follow up

FOLLOWUP TO THE primaloft bean products

Yesterday I called bean and asked about these bags and garments because I could not find them on their web site. The person I spoke with put me on hold and spoke to someone who she said “scratched his head” not knowing of this program. She said he would like to speak with me and did I have a phone number which I gave her as well as my name. He has yet to call me.

I then called the representative of the Cabot Aerogel Company to inquire about the use of their stuff on polyester fiber, he was not available so I left my name and phone number with my message of interest. He has yet to call me.

Finally I read a second article written by a guy named Silva who works for a publicist company because in the article he states that primaloft is the world leader in comfort insulations”. I was going to ask him how he knew that. The girl I spoke with told me he was on a call with a client, maybe primaloft. He too has not returned the call.

I must accept that my interest in this nonsensical supposed insulating material has caused all of these people to pow wow with primaloft. They know it is me who has the interest because I never hide.

Do you think any of them will or would ever return my call? I believe no is the answer.

As I see it, primaloft charges $x.xx and bean pays $x.xx but built into the price may be $y.yy that is an advertising allowance. This is what DuPont, Celanese, and Eastman did to secure customers back in the 1960’s and 70’s. Whoever gave the biggest rebate got the business. I expect that the aerogel supplier is also kicking in a few bucks as well. Then of course the publicist dreams up the best face to promote the product. you know if you put lipstick on a pig you still have a pig.

Never forget that these fiberfill products are made from chopped staple fiber. ALL chopped staple fiber batting must be quilted and every single quilt stitch is by itself a cold spot. Quilting machines like mine are stitch 10 to 12 stitches per inch so you have 12 cold spots per inch. When you look at the garments that have flooded the market for the past 3 years you will note the quilt patterns are quit small increasing the number of cold spots. The other thing to notice is the amount of fill in each square or diamond pattern is very little because the thicker the fill the stiffer the garment will be. And of course the heat retention factor is very close to nonexistent.

As I see it the retail organization such as bean does not have qualified people who actually have the knowledge necessary to know what it takes to make an acceptable insulated winter garment. They are not alone in this regard, I was wandering in the local Cabelas store last Saturday and what I looked at told me they have no regard for their core customer, the hunter. I expect that they will be offering the bulk of their garment selection in late November or early December at radically discounted prices. I absolutely add REI to the list.

You have the opportunity to believe me and walk from these nonfunctioning garments, but before you walk you should question the retailer to find out if they have a satisfaction guarantee if you buy the garment. You may be very surprised by the response you get.

The beauty of me is that I have been around over 50 years and to the best of my knowledge I am almost alone in the textile outdoor industry for that long and I have seen it all specifically when it comes to insulations. I still believe beyond question the only insulation that should be used is Climashield. Everything else that is claimed as an insulation is well trash!!!

There is one more bit of information that many or most do not know; primasloft has tried for a few years to develop a continuous filament product. Obviously quite successful at failure. Now why would they want to copy a successful product such as Climashield when in fact they think they have the best product in the world. The company that makes Climashield is not interested in making a chopped staple fiberfill product Why because they know they have the best product in the world.