Wet but Warm: Lamilite Stories From the Field

Many years ago, when I was at the Olam company, we made mittens using the original Lamilite. When I sold my interest in the company I took a few items. One of the items I took were some pairs of mittens.

As time went by, I met a fellow who was a shrimper living on the coast of S.C. One day I was visiting him, and he complained that during the winter he froze his hands pulling in his net since the wintertime ocean water was 50 degrees. I gave him a pair of mittens and after a week’s use he said he no longer had cold hands. He said the mittens would get soaked but he didn’t care. He had warm hands and the mittens dried quickly when he got home.

This further proves the reality that Lamilite does not lose its capacity to keep insulating even if it gets wet. Every product made at Wiggy’s utilizing Lamilite reacts the same way when it gets wet. It matters not if the source of the water is from the human body [sweat] or rain, lake, stream, or the ocean. With respect to the ocean, I had Lamilite clothing I wore when I sailed, it got wet, but I never got cold.

Duckback sweater

A while ago I bought the parka from Wiggy's and use that when the temperature drops below 0 degrees in Wisconsin. It's the warmest coat I have ever worn, so this year I bought the sweater and have used it down to 20 degrees with either the liner or vest that Wiggy's sells, and its experience has been great with keeping me warm. If you're in doubt, don't be and do yourself a favor and pick one up, you won't regret it. I have to say everything I've bought from Wiggy's has performed above expectations; I don't think one can go wrong with buying anything from Wiggy's if you're looking for cold weather gear.

– Brian

I have owned a Wiggy's bag for over a decade and can tell you it is the best bag for any adventure; I even backpacked with it. While on a 2017 sheep hunt in the Yukon one of our pack horses tipped over in a slough and soaked everything in the panniers before we got him out. In those panniers was my Wiggys bag and the wrangler's down bag. Once to our camp spot that evening I tried drying the bag with a fire and it did help but it was still wet, but it had loft compared to the down bag. I knew the Lamilite filling is supposed to keep you warm when wet so I put it to the test. That night I got in my bag with just skivvies on and yes it sucked, for about 20 secs. It went from clammy and wet to warm. I slept through the night and woke to a dry bag. Unreal!!! The wrangler did not sleep much that night, if any, and spent most of the next day trying to dry his down bag out. Since that night when I have wet clothes on a hunt, I simply put them in the bottom of my bag, and they are dry by morning. The Wiggys is the real deal, no other way to put it. If you are going to use synthetic fill choose nothing but Wiggys. The little extra weight and size when packing around is worth it!!!

– Kevin Wells, Cheyenne, WY

Jerry, Being retired USAF aircrew I do not claim to know everything there is to know about sleeping outside on the ground in cold, inclement weather, but I know enough to ask the guys that do that for a living and what works. Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, USAF PJs and CCT members all told me the same thing, “you can always count on your Wiggy’s sleeping bag to perform.” Your Sleeping Bags ARE survival equipment and not just for arctic exercises but everyday situations. We were airlifting some U.S. Army rangers to Ft. Wainwright, Alaska for a cold weather exercise from Altus AFB Oklahoma. I saw their ALICE packs on the ground in front of our C5A and they all had a black sleeping bag secured to the rucks. I asked one of the sergeants if they were the G.I. “new, high speed sleeping system”. “These are Wiggy’s Ultima Thule bags, best, warmest bag that won’t let you down”. I asked how to get one, “look in the back of the Army Times, pretty expensive but worth every penny”. That was fall of 1990, I got your Ultima Thule bag and that bag followed me around the world, kept me warm and comfortable for the next 20 years. In fact that same bag was with me last winter at Lake of the Woods!! That “expensive” bag is probably the most economical thing I’ve ever purchased!! As an added bonus, you are an experienced outfitter that is willing to share your knowledge about staying warm and safe in the great outdoors. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and expertise and producing Outstanding, Made in USA equipment!! Air Force Wayne

Don't balk!

Back in the 80s I went winter camping with the Scouts in northern WI. As we were gearing up to head out for overnights below 0, our guide told us something I've never forgotten: "Being cold in the wilderness is not cool. Most things that keep your warm look dumb. Being warm is cool, therefore dumb is cool." I can't swear to his logic at the end there, but I think you get the point. These look...I won't say dumb, but definitely interesting. Don't balk at that. They work. They keep you warm when moving and sweating in the winter. Sweat moves through, and your mid layer is kept off your skin, so you don't get clammy and chilled. The air pockets in the mesh are warm and dry, and that's very cool.

– Matt, Red Wing, MN

if you actually sleep out, buy here.

There are a lot of enthusiastic reviews here. Believe them. If you know, you know. Start with one of these FTRSS bags and you will soon wonder how and why you lived without them. It really works as well as the other reviews say it does. You can dry it by sleeping comfortably. Condensation is a non-issue. If you wake up in a pond, the bag will drain out in minutes and be ready to repack. You can wash Wiggy’s in a clear creek or a triple loader in trail towns. Your Wiggy bag will last you a lifetime, including THOUSANDS of uses and miles. My 30-year-old Nautilus is a demonstration. It is wintering behind the truck seat again right now. A superlight (no hood) that I still use every duo trip, wrecked a car that hit it. It got a 15" cover that I later patched with Seam Grip. Blue isn't available anymore, so I refuse to replace it. True story, circa 2010. Lamilite is better in any conditions you can describe than whatever you are presently using. Once you have joined the believers, wake warm, and remember that there are other ways to add Lamilite to your life. Booties, mittens and a balaclava make camp warmer at the end of a long cold day. The same (ugly green) Lamilite sweater that I bought from Riderwearhouse in 1995 is still the best thing one can put under an Aerostitch for a winter bun burner. That was my first piece from Wiggy's.

– Bruce Halleran, IBMC.

In the late 60’s when I first introduced Lamilite to the industry, all I knew was it was better than anything else on the market, so I was left to do it myself.

Many thanks to the wonderful people who have taken the time to write to me their experiences with my products so I could share that with others. WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISING.