the meaning of dumb

DUMB

Lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid; dull-witted.

This past week one of my customers who is now working at a retail store, a chain in the sporting goods industry asked if and why no one or company has reverse engineered making sleeping bags as I do.

It is not now nor has it ever been necessary because when I developed the Lamilite; laminated Polar Guard the original name for continuous filament fiber in late 1968 I had a design studio make a parka for me to show to manufacturers. Not one company making outerwear was interested.

Then I sold 100 yards to Natick Labs for use as a mitten liner for mittens issued to soldiers serving in Alaska. They worked very well but they never went any further. But this use opened me up to the ski mitten market and I ultimately sold every ski mitten manufacture in the USA when we had manufacturers here.

As for sleeping bags I made some crude samples in my apartment to show two young guys who had been hired by Samsonite to develop a line of back packs and also sleeping bags. They were interested but the Samsonite Company shut down this new development quickly so I showed the bags to all of the companies that made sleeping bags in the USA and no takers.

When I returned from my sailing venture I decided to go into the sleeping bag business. When I sold out having proven my bags did sell I again went to the manufacturers to sell them Lamilite, companies in the USA and again they were not interested.

At this point I decided to once again manufacture sleeping bags, hence Wiggy’s was born.

After a few years I was gaining momentum in the market place and some of the marketing companies who were at one time manufacturers became my target. I approached all of the USA brands with my idea of how their sleeping bags should be made. After all I was already selling as many or more than most of them.

You may ask why I solicited them, because I am a capitalist. I believed if they all made bags like me not only would the consumer get a better product but I would be making a profit selling them the Lamilite. In many instances because these companies were getting their products made in Asia I offered to contract sewn bags for them. Then they too could put on their label made in Americas which is desirable. Again not a single company would take me up on my offer.

So reality has set in with all of the companies that get what they call sleeping bags, and that includes all of the European or who know where the companies are located continue to get what they call sleeping bags made in Asia.

Of course what they are having made for them again what they call sleeping bags that utilize the absolutely cheapest chopped staple fiber as their insulation which it is not as well as the cheapest sewing construction possible!

As far as I am concerned what these companies are promoting as sleeping are representations of sleeping bags. People who have bought them come to Wiggy’s and tell me their experiences with what includes every other brand on the market. If these bags do not function as sleeping bags are the sleeping bags, I think not.

I believe the people in the industry who claim to make sleeping bags are best described as DUMB.