thermal imaging

THERMAL IMAGING

Cameras that take pictures of unseen heat are called thermal imaging cameras.

About 30 years ago a magazine, Northern Pilot located in Anchorage Alaska did an experiment using a thermal imaging camera.

They bought airplane engine covers from I believe four companies, Wiggy’s included. They started the engines to heat them up in an unheated hanger during I believe January. After turning off the engines they strapped on the engine covers. After a few hours they started photographing each plane.

The other engine covers were made with quilted fabric, and I know one company is in Montana I believe still in business.

The thermal imaging camera showed red lines which is where the heat was escaping. However, the thermal imaging picture of the non-quilted Wiggy engine cover was black, in other words no heat was escaping.

Recently I became aware of a new company to me Fieldsheer that is selling, probably made someplace in Asia, I would best guess China electrically heated outerwear, handwear and footwear.

What you see on their website are pictures of their garments showing were they have positioned the heating elements. The heating elements have been activated for the pictures. The heating elements show clearly because they are red just like the red stitch lines shown in the pictures of the engine covers. They are showing where the heat is escaping from the jackets they are selling.

Some of the jackets are made with down and the ever failing primaloft.

I do not know at this time how many companies are selling the electrically heated garments; however, they come and go since the concept of heated garments is a failure. If it weren’t these companies would be thriving.

They are also brain dead in my opinion.

If you are going to make winter outerwear it is behooving upon you to first understand how the human body works and then learn about the forms of insulation to cloak the body with. These are the starters of information needed. These people have done nothing in the way of this.

They are working on the basis of gimmickry. If they were to have made these garments and gone into the field experimenting, they would have learned very quickly that they did not have a viable product that actually performed.

They are not alone when it comes to the field of outerwear manufacturing. Over the many years that I have been active in the outerwear business I have seen probably 15 or 20 different brands of insulation presented to the manufacturers, in many cases the same product with different name such as primaloft offers. I have seen electrically enhanced outerwear, socks and mittens as early as the mid to late 1960’s.

The only thing that has changed today is the source of battery power. Nothing works better just like the different names of chopped staple fiber or melt blown polypropylene.

I believe all of these companies make so to speak enemies of the people who buy their products once they realize they do not work and they feel betrayed, “taken.”

When you sell someone an insulated product under false pretenses you are toying with their life. All too often someone goes on a hike thinking if the weather gets nasty, they have with them a garment that will give them protection to only find out just the opposite and hopefully survive the situation. If so, the label in that garment will never be bought again. I proudly state that is not the case with Wiggy’s products.

My strong advice is to stay clear of electrically heated gimmicky garments.

And finally, as I have said numerous times, there is not now nor do I believe in the future any form of material to use for insulation other than continuous filament fiberfill, i.e. Climashield and Lamilite.

Maybe one day the companies selling outerwear will take the hint!!!