a testimonial and a followup to yesterdays article.

FREEDOM SHELTER SUPER LIGHT TESTIMONIAL

Mr. Wigutow,

I finally got to try out the super-light freedom shelter sleeping bag in sub-zero temperatures. Since I have more clothes than money, I haven’t turned on the heat in my townhouse for several years. I bought the SLFS system a while ago to use inside the house. My problem with the 0° bag was that it worked too well. The lowest temperature I’ve recorded in the house was 47 degrees F. Even when I used it as a comforter, I got too hot.

Last night the outside temperature dropped to -6° F. with the wind fairly steady at 20 mph. The wind-chill was reported to be 36 below zero. I decided to sleep outdoors.

In the house, I sleep on the flour frequently. I have a pair of Wiggy’s mated original-style pads, so when I went outside I doubled them up and dropped them on a cement sidewalk. I didn’t use a tarp or tent. Scrubs without underwear and the Lamilite booties were what I wore because I wanted to test the bag and not garments. I started out with a lightweight scarf because the scrub top has a deep V-neck, but I had to pull it off after ten minutes in the bag.

I am always amazed as to how well Wiggy’s products drape to get close to the skin despite their thickness and relatively light weight. When I got into the super-light I was cold for about seven minutes while the sleeping bag warmed up. After that, I was warmer than I am using a lesser bag in the house. That bag (not from Wiggy’s) is falsely stated to be a 20° F. bag and I know that I’d freeze to death if I used it at that temperature.

I keep trying to talk myself into buying an Antarctica sleeping bag, but I’d probably never get it out of the plastic bag. I remember that you once said that the Ultima-Thule bag was vastly underrated, so maybe I’ll have to settle for that one. I don’t think it would be a burden.

I just wanted to add my experience to all of the others. Without a debris pile or shelter or utilizing clothes layering, I was very comfortable at temperatures below the super-light’s zero degree rating. Now I have to deal with the high of five during the rest of today.

Thank you once again for all of the effort you put into providing superlative products.

Regards,

Brent

It is interesting to read the lengths to which some people go to evaluate how well a product will perform. It only serves to further demonstrate how well the Lamilite/Climashield insulation performs. I am still waiting to read testimonials from people who use the quilted chopped staple fiberfills in their products that can compete with the Lamilite/Climashield. Of course that is not going to happen ever!!!

I received some feedback about the Canadian military problem from guys who think as I do the people responsible for purchasing these bags should have to use them themselves before being issued. Things might be different.

My representative in Canada told me the article was incomplete because the report also included cold feet, hands and body. So the problem gets worse once you have all of the facts. Poor quality boots and poor quality hand wear.

The basic fact of life that I associate with all of these so called “experts” who are in the employ of their respective governments who are charged with developing cold weather products is that they just don’t know how devastating body produced moisture IS versus can be. They do not understand which is true of the many companies that claim to serve the outdoor market place that the human body IS always giving off moisture and obviously it does get into the clothing that we wear. The key is to wear clothing that does not absorb the moisture and otherwise does not stop the moisture while in a vapor state from getting away from the person.

Further these same people do not understand the physiology of the human body. As I mentioned yesterday, if you have retained moisture in the clothing worn around your torso it will cause a chill and when that happens the involuntary action of withholding blood going to the extremities stops so they get cold very quickly. The most efficient and otherwise the only way to prevent this from happening is to wear fishnet underwear as a first layer. Of course the military “experts” will never accept this reality. Even in Norway where fishnets were invented the military does not specify any longer that fishnets are the first layer to wear. So now there are members of the Norwegian military that suffer chills when they wear the close knit long underwear.

What these “experts” are working at is minimizing the weight of the clothing without regard for its ability to actually perform and most importantly cost. The more they can save the more gold stars they get. In the end the results are what we read in accounts such as what has happened in Canada now or in Chili and the state of Alaska. In all cases there was money saved product never tested and life was lost in Chili and others were treated in hospitals.

These are the results you always get when product is made by consensus.