mukluks

MUKLUKS AND THE MARINES AND THE ARMY IN ALASKA

In 2018 three companies received orders of 150 pair each of their mukluks. Wiggy’s, outdoor research and a third company whose name I forgot since they backed out and Wiggy’s received a second order for 150 pair. I suspect Natick would have preferred to give the order to outdoor research, but they couldn’t deliver on time for winter use. Actually, I have no idea if they ever did deliver. What I do know is in the early spring of 2019 I received a call from the Airforce telling me that they learned of Wiggy mukluks from the army operatives in Alaska. They purchased about a dozen pair.

In October of 2019 I saw where outdoor research was given a sole source order for three hundred mukluks from MARCORSYS COMMAND. I called to ask why I was not able to see that the solicitation originally appeared in August 2019. It was published for 12 hours. I detailed this situation in prior newsletters. I also started an I.G. investigation. All for naught.

These three hundred outdoor research mukluks were sent to Alaska for use during the winter of 2021 / 2022. This past week I was informed that they failed to keep the user’s feet warm, I was not surprised. What I do know is that my mukluks just like all of the Lamilite insulated products I produce have not ever failed.

The tragedy as I see it is the blatant lack of understanding of how important it is to realize that moisture in arctic conditions is the enemy of the human. It is imperative that the insulation that surrounds your body not be affected by moisture especially that which comes out of your body. And of course, it is extremely important our hands and feet and I cannot impress upon you that feet are the most important between hands and feet are kept warm. Feet generate a massive amount of moisture so the mukluk you will need to wear in arctic conditions have to have enough insulation to keep the moisture coming out of your feet to not have a chance to get cold.

The problem with whatever outdoor research was using as an insulation did not do what the geniuses at outdoor research believed it would do, keep feet warm. I was first approached at the outdoor retailer show in the 1990’s by outdoor research when they decided to get into the sleeping bag business, and they introduced me to a young woman who was “designing” their “new “ line of sleeping bags. She was in her twenty’s, I am sure. I gave her my catalog and recommended she read it and when finished she would know why she should not be in the sleeping bag business. Her sales manager was pissed at my position. To this day they have been a successful failure at making sleeping bags. They at outdoor research have no knowledge of insulation; period!!!

They at outdoor research like so many companies like to get favor from the military. This is not new. Recently I received a call from an Airforce Captain I believe working at Wright-Patterson AFB telling me about aerogel insulation. He knew all about it and why it was so good. I promptly told him if he ever got something like a sleeping bag and needed it vacuum packed NOT to call me. just another military officer who has no knowledge of the subject but is easily influenced by a representative of a large company that otherwise does business with the government.

Back to the mukluks, the military will need them to keep the men being deployed to Alaska this coming winter since this training is replacing what we were doing for the desert.

Maybe the military will learn from the dog mushing world what to wear.