour and snowing so hard we could not see the tail light of the snow machine in front of ourselves at two feet. We made the decision to grab our survival gear and hold out for better weather. We dug out the snow around the base of a spruce tree, set up our tent and the three of us sat and waited for better conditions. For two days and nights the storm blew and the temperature dropped; not knowing for sure, but I would guess it was around 30 to 40 below zero with the wind chill. As you can guess, the condensation generated from three men in a small tent for a couple of nights were tremendous. Both of my buddies were chilled even in their bags, but I was the proud owner of a Wiggy's Ultima Thule. I was warm, the bag breathed exactly the way it was supposed to, and the situation that could have ended up with tragedy, ended with a return to town and some great stories to tell about how important it is to have good gear, especially a Wiggy's Bag.

Tom Carpenter Vice President Whiskey Ridge Trading Company