SO YOU WANT TO SLEEP COMFORTABLY DRY AND WEAR A JACKET THAT DOES THE SAME.

A RESPONSE TO SATURDAYS ARTICLE

“I have had your Nautilus bag for over 12 years and it is still doing the job. It will keep me warm down to about 30. Great product

JAMES”

I rate the Nautilus model sleeping bag for temperatures as low as plus 40 degrees. The Nautilus bag I have made for 40 years, yes it predates Wiggy’s Inc. I started making it as a product of my original sleeping bag company Olam Outdoor Sports Products. The reason I made it was because it was the first bag I made for use on my boat. Of all of the different model sleeping bags I have manufactured the Nautilus has been used by me more often than any other bag model. The first bag I made was about 1970 when I bought the boat. The bag was used for the 6 years that I owned the boat and I still have it in my office.

While a live aboard I encountered dozens of people also live a board’s between N.Y.C. and the Bahama Islands who wanted to buy it from me. One guy offered $200.00 he was disappointed when I said no.

For those without live aboard knowledge, it is always wet. Even on the sunniest of days you have moist ocean air. ALL cotton material absorbs the moisture that is in the ocean air. During the time I was sailing people who were weekend sailors or live a board’s all had inexpensive cotton lined sand cotton shell sleeping bags. Generally they bought them for on average of $30.00. What they learned was the cotton materials in short order absorbed the ocean air and it never dried. So the interior of the boat, in the cabin smelled like the ocean. They also learned that these bags were so big they had no place to store them, so they were left on the bunks continuing to be exposed to the ocean air.

What I learned with my Nautilus bag was that it did not absorb the ocean air and if I took it out of the cabin and draped it over the boom it aired nicely and quickly. I could wash it in the ocean water and when it dried all salt would just brush off. As for storage, it just disappeared in the cabin. There were lots of jealous women when they saw the Nautilus.

Some people wanting to have the smallest stuffing bags went so far as to buy down bags. Of course those who bought them did not know how wonderful the down was at absorbing moisture. So good in fact that the down never did nor could it dry. And of course the odor which was a combination of ocean air and down, not very pleasant.

Another aspect of the Nautilus was its size. When opened completely it is a queen size comforter size 72 inches wide and 84 inches long. Warm weather bags should never be narrow and confining. If they are they will very efficiently trap your body heat and the end result will be that you do not sleep because you are to warm. For the year and one half that I was a live aboard the temperature both state side and in the Bahamas was 60/70 degrees during the night. My body temperature acclimated to the warmer climate so the level of insulation (the L-6 Lamilite) proved to be a perfect choice. Please note that the choice of the L-6 was actually not a choice as it was the lightest weight Lamilite I was using at the time, so I did get lucky.

Over these 30 plus years that the Nautilus has been made it has never been changed except size. That is to say the Desert bag is a small version of the Nautilus, but still rated for plus 40 degrees. The Nautilus has also shown that it is probably the most flexible of all of the sleeping bags that I make. From boaters, motor cyclists, to people using it in their survival kits. Keeping the Nautilus stored compressed does not have any negative affect on the insulations performance and as I have learned from many customers such as James that plus 30 degrees is not a problem for the Nautilus sleeping bag. The Nautilus is probably the best survival sleeping bag that you can carry in your vehicle.

James,

Thank you for your comment about the Nautilus as it has given me reason to reminisce my personal history with the Nautilus sleeping bag.

The Desert bag is a tapered rectangular model; 31 inches wide at the top, 27 inches wide at the bottom and 80 inches long. If you happen to be 5 feet 8 inches tall and weigh 170 pounds then you are going to find the Desert bag a little too small.

After the Nautilus bag the second model most used by me has been the Ultra-light FTRSS. WHE I first started hunting the base camp was located at 12000 feet and the season was 3^rd season in November. The first season I went I actually used the Super light FTRSS and found at -30 degrees F it was too warm for me so I changed from then on to the Ultra-light FTRSS. That is what I used for 10 years and slept in the system with my fishnets on, on a cot with my ground pad. I would not have been surprised if the temperature went to -40 and I would still have been warm. Yes my bags are underrated.

AND A TESTIMONIAL

Temperature range

I have been using the L-6 liner/Alaska Range Parka for over 10 years now. Like all Wiggy's products, it lasts and the Climashield keeps you as warm as advertised to -10F. What tends to be overlooked, however, is that, given its moisture transparency, it remains comfortable to higher temperatures. I have worn this combination to 50F with zipper down and been fine. I have worn it both alpine and cross-country skiing. Most clothing leaves you overheated in such intense exercise but Climashield passes moisture so quickly I'm fine in the thirties. Rain doesn't soak in easily and body heat dries it quickly. For higher temps, I prefer a Wiggy's jacket liner in an Army field jacket. You're only choice is Ducksback or not. Climashield over fishnets is better than anything else I've ever tried.

– Charles P. Fletcher