a new believe and the or show

THE LIST OF IN FORMED KEEPS GROWING

Mr. Wigutow,

I was recommended by Mr. Stephen Quayle to purchase your mittens. I am still waiting for my order, However that's not why I'm writing. Your News & Commentaries are a wealth of knowledge. I have learned a great deal in a short time. The gortex article really blew me away; I have worn "gortex items” and have always been cold. NOW I know why!

Thank you,

Debra Grabowski

I received this email on Sunday morning and I’ll check her order Monday. The truth is we have been inundated with orders for mittens so inventory went out quickly and we are playing so to speak catch up. That is the case with most of the clothing products.

As for Debra’s comment about her experience with goretex items no one should be surprised. It is becoming repetitious for me to hear of another person who now understands why they have experienced discomfort with their goretex lined products. I am surer than ever the gore people have been experiencing the same things when they wear products made with their own material and that is why they are working diligently to create new materials as were shown at the outdoor retailer trade show. From what I have read about them they will not perform any better than the original.

The Denver Posts Saturday addition had an article about the trade show. The headline is “OUTDOOR GEAR SALES SLIP AS MILLENNIALS DRIVE SHIFT IN HABITS”. I did not know the age group until now; it is those born between 1982 and 2004, and according to Matt Powell senior adviser at the NPD Group to the sports industry. It seems this age group “are less likely than the previous generation to demand outdoor gear that stands up to extreme conditions”, they are more interested in clothing to wear from their car to the craft brewery”.

And that is why the clothing to include footwear to hand wear to headwear and every item of clothing worn in between is fashion oriented. Because it is fashionable it does not have to work. I mean if all you are doing is going to a pub do you really need a clothing ensemble that will keep you warm on an Everest climb, but all of the literature these companies use to promote their products do not suggest but state that it will perform in those Everest climb conditions,

It is my opinion based upon the growth of Wiggy’s specifically in the area of clothing that people of all ages want products that actually perform as advertised in harsh conditions. Changing styles and colors each and every year only increases the costs to make products which increases the costs that people have to pay for the products. If you have something that works why change?

An example are my sleeping bags. They have not changed in 30 years for a good reason; they have proven for 30 years that they work in all of the conditions I recommend their use. Sure I have included various colors that are the same quality as my original materials that I am able to buy at a savings so I pass that on to my customers. When you look at any company that has been selling sleeping bags for the past 30 years you will find they have changed their bags 30 times in 30 years. Why do they do such a thing, easy answer; the bags don’t work so they try to make the new one better than the old one, and they are unsuccessful so it changes again. Also they change colors and they section the colors for a fashion statement, not an improvement.

I am a traditionalist when it comes to clothing. My outerwear garments fit into that mode of design and the colors I use are of equal tradition. Two years ago I finally started using a new fabric after 28 years; the DUCKSBACK material because it has a certain capability about it that is very desirable. However the colors I choose to use are again traditional. Aside from these qualities the garments I make do what I claim and in some instances they as well as my bags have surpassed my claims. The reason I know that is because my customers have told me as much.

There are two categories that I find more disturbing than any of the rest and they are hand wear and footwear. People can buy the flat quilted jackets and when necessary multi-layer over them to bring about some warmth but when it comes to hand wear and footwear that is not so easy. As a matter of fact dressing these areas of your body with the products currently being offered by companies exhibiting at the outdoor retailer show it is almost impossible to accomplish keeping hands and feet warm.

The glove companies show 80 percent of their line with gloves and the balance mittens. Their gloves are made with a multitude of parts so the parts can be a variety of colors to make them fashionable. The verbiage used to promote them is highly erroneous as for their capability. These companies are either ignorant of the fact that separating fingers eliminates the ability for each finger to help its neighbor finger stay warm as happens when you wear mittens. Their mittens are not well insulated but in equal conditions worn when their gloves are worn will be better. Or they are disingenuous and therefore do not care that EVERYONE wearing their gloves will have cold hands!!!! Many years ago a company no longer in business, Grandoe Glove Company made a mitten they called the “boxing glove” and they sold thousands of pairs. I know because I laminated in excess of 100,000 yards of the original Polar Guard for therm. The yield might have been 10 pair per yard which translates to possibly a million pair sold worldwide. It is that mitten that I modeled the Kodiak mitten I sell. I still have the pair I bought from them in 1968. They were the kingpin of the ski glove industry.

Some of the companies today that sell hand wear for skiing should look to the past and learn what will and will not work. Mittens work gloves don’t. But those who chose to buy them will be able to say I know my hands are cold but don’t they look good. Then again they may not be going to the ski area but to the pub from their car, so they don’t care.

Footwear is much different from hand wear. If your hands get cold you can put them in your pocket or go into a building to let them warm up, not so easy with feet.

I believe every company showing footwear says water proof as well as in some cases breathable... All of the fancy socks being shown also are “the warmest in the world” so the sock makers claim. The material used is wool nothing better at absorbing and retaining moisture in an enclosed area such as footwear provides. Now that you have successfully placed your feet in a waterproof boot with water absorbing wool socks you will relatively quickly experience cold feet if you are in an environment that is 32 degrees F and colder. If you happen to be standing on snow or ice things happen more quickly.

The ambient air covering you boots will via conduction cause the surface of the boot to become the same temperature as the ambient air. That temperature will quickly move through the boot until it reaches the socks and now you are really in trouble. This movement of temperature through the material the boot is made of is conductive heat movement. The surface area of the socks will now give up the temperature to the moisture and the moisture being an incredible absorber of heat will draw the heat from your feet. The first change in foot temperature will take place with your toes. Remember that toes get colder faster than the rest of the foot and that was confirmed by the gore company scientists who work in their $15,000,000.00 laboratory. Of course the gore company does not acknowledge they are a major contributor to people having cold toes and feet even though they confirm that it happens. They further ignore everything else about the fallacy of goretex as well. I think they are disingenuous too!!!

Now that your toes are cold what do you do, you can’t take off your boots while out in the environment and put your feet in your pockets. You MUST go into a heated structure and then take your boots and socks off so your feet dry. Short of that you are now in serious trouble. When you have wet feet in a cold environment everything you wanted to do becomes null and void until you have warm feet.

I do believe that the people involved in the footwear industry are again ignorant of the fallacy of their products ability to do what they claim or are equally as disingenuous as the hand wear companies.

Actually I believe without question they know they are misleading the buying public and refuse to entertain using what does work.

For hand wear mittens with Lamilite work better than any insulation material that has preceded it in hand wear or footwear.

For footwear Lamilite socks have proven to do what wool cannot do, allow the moisture from feet to move away from your skin surface even in waterproof boots. Lamilite when used in boots does what 3-m has claimed about their thinsulate for years which it does not do keep your feet warm, Lamilite does.

When it comes to inserts felt is a trash product they are a sponge for moisture versus the Sunwalker’ s which I make with Lamilite that do perform to temperatures as low as -40 F.

However if all you intend to do is go from the car to the pub no sweat these are the fashionable footwear items you want.