-100 c from a canadian mfger?

MORE COLD WEATHER BOOT LIES

BAFFIN APEX BOOT

Temperature Rating: -100ºC/-148ºF ----- line one of the product description

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Baffin Boot Company they are located in Canada and were recently sold to Canada Goose.

Anyway one of my readers who is active in forwarding information to me based upon the subject of the articles sent me the link to the Baffin Company so I could see their Apex model boot which as you can see is rated for as cold as minus 148 degrees F. Having read this I called them and spoke to a young woman in consumer customer service about the temperature rating.

What she told me was most interesting since there is no place on the planet where the ambient still air temperature never has in modern times reached that temperature that the boot was not rated for use at that temperature but the materials exposed to that temperature were not damaged by a temperature of -148 F. This must have been done in a small cold chamber since -148 F doesn't exist in our atmosphere.

I asked if the information on the web site; line one was in fact misleading? She never answered with an agreement, because I think she was presented with a question/statement she has not been exposed to in the past.

I said if I was properly dressed for extreme cold temperatures in Antarctica and the last item to put on was the Apex boots would I be comfortable at -50 F or -20 F or whatever and she said we are all different. But I said isn’t the first line in the description stating -148 F misleading? That did not register with her.

The facts are the facts; Baffin publishes misleading information about their footwear. Canada Goose might want to rethink the investment they have made purchasing Baffin.

A number of years ago I had a meeting at a shoe show in L.V., NV. with I think the president of Baffin about using Lamilite for his inserts versus the moisture absorbing felt linings that they were using then and still use today. Actually all pack boot manufacturers use the sponge like felt. And when people wear pack boots with the felt they wonder why they have cold feet; IT IS CALL MOSITURE RETENTION IN THE FELT INSERTS. Need I say more! Well yes, here is one more foot wear manufacturing company that is in my opinion dishonest with their presentation of their products. This action or attitude is endemic in the footwear industry. It certainly is apparent that ALL of the companies that sell footwear regardless if they make it themselves or not have zero problem lying about what sort of performance you can expect to experience with their products.

It is clear that the only way people venturing into the wilderness will have warm feet is if they wear Lamilite socks to begin with and then the over boots for colder weather and for extreme arctic conditions the mukluks.

NOW FOR A LIST OF REPLYS TO YESTERDAYS ARTICLE

Hi Jerry,

I have written you before on a number of your products but I want to make further comments. When you wrote a while ago about goretex boots causing blisters on the balls of your feet you were absolutely correct. I got large blisters on the balls of my feet wearing goretex boots but I always attributed that to the socks I was wearing. It never occurred to me that it was the goretex. I wore all the recommended socks: hiking wool socks with thin liner socks. It did not help. Once I stopped wearing goretex boots the problem on the balls of my feet went away but I would still get blisters on my toes. When I started wearing your Lamilite socks all problems went away. They are the only socks I wear on hikes and extended trips outdoors regardless of the outside temperature, even in the summer. It is the only way my feet stay dry.

I also want to comment about running in the cold weather. I run 20 miles a week in weather in the 30s and 40s. I wear your fishnet top and the second layer fishnet under the liner jacket with no shirt. This is the perfect combination to stay warm. If I start to overheat I just unzip the jacket. I like not having a collar as it helps to vent the heat and moisture. I do sweat but I dry out as I finish my workout indoors without undue discomfort.

Jared Suzuki

" Mark Diggins, SAIS coordinator, said: “The team spends approximately 680 days in the mountains each winter, in challenging and serious conditions. Good clothing and equipment allow us to carry out our job with confidence, and we are therefore very grateful to have the support of La Sportiva through Lyon Equipment.”

680 days? Is Scotland on Mars? Is Mr Diggins refering to the mountains of Olympus Mons perhaps? The last time I checked it takes the earth 365 days to perform a full orbit around the sun. Mars orbit is 686 days. So..........not only does the SAIS use defunct, dangerous and useless Gore-tex based boots but, they don't know how long the seasons on Earth are. The ( astronomical ) season of " Winter " on Earth is approximately 90 days.

Either that is a typo ( 680 days ) or the SAIS needs to take a remedial science class as well as learning what actually keeps you warm, dry and alive in the mountains. Hint: it's not Gore-tex.

Tony K

Interesting to see how much time the SAIS folks spent outside each winter. If they wore the boots they support for that long, they all must have lost their feet by now.

Mark Diggins, SAIS coordinator, said: “The team spends approximately 680 days in the mountains each winter,

Phillip C.

Thanks Jerry - Great article! I wear the Lamilite Socks every day here in Denver with cheap(er) boots! As I did yesterday at 19 deg. I love them and the Booties which I wear at work, as we are not allowed to have heaters at work due to fire hazard! People are starting to take notice! I just hope I can convince them. Sooo sad there is so much deception in this industry?

Brady

Jerry-

Just received the Wiggy's Luxurious Ground Pad - and all I can say is WOW!! This is the nicest pad I have ever seen (screw that valve blow up crap!!), and can’t wait to try it out! Thank you so much for the fast service! I only have one complaint that is - next time send one of those big Wiggy's stickers with your autograph on it