I received an online publication catering to the outdoor industry. The most recent issue had a story about Mountain Hardwear (MH) celebrating their 20th anniversary. While reading it I found out that they have a new super duper synthetic insulating material they are calling Thermal Q. Elite. I was intrigued, so I went to the [...]
I have been a seller of insulations since May 1961 when I took my first job in the textile business. The company I worked for sold a nylon batting which was competing with the cotton waste used at the time for insulation in outerwear. We did not sell polyester fiberfill which was sold by quilters [...]
Sometime this winter the Made in America show starring John Ratzenberger of Cheersfame will once again have his show. I am pleased that I was contacted to let them come into the Wiggy's factory to film. The show will air sometime in the spring of 2014.John Ratzenberger’s AmericanMadeWe’re pleased to announce that Wiggy’s Inc. will [...]
About two years ago a Navy field surgeon noted that soldiers were getting worse wounds because the underwear they were wearing was melting like molten steel into the bodies from the heat generated by IED’s and bullet heat causing the fabric to fuse to the skin where it entered the body. The fabric used to [...]
I have recently embarked upon writing a book about my history in the business world that encompasses my education in the field of insulating mediums used for sleeping bags and outerwear. In order to write with authority about down I used my computer to research all about down for insulating purposes. What I read was [...]
Over the years I have written extensively about fishnet long underwear and why they are the unquestioned best first layer of clothing one can, or should, wear when the weather is cold. I first learned about the use of fishnet material when I read this section of Gerry Cunningham’s booklet How to Keep Warm published [...]
The April 2013 newsletter is titled “THE USMC AND NATICK LABS HONOR ME” and notes that they are working with a company in El Paso, TX that is attempting to make a sleeping bag utilizing a sort of lamination of the continuous filament fiberfill as Mountain Hardwear has their bags made in China called Lamina. [...]
As I am sure many of you know, the current administration wants to shut down coal mines which in turn will close power plants that currently use coal as their source of power. The result of this action will mean that people who use electricity from these power plants will not have electrical power to [...]
Quite often these days we hear people say they want to buy products made in America. There are many websites that advertise made in America products exclusively. Retailers are seeing people look at the labels and if the item has a made in China tag they put it back. One retailer told me he had [...]
All of the components that are incorporated in the manufacture of sleeping bags made in the USA can be made with components manufactured in the USA. I know because I buy materials made in the USA. Of the materials I buy the single most important is the insulation.The nylon fabric can be duplicated in Asia, [...]