Wet Clothes, Dry Morning: An Alaska Caribou Hunt

I received the following email from a civilian.

Dear Wiggy,

In 2006 I and three others, including my son, ordered 4 XXL 100 in long Antarctic bags from you. We were looking for the BEST bag in the world for an Alaskan caribou hunt and we definitely found it. Your sleeping bags performed perfectly and they are truly amazing in their capabilities. We slept on half inch waffle foam sleeping pads. Each morning we would throw our bags back and there would be puddles of water in the waffle indentations. No moisture was present inside the bag though. Our body moisture through the night was transferred to the outside and away, keeping us warm.
We just recently returned from our second trip to Alaska on an unguided caribou hunt and this time the weather was much colder. Here is an amazing testimonial about your products: My son, Clinton Connor came in from a really hard day of hiking while caribou hunting. It had been raining all day and he was cold, wet and exhausted. It was so cold, he didn't want to take his clothes off before crawling inside the Wiggy's......so he just took his boots off, and crawled inside. The next morning, (after staying warm all night) he awoke to find sheen of water had condensed on the outside of the bag and of course under it in the waffle pad. He brushed the water off but noticed that the inside of the bag was still dry. To his amazement, HIS SOAKING WET CLOTHES HE SLEPT IN WERE NOW ALSO DRY......
Our outfitter, Brad Salsaa of Weguidealaska.com also uses your products. At his departure point in Kotzebue, he had a young man who was his "helper." He helped the hunters load their gear into the planes, put away their gun cases, packed the food and supplies, etc.
Upon returning from our hunt, he began asking me about our sleeping bags and why were they all the same. So I told him. He told me he was going on a caribou hunt at the end of season as a bonus from Brad. I asked if he had a bag and he said no. He was a nice young man and very helpful to all of us so I just gave him my Wiggy's. You would have thought I handed him a winning lottery ticket.
Just wanted to pass this along to you and let you know I will probably be ordering another bag from you soon. I had you make me a spare which is the XXL Antarctic but with a 40 in. width at the shoulders, tapering down to the standard mummy at the foot, 100 in. long. The bag I gave the young man was the standard 36 in at the shoulders and it was just a tad too small for me. I am 6 ft 7in. and 320 pounds. I like to have two of everything I might ever need for the outdoors, just in case something happens to one or I take a notion to give one away to a deserving young man.

Thanks again for making the best piece of hunting equipment since the Model 70 Winchester.

With Best Regards,

Rodger D. Connor

As I have acquired more and more knowledge of how well the Lamilite insulation performs I have presented that information to all potential customers hoping that it will further convince the potential customer to purchase a Wiggy’s bag. In this regard I have been very successful. The experience written about in the above letter I have heard dozens of times. When people go into the bush civilian or military they are always affected by moisture. Moisture when you are in the bush is your single most dangerous enemy. Moisture will absorb and drain away the heat your body produces more rapidly than any other entity that exists. If the insulation that you wrap around your body in the form of a jacket or sleeping bag is adversely affected by the moisture you will be in an unenviable position; moisture is the most efficient absorber of heat on the planet. Lamilite changes that situation as has been evidenced by Clinton Connor and numerous other users of Wiggy’s sleeping bags and clothing including myself when I was lost in the mountains during a hunting trip and lived through a blizzard that was putting 7 to 8 inches of snow on the ground per hour. I did not have a sleeping bag but I was wearing Lamilite insulated clothing. After three days of walking I found that I was not cold even though the temperature went from 0 degrees to -30 degrees F. As I observed and was observed by Clinton and family each of us stayed dry and therefore we were warm. For those of you who have never been in the military please note when you are on patrol you do not ever get undressed before getting into your sleeping bag, as a matter of fact you rarely take off your boots. All of the moisture that has accumulated in your clothing becomes your enemy. When you are at altitude things are worse. You are operating at altitude and altitude air density is reduced so there is less oxygen per cubic foot in the air. If moisture is also introduced it too will displace the oxygen in the air (this is the reason fire fighters want the atmosphere to be humid). Then there is the factor that if you did not grow up in the mountains your body is not acclimated to the altitude and while there is an adjustment you do not ever get to the same efficiency to breathe as the locals who were raised in the mountains. Because of the lower oxygen content the human body must work harder to maintain itself. That means you must have a greater amount of insulation around your body when it is +32 degrees at altitude versus +32 degrees at sea level. The U.S. Navy has issued my Ultima Thule model a national stock number and purchased several hundred which have been placed in all of the 4 man and 12 man survival rafts. Many of the Ultima Thule’s are also purchased by the Air Force in a vacuum packed state and placed in ejection seat survival kits.