snowmobile clothing

SNOWMOBILERS

Just finished a snow machine trip from Tok, AK to Dawson City, Yukon. Left Thursday and it was - 36F in Tok, - 25F in Chicken, AK 75 miles away, and in - 20s in Dawson. I wore Lamilite socks, Lamilite boots, and Mukluks. Never had cold feet for the 7-hour trip. My five friends put chemical toe warmers in their boots to keep warm, but after 6 hours they started to get cold. When I took off boots, the socks were nearly dry.

On the top started with fishnet shirt, light poly shirt, poly 1/4 zip shirt, Ducksback Wind shirt, old L6 anorak, topped with windproof goretex jacket. Traveling at times up to 60 mph, never got cold. (I guess the goretex is good for something.)

I wore the Sierra mittens under gauntlets for the first 75 miles. Despite getting sweat soaked, never had cold hands even without using heated snow machine grips. I then gave them to riding buddy without gauntlets who used with his gloves and he had toasty hands for the 110-mile trip to Dawson.

Bottom line, Wiggy's works even when damp.

Steve P.

Awesome Product---INSULATED GAITERS

I had a set of these made in multicam before a trip to Deadhorse.

I absolutely cannot say enough good things about them. Over just my issued cold weather military boots, they kept my feet warm while I was doing things such as running the forklift in weather as cold as -42. They were perfect for the short duration jobs where I had to go from a heated hanger to an aircraft on the flight line and unload boxes/reconfigure cargo but didn’t want or have the time to change into heavier pack boots.

– Nick Lime

Nick must be stationed in Alaska since Deadhorse is a town there.

Every 3 months I receive a copy of two snowmobile magazines, so I get to see all of the very fancy snowmobile garments, it is like a fashion show. There are many snowmobilers who use Wiggy’s products and are very happy with them as is the case with Steve, but more should be using Wiggy products because they will stay more comfortable with them.

Sitting on a snow machine is really no different than standing on the runners of a dog sled while mushing, you are basically still. But the reality is that in both cases you are moving and causing an increase in perspiration which necessitates the need to wear clothing that will not stifle the movement of the body produced moisture while in its vapor state to move away from your skin. That means wearing fishnet underwear.

People who run snowmobiles as dog mushers work very hard because what you are doing is not the same as driving a car. You just don’t let the machine go as it wishes when driving a snow machine.

In the late 60’s when snowmobiling became popular, I was selling many of the snow suit manufacturers. One company was Raven Industries. They made the best snowsuits at the time sold. When I started to make snowsuits for the Air Force the one that converts to a sleeping bag it took the place of Raven’s snowsuit and is the best snowsuit you can buy. Of course, mine has one other advantage over all of the rest in that it can convert to a sleeping bag if you get lost or if you do not want to take a sleeping bag with you, a very good safety feature.

The main feature of staying comfortable is how easily you are able to get rid of your moisture. What is important to understand since you are basically sitting in one position for a long time or standing as is the case with a dog musher is that your sweat is not going to get out of your garments and if left close to your body because you are wearing a close knit base layer the wind you create will press your clothing against your body and the moisture which is now a lower temperature than your skin will cause you to became chilled. It just happens but can be averted by wearing a fishnet top as Steve did and he probably does all winter since he lives in Tok, AK.

It is imperative that all succeeding layers be able to create space between each other so ventilation takes place and that the layers be made from materials that do not absorb moisture, if they do then the moisture will absorb heat.

However, it has been my experience that Lamilite insulated mittens do keep hands warm even when wet. Years ago, I had a friend who was a crabber on the coast of South Carolina. He complained that he was freezing his hands when he had to pull up his crab traps during the winter when the ocean water is 50/60 degrees F. I gave him a couple of pair of mittens similar to the Renegade model and he told me they kept his hands warm even when completely soaked. The Sierra mittens are double the insulation. The Renegade has the L-6 and the Sierra the L-12 Lamilite.

As Steve says: “Bottom line, Wiggy’s works even when damp.”