socks and laundering

MORE TESTIMONIALS

We've had quite a bit of colder than

Usual weather so far. Night temps in

High 20s.Used the socks with an

Un-insulated pair of work boots 3 nights in a row. Worked like a charm.

Don

I wonder if the people who run sock companies take the time to read all of the testimonials that I have been receiving about Lamilite socks. Companies like smart wool being one of them now know that their wonderful 100 percent merino wool socks like every other company on the planet that sells wool socks knows that their socks contribute to people having cold feet during the winter months.

The wool like cotton loves moisture and when moisture is introduced to wool socks it is absorbed and retained until you take off your footwear and then socks. The reason that you do this is to allow the wool fiber to dry. Of course they get stretched out of shape so you need a second pair the second day and so on. This situation is further complicated by the fact that most people today are wearing footwear that has goretex or some other film just like goretex. Lamilite socks do not retain any moisture and if you wear Lamilite insulated boots the moisture just keeps going out of the boots and away from your feet. End result dry warm feet. The socks do not get stretched out of shape or retain any order as well. You can actually wear them daily for weeks if you want. However, they are like all Wiggy Lamilite insulated products machine washable. The traits are very good when you are out in the bush for weeks so you only need one pair of Lamilite socks.

I appreciate Jeremy’s comments particularly about laundering the bag “countless times”.When I started manufacturing the Wiggy’s bags I spoke about a simple fact of life, they could be laundered as many times as you want to launder them. Since all of the other companies that actually made bags in the U.S.A. at the time did not want their customers to launder their bags so I knew I had an edge. Would you sleep on the same sheets for months at a time, probably not, so why sleep in a sleeping bag over and over again without laundering it?

When I first offered Lamilite to ALL of the companies that made bags in the U.S.A. starting in the late 1960’s I told them about the fact the bags could be laundered. They who were in charge chose to not listen. They still do not want you to wash their bags if you are foolish enough to buy one, why (?) because they will deteriorate in the washing machine. Is it planned obsolescence or stupidity on their part; make you own choice. As far as I am concerned I think they are just plain old stupid.

Of course to buy any of the other brands available means a waste of money because they do not perform at the temperatures they apply to them.

NORTHERN OUTFITTERS IS CLOSING

In the 1980’s I became aware of this company and saw their exhibit at the outdoor retailer trade show. I take no pleasure in seeing a small company go out of business. They did not have too. When I first learned of them I offered to sell them the Lamilite to replace their open cell foam as insulation. They were located in the Salt Lake City area and being a pleasant drive to Grand Junction I invited them. The owner’s father and son Jim Phillips would not accept my offer.

The company was sold to a fellow from the east who received a contract from the National Science Foundation to supply them with parkas and they the NSF only wanted Lamilite so I showed him how to work with the Lamilite and they made several hundred parkas and then continued to use it after the contract was completed. The owner then started using primaloft so I terminated sales to him. He soon thereafter sold out to a fellow in Florida. I called him and offered to sell him the Lamilite but he refused just like his predecessors.

They who owned the company used the fishnet material as the lining to allow all moisture from your body to get away from you. It was then absorbed by the open cell foam where it stayed and eventually froze creating an ice box around the person wearing the garment. Is it any wonder why they failed when they had the opportunity to use the best there is and refused all of my efforts to help them.

Today there are one or two companies that use this open cell foam which in my opinion can be very dangerous. It is never good to wear clothing that retains any moisture.

Had any of the owners took me up on my offer they would I believe still be in business and I would have a good customer.

Maybe if manufacturing does start returning to the U.S.A. and if there are some outerwear manufacturers in the group maybe one will call me to buy Lamilite and then they too will be able to say “simply the best insulated garments in the world”!!!