Foam Filling as an Insulator

For the past year I have been asked about the use of polyurethane open cell foam as an insulating material. Before I give you my educated opinion let me give you the background for the reason for this article.

Since Wiggy’s is located 25 miles from the Utah border I have a large number of Utah residents visiting the Wiggy factory each year. Many of these people have asked me about a company that originated in Salt Lake City under the name of Northern Outfitters (N.O.). This company was started by Jim Phillips sometime in the 1980’s as far as I know. How it happened is a mystery to me. Mr. Phillips was involved with Burlington Industries and they apparently financed his testing of foam insulated garments by going into 30/40 degree water and surviving. The garments or the concept was patented by Burlington Industries and I guess licensed to Mr. Phillips and so he started N.O. I saw them at an outdoor show and suggested that they change from the foam as an insulator to Lamilite. Obviously that did not happen then. The company was sold if memory serves correctly in the early to the mid 1990’s. By this time Wiggy’s was making a name for itself in the hunting market and a number of men who were going to hunt polar bear called me about my Antarctic parka and bib outfit for use on these hunts. While on the phone several would mention N.O. and asked what I thought of their products. I told them that in my opinion the use of polyurethane foam was actually dangerous because all of the moisture from their body would be trapped in the foam which would freeze in arctic conditions and the result would be that you have created an icebox around yourself. One or more of the men who called apparently called N.O.’s new owner and told him of my comments.

One day I received a phone call from this fellow, I truly do not recall his name, and he told me he was thinking of suing me. the first thing I asked him was how much knowledge he had of insulation and before he had a chance to answer I answered for him, I said you have none and the reason I knew that was because he was making garments for cold weather using polyurethane foam as insulation. Further into our conversation he told me he had left the Mars Candy Company, he was an executive there and I guess decided to have his own company.He knew a lot about chocolate though. The conversation was very pleasant and I told him I would sell him the Lamilite. He refused my offer and never did sue me.

About a year or so later I was visited by him with his wife and a young woman who worked for Antarctic Associates who had the contract to supply everything to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The reason for the visit was because this young woman had just returned from Antarctica with one of my parkas. Antarctic Associates gave this fellow a contract to make all of the parkas for them under one condition they use Lamilite insulation. Why they didn’t give me the contract is let’s say suspicious. I was very happy to supply him with the Lamilite. He ordered several thousand yards which means several hundred garments. Isn’t capitalism great, this fellow went from threatening to sue me to becoming my customer because he needed a material that I had.It didn’t stop there he also asked if I would private label sleeping bags for him, which I did. The parka production came to an end but he would not make Lamilite parkas. Then one day while viewing his web site I saw that he was also using the Primaloft product. I immediately called him and asked to be paid completely or return the unsold merchandise he preferred to pay me. I told him that he was selling a bogus product that regardless of how much money he received in advertising from Primaloft or its predecessor Albany International he was still selling a bogus product that would not ever work as advertised. He eventually sold the business because I suspect he would have gone out of business and in my opinion he found a sucker who I think still has the business going.

They call their insulation (?) the polyurethane foam “VAETREX” which stands for Vapor Attenuating and Expelling, Thermal Retaining insulation for Extreme cold weather. I have never heard the word attenuating used as a description of insulation so I looked it up; it means basically to make thin. Considering that the foam used is one inch thick to best of my knowledge of their products that is not thin. I do believe they also use half inch foam for lighter weight garments. Now for my explanation:

Foam came into the market place after World War 2, it was developed in Germany. When I started working in the textile business the foam was used to beef up light weight fabrics via a process known as flame lamination. It was and still is used to beef up the fabric used to make baseball caps. Generally the crown or two center sections are laminated to foam. To the best of my knowledge if it was ever tried as an insulating material it failed to perform and it would have been replaced with polyester fiberfill. In the late 60’s a company in Albuquerque, N.M I think started to make sleeping bags with the polyurethane foam and they may have lasted two years. The problem with foam is the fact that it is a sponge. When you buy a poly bag of kitchen sponges the bag is filled with polyurethane foam squares for washing dishes. Polyurethane foam replaced natural foam for this purpose because of its excellent quality of being able to absorb liquid. When it is used as insulation in cold weather clothing it will automatically trap the moisture in its pores. When the moisture cools it turns to liquid and when the ambient air temperature is before the freezing point it will freeze. Once this occurs all succeeding moisture will be stopped from passing this layer of frost and the layer of ice gets thicker. Hence you are now building and ice box around yourself. Several years ago an article appeared in the Alaska Daily News about two men who were racing the Yukon Quest with N.O. garments. After several days the garments were frozen stiff. They either stopped racing or got a new set of clothes that were not N.O. I do not remember which was done. I was not surprised by this happening. In the article they were quite emphatic and said they through the garments away.

Now to the present. This weekend I received an email from a customer that had a link to a new company also located in Utah both making foam filled outerwear for extreme cold weather as well as a second company or possibly the same company making sleeping bags, and they also sell you the materials so you can make your own sleeping bag.

Since my two bag system which is the Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System or more popularly known as “FTRSS” or referred to as the “FORTRSS SYSTEM” by the military. A company has copied me and used my registered trademark or as close as possible; Mountain Hardwear calls some of their synthetic sleeping bag Lamina. I just appreciate the flattery exhibited by companies trying to copy me. And of course it is free advertising. The sleeping bags are sold under the name Pakanuni, whether this is a free standing company or a division of Fortress is not stated.They are also using polyurethane foam as their insulating material but it is only described as “Specially engineered open cell polyurethane foam insulation for superior moisture handling.” You can buy anyone of three bags starting at $559.00 to $759.00 or the materials and make it yourself. Either way to buy either the finished bag in my opinion is a gross waste of money. What are not shown on their web site are temperatures ratings for the bags. As for their statement that the foam is specially engineered, that I find is very misleading. Polyurethane open cell foam is made only one way and it is a sponge construction so what they use is not specially engineered.

My conclusion is simple; as I have said many times before to buy any sleeping bag other than a Wiggy’s bag will result in you wasting your money. The same in my opinion holds true for foam filled clothing.

BUYER BEWARE.