rubberized boots

DO ALL RUBBERIZED BOOTS FUNCTION THE SAME? YES

I manufactured pack boots that had a rubberized base. The purpose of the rubberized base is to keep water out of the boot. The upper that I put to the base was a urethane coated fabric that was also waterproof as well as Lamilite insulated. Since the exterior material used for these boots was (I no longer make them) as is the case with ALL pack boots the moisture that comes out of the pores of feet is trapped within the pack boots. There is no getting around this action and when you get cold feet while wearing regular socks this is the reason; trapped moisture in the pack boots which is also absorbed by the felt inserts.

What I did was use the Lamilite insulated product that I had been making for years as a replacement insert in pack boots that were available before I made the pack boots. The product I am referring to are the Sunwalkers. The moisture would get into the Sunwalkers just like it does with felt inserts or any other form of lining such as pile, however since the moisture does not have a negative effect on the Lamilite your feet do stay warm as many of my customers have found out who have bought the Sunwalkers. They your feet will also be dry if you wear the Lamilite socks versus a wool sock which does absorb moisture.

L.L. Bean Company has been getting a great deal of press lately because their original boot which has a waterproof base has been selling very well, so well that they are increasing the number of styles it is available in.

Out of curiosity I called and asked to speak with a person who was in the technical area of footwear to find out about the moisture retention problem. To my surprise the woman I spoke with was well indoctrinated to answer my questions.

First of all she acknowledged that moisture is retained in the boot but there were components used in the manufacture of the boots that absorbed the moisture such as a nylon fabric, I believe it is placed between the exterior material and the actual lining. I did not tell her she was wrong, and that she was offering me erroneous information. She did tell me that some of the boots had Gore-Tex in their as well, so we know none of the moisture can get out of those boots. She also spoke about what socks to wear; wool socks.

I also noted that some of these new limited edition boots are lined with pile an excellent material to trap and obviously retain moisture.

Reality is simple; all rubberized pack boots or rubberized boots function exactly the same, they retain moisture which will cause feet to get cold, but you can do something about it, by using Lamilite insulated products; Lamilite socks and/or Sunwalkers.

I was speaking with a good friend who lives in New Hampshire and he told me that the original Bean boot was not very effective below about 40 degrees F. He also told me that many of his friends who also have Bean boots now wear Lamilite socks so they can have warm feet. Imagine if all of the people who have cold feet in their Bean boots were to buy Wiggy’s Lamilite socks it would amount to well over 700,000 pair a year and since there are probably several million people who have Bean boots that would be like winning the lottery for me.

When I first read about their wonderful sales I called the guy who heads up the footwear department wanting to see about private labeling Lamilite socks for them. Would you believe he never gave me the courtesy of a return call to say thanks but no thanks.

Years ago a dear friend who supplied them with $14 million of outerwear made in the USA each year asked them why they didn’t call me to carry my bags. Their response was that Wiggy’s is a cult. I took that as flattery since I am the largest sleeping bag cult in the world.

This is a perfect example of a company believing that they have the perfect product and have no intention of changing a thing about it. The fact that Lamilite has proven for years to be the best insulating material on the planet regardless what the product is that it is placed in means nothing to L.L.Bean Company or for that matter any other company in the outdoor industry.

I find it remarkable how easy it is for companies to promote their products as being the best without a shred of proof, but that is the way it is these days.

So all rubberized boots do function the exactly same way, they collect moisture that provides the wearer of the boots with cold feet!!!!!!!!!!!!!