HOT WEATHER COMBAT BOOTS

Today a sources sought notice was published asking for information or product that might accomplish the mission of providing the military with a hot weather combat boot.

What are being missed are the socks that would, could be or should be worn in the boots. I understand that socks are not a part of the thought process and should be considered first, but they should be.

As always it is important to understand that dry feet even in hot conditions are best.

Based upon my own experience with the Lamilite socks as well as the experiences of so many of my customers allowed me to write to the point of contact that the socks worn by the soldiers should be the first consideration.

The wonderful things about Lamilite socks are their ability to allow all foot generated moisture away from the foot and since the materials that the socks are made from does not absorb and retain moisture they basically stay dry. The further benefits are not getting stretched out of shape or retain odor. This means they can be worn for days on end. Of course like all Wiggy’s Lamilite products that can be laundered.

I have counseled many hunters since marketing the socks that they no longer have any need to carry 10 pair of socks with them. This is even more important for soldiers in the field. The standard issue socks are all made from materials that readily absorb moisture and retain it so sock changes become very necessary.

While the Lamilite socks are terrific when worn in cold weather they also perform very well in hot weather situations. Since the sweat coming out of feet is not restricted from moving away from the foot’s skin surface they stay dry.

In addition I further recommended that they learn about my Lamilite boots. The lining of the boot is the same weight of Lamilite as is used in the manufacture of the socks so the lining does not restrict the moisture movement either. The moisture will be absorbed into the leather but leather is a vapor permeable material so the moisture will move through the leather as well. If the soldier is in a desert environment evaporative cooling will be constant and once the boots are taken off drying time should not be very long. A jungle environment is different. Obviously moving through a jungle you may very well be in water and it will fill into the boot. But once on dry land with boots and socks removed the socks will dry quickly and the lining of the boots should also dry quickly but the leather will take longer. The difference that the soldier will experience is having a dry sock to put on the next day versus the socks currently worn now.

I have during my career of selling synthetic fiberfill insulations have never experienced a product like the continuous filament fiberfill insulation. It is not only the absolute best raw material versus the chopped staple fiberfills ever created. It is not only the most durable, long lasting of all products that preceded it but currently as well. In addition it is the most versatile insulating materials I have ever experienced working with. This one product depending upon the weights used is outstanding for use in both hot and cold condition s products as I have learned.

When I think about the history of continuous filament from its Polar Guard day to the current product that I use Climashield which is far superior to Polar Guard which was itself better than chopped staple and still so many companies that make insulated products blatantly choose not to use it I find pitiful. Maybe that is why I make more sleeping bags than the rest of the industry combined that retail over $125.00 each.

Maybe the point of contact will review my footwear products on the web site and contact me for sample materials, a shot in the dark.

The following article is reprinted from “sportstextiles.com” a British online publication.

Graphene-based drying agent could help to keep footwear fresh

Scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia have developed a new drying agent made from graphene oxide which they believe is twice as absorbent as silica gel.

Wonderful that this university has developed a new what they refer to as a drying agent that will absorb moisture and keep it in your shoes.

Among its potential applications is using it to keep footwear fresh.

Notice they say “potential application to keep footwear fresh”. If you get rid of the moisture the footwear stays fresh.

The material was developed by a team at UNSW’s school of materials science and engineering. A study on their work has been published in the journal Chemical Science.

I wonder what other non-sense they have developed.

“This is a stable new material that shows significant gains in adsorption capacity over conventional desiccants (drying agents),” said Dr Rakesh Joshi, who led the research team.

Don’t they mean “absorption” capacity, which should never be the goal with footwear?

“One novel application we are investigating is the integration of the desiccant into inner soles of shoes to control odour and moisture. As the moisture could be released back into the atmosphere using an ordinary household device like a warm oven, shoes could be recharged regularly to keep them constantly fresh.”

Wow now you need a device to warm and dry the footwear which will also get rid of the odor.

The new agent is made of graphene oxide, derived from graphene, the revolutionary ultra-thin material first isolated by researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK in 2004.

Research carried out at UNSW showed this material’s extraordinary adsorption and desorption rates were due to the high capillary pressure in the laminates and the tunnel-like wrinkles on their surfaces. This wasn’t previously understood.

I think their desire to complicate an easily fixed situation is historic.

The UNSW team say the ability to adapt the spaces between the layers of graphene oxide as desired will allow for the development of customised desiccants to control moisture across multiple applications.

How are they going to control the moisture unless they are referring to storing it in the layers of material that make up the footwear product, which is counter-productive?

They add that their new drying agent can discharge moisture at low temperatures, allowing it to be used over and over again. This is in contrast to the high cost of the heating required to regenerate conventional desiccants, the study explains.

So you will have to walk around all day with wet smelly feet until you find an oven to dry them out.

These folks should get together with the Gore folks so they can both sit around discussing what they are doing that does not have any chance of working as they believe it should.

Or maybe they should read the first subject of the article.