flattery for being copied

BEING COPIED

For a number of years some of the other companies in the outdoor industry have taken time to copy me, as one example the Mountain Hardwear Company. They came out with a continuous filament fiber bag several years ago and called it Lamina. As Paul Kramer the owner of the company at the time before he sold it to Columbia Sportswear told me when I asked why Lamina, he said it was as close as they could find to Lamilite. I said okay I will not bother to sue you since it will be to my benefit. The original bag was as successful a failure as you could get since his use of the continuous filament was wrong.

After he sold out the new genius who took over the sleeping bag product development demonstrated his lack of knowledge and has since used chopped staple fiber for the bags. They too are a failure to perform but some consumers who are diehard Mountain Hardwear customers have purchased them only to find out they do not perform at the designated temperatures.

Now I am again my ideas are being copied by a host of companies that market outerwear garments and their fabric suppliers. There will be many garments available in the coming years that state their garment is waterproof, breathable light weight and “vapor permeable” insulation. In the case of the garment company I am referring to here Arc’teryx it is made from Gore-Tex and Polartec Alpha insulation (A JOKE TO CALL IT INSULATION).This garment is fully suitable for snow sports. Maybe if it is worn over a Wiggy’s Lamilite sweater. Outdoor Research also uses a Polartec product called Alpha Direct meaning that there is “no barrier to heat and moisture venting during activity. Rab claims their new fabric DVexpedition is water-proof and “air permeable” technology. “Through eVent technology, heat and moisture readily escape”, and you will get cold. They say air permeable to not be associated with those who say vapor permeable. And of course there is Primaloft breathable insulation. Imagine that, I agree that their so called insulation is very vapor permeable due to how porous a product it is. It also has also demonstrated how it allows the heat out so you stay cool, actually cold in a jacket lined with the stuff. Trust me there will be more of these garments on the market from more marketing companies.

So I have made an impression on the industry to the point that they are moving away from the use of the term breathable. If they keep reading my commentary at some point they may learn what it takes to make a good functioning garment. Of course it will be Lamilite/Climashield insulated. This product does not allow the heat out just the moisture, so you stay warm and dry.

The latest compliment has come from a boot marketing company; Lowa. They have a new version of their “Tibet GTX” Superwarm backpacking boot; doubtful. They are employing Primaloft 400 insulation. I suspect the 400 means 400 grams. The fiber construction is probably a very compressed compacted product that stifles the movement of moisture which is further guaranteed to stay in the boot because they also have Gore-Tex in the boot. The Primaloft Company has opportunists on their payroll. Wiggy’s markets Lamilite insulated boots that are sell quite well because they work quite well, so Primaloft thinks that their polyester fiberfill product will do the same. Mike (the owner of the company) dream on, but thank you for making the effort to copy me you do know that copying someone is the greatest form of flattery. Please know that I will never be copying you. I wonder how many of my products he has purchased over the years to try and copy me. At one time he was trying to make a continuous filament batting in Asia so they must have some Wiggy products and that brings joy to my heart. Thank you.