Knowledge proves to work

1998 has been the best year yet for Wiggy's Inc. Sales have been larger than any previous year, and letters from these many customers has increased 10-fold. I want to share some of the many comments that have come to me.

First though, I want to tell you about one aspect of Lamilite's performance has that been addressed by many of our customers. That is the quality of how well the Lamilite performs when wet. I knew that the fiber, being polyester, would not absorb water, but learning that, even if the fiber's surface is wet, Lamilite's ability to retain warmth does not become compromised was new to me. Since I spend most of my time running my business, I can't pick and choose the conditions when I do go into the woods. So, I become dependent to some degree upon users of my products for feedback. In this case it was a torrent, so to speak. Therefore, I have chosen letters that relate experiences dealing with water.

1. From the Gear Guide, March 1998 issue of Backpacker magazine:
"Our editor has been using a Lamilite-filled, 20 degree F Ultra Light FTRSS for about 6 years now, and he reports that, the bag is still holding its loft and fighting off the chill. The bag's warmth-when-wet capabilities were literally pushed to the brink when, during a 5-day sea kayaking trip along the Maine Island Trail, record rain pounded the region. The bag got soaked-actually, it resembled a sponge more than a sleeping bag-and I still slept warm."

2. Taken off of "The Gear Addict" Web site, 10/26/98:
" I think Wiggy's bags are just great. I had a liteloft bag and it went flat in a month. I have been sleeping in it outside for multiple nights and slept in freezing rain at around 20-25 degrees. (The bag comes with a thermometer.) The bag is the Ultra Light." - Mike Jackson.

3.This was taken off the Internet, http://www.lexicomm.com/gear/bags/76.html
I also saw it on several other Web sites, including BACKPACKER magazine's site.

Ultra light
"This Wiggy has performed excellent through the two short years that I have owned it. I have been in temperatures ranging from +10 to +65 and been very comfortable. This is due to the duel zipper that allows you to unzip from the bottom or the top. Just last summer I was caught without a tent in a heavy down pour that lasted through the night at the base of Mt. Washington. I was sopping wet, but very warm even with a puddle that was growing at the base of my bag. In the morning, drenched to the bone, I was able to dry the bag in a half hour via a hand blow-dryer in the men's room of a local lodge. Once dry the bag and I set off on our journey through the Presidential Range.

I would recommend Wiggy bags for people who don't want to worry about the bag getting wet and people who don't want to worry about how to wash their bag. The Wiggy is tough and rugged enough to take the abuse of any hike and washer and dryer. Finally, Wiggy has a contract with the Navy Seals to supply them with their sleeping bags which I assume is a good, and which would suggest that this is made for the harshest conditions this earth has to offer." - Terrence McCabe

4. Received this e-mail 15 Oct. 1998:
"I own a Super Light FTRSS and find it ideal for Southeast Alaska's torrential rains and brutal winds. I can testify to the warmth of Wiggy's bag when soaking wet! I plan to buy an Ultima Thule FTRSS and give my bag to my brother when he returns from Infantry School this winter. I think as an infantryman he will appreciate your bags for what they are. the best of the best!" - M.A. Albrecht

5.
"Oct. 1996 was my first trip. I knew little of equipment or what to expect. I own an x-long, x-wide 20 degree bag. I was fool enough to take only a plastic rain jacket and no rain pants. [I was] thinking Arkansas in October didn't get much rain. The OHT (Ozark Highland Trail) is quite high in altitude and the trail runs on top of the ridges. It began raining before reaching the trailhead. After a short time on the trail I was soaked to the bone! We camped early, and the temperature was about 35 degrees F. Over one inch of rain fell in only a few hours.

I was cold, and bedtime came and also my first experience with an ultralight tent. I laughed when my partner, who has many years experience, told me not to touch the side of the tent. I laughed, but he seemed serious. In the middle of the night I rolled to the side, sleeping on the side of the tent and letting water pour in! Everything was soaked, including my partner's stuff. Freezing before going to bed and then my bag getting wet, believe it or not, I remained warm. In the morning my bag was wet enough to wring out. We hiked all the next day till finding the overhang of a cliff to stay under. We dried everything and were able to start dry in the morning.

By midday the temperature was warming, sun shining, a beautiful fall day. Till the river crossing. I wound up falling in the middle with my pack on and, you guessed it, my Wiggy bag got wet again. So, after hanging around on the bank and letting the sun dry my stuff, my bag dried quickly, in approximately 1-2 hours. Completely dry!

So after a few more trips under my belt and a lot more experience, I find I also have a fine winter bag. Taking temps. As low as 0-5 degrees F. My 4-year-old son has been camping and doing day hikes since he was 2 years old, and what I plan to do is pass my bag to him in a couple years and get myself another of your bags. They're great bags!

What else can I say! Feel free to use my letter in your advertising. You make a strong, dependable product and I back these words with the use of your product. Keep up the craftsmanship and changing times." - David Jacks

I have received other letters that are equally complimentary of my products. I am always very grateful to receive them. I have also noted, since I have an e-mail address the number of letters has increased. Please don't stop, because I learn form you and I want to continue to share that knowledge with others.

At the outset of this newsletter I mentioned learning from my customers. I found the following definition of "learning" in The Ayn Rand Lexicon:

"Men can learn from one another, but learning requires a process of thought on the part of every individual student. Men can cooperate in the discovery of new knowledge, but such cooperation requires the independent exercise of his rational faculty by every individual scientist. Man is the only species that can transmit and expand his store of knowledge from generation to generation; but such transmission requires a process of thought on the part of the individual recipients."

I have been an avid student of Ayn Rand for over 25 years. Her philosophy Objectivism has been my guide.

I want to wish all of you a happy, healthy holiday season.

"Knowledge" is a mental grasp of a fact(s) of reality, reached either by perceptual observation or by a process of reason based on perceptual observation.
Ayn Rand, "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" (1979)