staying warm

AN INTERESTING COMMENT ON MY “WILL IT EVER HAPPEN” ARTICLE

A good friend sent the following comment to me. Does it ring true?

“As Pogo said in the comics of our youth, “We have seen the enemy, and it’s us”!”

TARIFFS

Since the administration decided to hold off on instituting the new 25% tariffs I decided to find out if the previous 25% tariffs already in place had sleeping bags on the list. Well they are on the list. That means the “no sleep sleeping bags” already in stores delivered for this summer sales are more expensive than they otherwise would have been. Those who chose to buy any of these bags are getting less of a product than they think they are getting and paying even more for it.

WHY STAYING WARM IN THE MOUNTAINS DURING THE SUMMER IS IMPORTANT

This morning I received a phone call from a customer, Richard who lives in Pennsylvania who is concerned about hunting the high country of PA during the winter months. He wanted to know what he needed to wear to stay warm with temperatures that he said could go from plus 15 to 0 especially when the wind increased to cause wind chill temperatures.

We reviewed the various options available so he will not be cold regardless of the temperature. He has settled on the Ducksback Alaska range parka with the L-6 zip in liner and a liner vest that he will carry in the event he needs more insulation. These two layers of clothing will actually perform in a slow active situation to 15 degrees below zero so long as the rest of your body is insulated properly as well. Wearing shorts and flip flops will not cut it.

Since we were speaking to each other versus communicating via e mails which is what I prefer (speaking that is) I reviewed with him what I experienced when I was lost. If you are warm as I was; you do not think about getting warm, you therefore can concentrate your thoughts on other things that are of importance at that moment.

When I see the many ads that all of the companies have for their unlined jackets made from the bogus w/p breathable materials I can only believe the people wearing these jackets getting into the higher elevations discovering that they are experiencing chills when the temperature drops but a few degrees and when the wind picks up or if it starts raining. As I told Richard having at minimum the liner vest to add will make all the difference in the world. The same holds true for those who already own these light weight unlined jackets.

Of course the best of the garments to actually have for this mild weather activity is the Ducksback zippered jacket. For those of you who are weight conscious I weighed an extra-large size Ducksback zippered jacket and the weight is 21 ounces. I did not weigh every size since I expect the weight to change by 3 ounces up or down per size.

What you get with the Ducksback zippered jacket is the best rain garment there is, since it keeps out the rain and is vapor permeable as well. Then of course there is the Lamilite layer of insulation (L-3) that comes in handy when the temperature drops. Need I say more? I do not think so. However, I have already published a number of comments from people who have purchased the Ducksback zipped jackets attesting to how well it performs in these environmental situations. Unfortunately I haven’t had their experiences out in the bush just here in Grand Junction so I do know that the garment does perform as described by me and with my customers support. Customer support is far better than a paid user of product or as the companies who pay them they refer to them as “ambassadors”.

PRODUCTION IN NORTH KOREA

To the best of my recollection possibly around the first of year 2018 I read an article in one of the British publications that I receive almost daily talking about textile products that were being made in North Korea for Chinese companies located in China.

It seemed to me that US companies pressuring the Chinses companies that were working for them should lower prices had set up factories in North Korea where labor is lower than in China. In this manner the US companies got what they wanted the Chinese companies got what they wanted and of course the North Korean government got what they wanted.I have no idea if the US companies were aware of this.

All the labels sewn on to all of these garments have made in China labels. Also all the product is shipped from China to the USA or Europe or where ever.

Since the Berry Amendment has been changed from its original intent of certain products and in my case textile products had to be made in the USA with USA components period it was okay. Then it was changed to a $50,000.00 ceiling which is now $250,000.00 to allow companies to import these amounts of the product which could be made in North Korea. Would the US companies be aware of this, doubtful because the Chines companies they are dealing with certainly would not tell them.

If the British publication were right and I do believe that to be the case the only way to end sourcing for the US military products from China is if the congress were to void the threshold bring it back to $0.00 and bring it back to the original intent of ALL products and their components must be made in the continental USA!!!

For the last sentence of this article refer to Pogo comment at the beginning of the article.