Why Wiggy’s Sleeping Bags are the Best That Can be Made

For many years customers of mine have after using my bags in numerous situations, asked why my bags perform so much better than all the others they have used during their years camping. What is it about the Lamilite that makes it better than all of the other forms of insulation to include the continuous filament fiber product as used by other manufacturers? Often I have said it was magic, which of course is not the case. They perform better than all of the others that are available for purchase because of the technology that has gone into the making of the Wiggy’s bags.

The single most important component of any sleeping bag is the insulation used. It has been my experience in the field of insulation to have recognized that continuous filament fiber is singularly the absolute best raw material there is for use as insulation. There are several other companies who use the continuous filament fiber insulation in their bags; however their bags do not perform as they note on their temperature ratings. Why is this so; if these other companies are also using the continuous filament fiber? They are number one not using it to its best advantage and number two they are not using heavy enough weights.

What I mean when I say they are not using the continuous filament fiber to its best advantage has to do with the manufacturing method used. Their manufacturing method used entails quilting the fiber. This process damages the lofting quality of the fiber. The quilting confines the fiber in small areas. The quiltings lines may be as much as 10 inches apart while the over all width of the sleeping bag is 33 inches. This means that the fiber is restrained in 10 inch increments. Restraining the fiber in this manner causes the fiber to fatigue and therefore it loses its loft, never to return. I have also noted that the weights of the fiber used by these manufacturers are so light as to be porous. Under this condition when the fiber is fabricated into a batting the resin binder sprayed on the fiber penetrates deep into the fiber web structure and as such the fibers become adulterated, coated with the resin. This coating weakens the fiber further causing it to not have any resilience of any consequence. Loss of loft is enhanced as a direct result of the coating.

The use of these light weight battings is a contradiction to what is actually needed to make a sleeping bag that will perform. The weight or thickness of the fiberfill is so thin as to be extremely porous. There is no density to speak of so all warmed air is not stifled or trapped by the insulation provided. The resilience of the fiberfill as I said is compromised by the resin bonding process so the loft of the bag deteriorates quickly. Now the insulation is further reduced. The quilt stitching also compresses the insulation along the stitch lines which will trap water if it is introduced to the bag. In 1996 or 7 this phenomenon was noted by the science advisor to the Alaskan command (Army) when he received samples of the then new sleeping bag system to evaluate. This was reported back to the laboratory that sent them. All to no avail since all of the sleeping bags that the military has had made for them under their contracts are quilted. They also use continuous filament fiber batting that is to light for the intended temperatures they are supposed to work at.

If you took the time to look at every other sleeping bag that is insulated with continuous filament fiber sold in the consumer market they too are all quilted with the exception of the Wiggy’s bags.

The fabrics these manufacturers use for the shell and lining of their bags contributes to their poor performance. It is a known fact that the human body is constantly exhausting moisture which if contained in a sleeping bag is detrimental to the bags ability to retain the heat that is also produced by the human body. As with the fiberfill these manufacturers are trying to make the lightest weight bags they can, so the fabrics they use are most often down proof high count nylon made with fine denier yarns which may also be calendared. They are also one half the weights per square versus what I use. The problem they have created for themselves has to do with the lack of vapor permeability. These fabrics are so tightly woven that any vapor coming out of the human body will ultimately get trapped within the cavity of the bag. Once the moisture is trapped in the bag it will absorb the heat you produce and cool you; not a good thing.

Those who make sleeping bags using this method of manufacture with these materials are destined to fail. They have failed since the late 1960’s when continuous filament fiber was first sold to them and they have learned nothing from their own history. You can read any day of the week on any outdoor oriented web site that has a chat room people writing that this brand of bag or that brand isn’t keeping me warm. They are civilians or military personnel commenting on the issued bag system. They still chose to follow the failure of these bags with new voices who claim that they can do it. In one instance I read about a fellow who may have received a contract from the military to produce a bag which he claimed would be 30 percent lighter and 20 percent more efficient than the existing bag used by the military. The only thought that came to me after reading the article was the man is a joke. He has no knowledge of the subject; I know this since I did have opportunity to speak with him in my office. I think he came to see me to glean if possible information from me. I was actually open to his questions but he was incapable of understanding my answers since he was predisposed to quilted concept.

The Wiggy’s sleeping bags utilize the continuous filament fiber to its best advantage. I make no concession to the cosmetic appearance of the product. The others want their synthetic bags to resemble down bags. I have eliminated all of the sewn through seams created by the quilting process. Why? Because I have learned sewn through seams are cold spots, didn’t these other people recognize the problem? Blank out.

Then there is the fiberfill itself, what I use are heavier weights than anyone else, why? Because the loftier and denser the fiberfill the more difficult it is for the heat produced to escape. Because the fiber is not quilted every 8 to 10 inches but is uniform in its loft from head to foot and side to side the heated air does not have an easy way out.

Then there is the nylon that I use for both shell and lining. It is not the high count quality but a fabric that has been to the best of my knowledge in production since the inception of nylon production in the 1930’s when DuPont first developed nylon. Its strength is unquestioned and its vapor permeability qualities are exceptional. Body produced moisture does not stay in a Wiggy’s bag.

Wiggy’s bags are sold in greater numbers in the USA than any other brand and while I do not know exact figures I am sure Wiggy’s bags in their price range are sold 10 to one over all the other brands in the same price range. Why? Because they are the only bags that perform in the temperature ranges they are noted for use. In reality they are under rated. The sleeping bags as well as the clothing that I produce are made in a manner that utilizes the materials to their best advantage as I have learned about them; with respect to their various characteristics. Knowledge derived from experience that I have had with my products as well as from others users of my products dictates the best ways of using the technology that is available.

That which I have learned I have offered to other companies without success. The new blood so to speak is people in the outdoor industry are uneducated in this field. This attitude reminds me of the 14 year old who knows everything and his father nothing until the kid becomes a gown up and then wonders how quickly his father became so knowledgeable. Therefore, the question I leave you with is will they ever learn? My personal answer is; NO!