Testing Wiggy's Products

Many years ago I owned a Dutch built steel hull sail boat. It was made for sailing the North Sea which I am told is not the smoothest place to sail, so I had an ocean going sail boat. I sailed it for 5 years in the north east, L.I. Sound, to Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean on the south side of Long Island, mostly solo. Being 28 feet long and slow, it displaced 12000 pound bare hull it was a dream to sail in moderately rough seas.

In 1974 I decided to retire and sail to the Bahamas and who knew where else. After 13 months I ended the sabbatical.

When I decided to follow my dream of doing something that I really liked to do; sail, I informed friends and family and some customers of what I was planning. At no time while making these plans did it ever occur to me to ask one person to give me any support financially or otherwise. One customer upon hearing of my plan went into the backroom of his office and came out with a US Navy survival raft that his company made for the Navy during WW2. I am happy to say the raft was never needed.

I have written a book about my years in the world of business that has yet to be published, and I have one chapter about the sailing trip which I will post soon.

That all said for years I have as a result of the success of the Wiggy’s product, specifically the sleeping bags get calls or letters via email from people WANTING me to GIVE them product because they are going on some adventure and IF I were to give it to them they would test it and report back on THEIR website how good my product is. I always turn them down and tell them that they have insulted my intelligence. They get upset and show it in a variety of ways that I will not discuss.

Why did they come to me in the first place, because as they said to me they heard my products are good! Well they are I tell them because I have been using ALL of the knowledge I have acquired for the past 50 plus years to make these products. Further I tell them I do not sell products that haven’t been tested by me for the most part and I can make a variety of products such as the new Hammock sleeping bags to perform properly without further testing. These young people or people without much knowledge of what it takes to make an insulated product just don’t get it.

I recall getting a call from a fellow who want me to donate a sleeping bag to his son who was walking either the Pacific Coast Trail or the Appalachian Trail, why call me I enquired, because he heard how good my bags are. I said thank you but I think if you value your son you should buy him one of my bags, and told him of my sailing trip, and not asking people to help me do what I loved to do. He hung up a very disappointed man.

You may know of the TV program “Alone”, well I am now finding out several, not all of the participants are using Wiggy’s sleeping bags. It seems those who have used them tell the new contestants about them so I am very pleased for this word of mouth advertising. Maybe one day all of the contestants will chose to use them, and maybe one day the people who run the program will advise them that having a Wiggy’s will be in their best interest, but who knows if that will ever happen, even though it is the truth.

To one and all who want to follow their dream as I did if a sleeping bag is necessary come to Wiggy’s but do not think you will get it for free.

With respect to the sailing trip, I used my own bags and other live-a-boards seeing them wanted to buy mine, but I would not sell. When I returned I did get into the sleeping bag business the company was called Olam making bags for the nautical market which proved to be a bust, and I thought I would make a fortune doing that. I do sell to boaters but not as many as I sell to hunters. They are still the best bag you can possibly put on a boat and my liners under foul weather gear are also the best you can get. These items do not absorb water in any state and if you get wet they still keep you warm.

Follow your dreams and safe sailing.