In August of 1994 Sipke Camp Wilderness Safety Supply Ltd. became the official Canadian Licensee of Wiggy's Inc. of Grand Junction, Colorado. This significant as Wiggy's Inc are the developers and producers of Lamilite® Insulation. At Spike Camp we believe Lamilite is the best synthetic insulation currently available today. We have sold products built with Lamilite Insulation for almost a decade now and have yet to see anything that will compare in durability and warmth. We were so impressed with this insulation, we choose it as the only fiberfile to use in our Zulu Nine™ and Dropzone™ Wiggy's sleeping bags and clothing!

Our Sleeping bags are made indentical to the Wiggy's Bags made in the U.S. In fact we have even zipped a U.S. made Wiggy's Bag to a Canadian made Mountain Geezer/Dropzone sleeping bag!

Sleeping bags and insulation can be a very technical subject. To give our customers the straight poop on Lamilite insulation and Wiggy's designed bags, we went to the inventor, Jerry Wigutow. His explanation follows:

The single most important component or any insulated product, be it a sleeping bag, parka, bib, snowsuit, booties or mittens is the insulation inserted into those products. All Wiggy products have only one form of insulator, and that insulator is Lamilite. Lamilite is the best material developed thus far for use as an insulation for sleeping bags or outerwear. I believe that our sleeping bags and extreme cold weather outerwear are so good, that to purchase any other brand is a waste of money. That statement is made because or the confidence I have developed in the Lamilite Insulation. I believe I can support that position with facts.

Launderability-Wiggy's is the only company that wants you to wash its products when they get dirty.

The functional difference that truly sets the Wiggy's Bag apart from the rest of those manufactured is its Lamiltite insulation! Lamilite possesses an extraordinary quality that helps contain the flow of heat that your own body generates. The key to Lamilite's ability to perform is that it allows the body's own thermostat to function easily. Lamilite is a very lofty form of insulation, and the more loft surrounding your body the more difficult it is for your body heat to escape.

Lamilite is light weight. The lighter the weight of the insulation, the lighter weight of the finished product (sleeping bag or garment).

Lamilite is very soft. Put on a Lamilite parka and you automatically think it is down. the same holds true for our sleeping bags. They surround the body much the same way a down bag does, filling in or draping close around the body. This eliminates heat loss from both radiation and convection. Conductive heat loss is reduced significantly. The fiber used for Lamilite is not densely packed into our products as will be explained later on, therefore, the loss of heat via conduction is minimized.

Lamilite is not only the fill put into our sleeping bags, it is a combination of the nylon fabric and fiberfill - two parts that aid each other. The first part is visible. It is a 70 denier taffeta fabric. The 70 denier refers to the thickness of the yarn used to weave the fabric. the actual weave is 86 yarns in one direction and 104 yarns in the other, per square inch and the weight is two ounces per square yard. this thickness of yarn is the optimum thickness to absorb body heat and quickly warm to your body temperature. The faster this warming occurs, the slower the conductive heat loss from your body. The spaces between the yarns in this construction allows the moisture your body produces to easily escape. It is irrelevant how dry a climate may be, your body gives off moisture. therefore, it is important to allow this moisture easy access. Water is extremely efficient at absorbing heat, so you always want to stay as dry as possible.

The nylon is laminated by our exclusive process to the fiberfill. The fiberfill I am referring to is an unbonded, silicone coated, continuous filament fiber. Comfort Fil 7. This is inside and cannot be seen. The silicone coating gives the fiber two very desirable properties. The first is "antistatic" which allows the fibers to perpetually repel each other, regardless of how tightly the fibers are packed against each other (such as compacting in a stuff sack), the loft always returns after removing our sleeping bag from a stuff sack. Actually the relofting is as fast as you remove the bag from the stuff sack. As an example our Ultima Thule sleeping bag was compacted under twenty tons of pressure. it was blister packed in two poly bags to a size of 14½" x 9½" x 2¾". After four days it was opened and in our hour, without assistance, 90 % of its loft returned. A Lamilite insulated sleeping is the only sleeping bag that ultimately returned to its original loft. (While I do not accept test results from the copper man tests for actual field use, our Ultima Thule demonstrated no less retention of insulation in the vacuum packed bag vs. an identical bag not vacuum packed.) It is for this reason our sleeping bags will never lose the loft. A down bag will lose approximately 20% of its loft immediately when put through the same vacuum packing process. The Ultima Thule is used by the Alaska Air National Gaurd as part of their survival gear. The bags are left in the vacuum package until needed.

The second benefit of the silicone treatment is making the fiber hydrophobic. Hydrophobic comes from the word "hydrophobia" or fear of water, Water simply does not attach itself to this fiber. This is extremely important for the moisture leaving your body, passing through the spaces between the yarns and easily moving through the fiber. It is extremely important for the moisture not to condense in the insulation. If this occurs when temperatures are below freezing, frost buildup can severely reduce the thickness of your insulation, as occurs with down, or simply freeze in any other sleeping bag, and add weight. Refer to the Steger Expedition to the North Pole in July of 1986. They use 15 pound chopped staple fiber fill insulated bags that accumulated 35 pounds of ice. The fiberfill used in those bags was Quallofil, a fiber produced by Dupont Co. Even though the fiber is silicone treated, the fact that is was so densely packed in by the quilting, any flow of moisture, while in a vapor state was prevented.

The Lamilite insulation is very drapeable. It is important that the insulation of a sleeping bag drape around your body. the closer the insulation hugs your body, the less convective air movement that can occur. The fiber pushes against your body and the nylon lining touches your body. If the nylon did not touch your body, the heat from your body would be heating the air space directly above you and a convective air current would be generated. But with the nylon touching your body, it absorbs heat quickly until it reaches your temperature. this heating action then slows, thereby reducing conductive heat loss.

Lamilite is also easily launderable. When you go camping, you get dirty and so does your sleeping bag. After a while, the dirt will work its way into the insulation and combine with your body oil which will in turn cause the insulation to compact down or reduce loft, hence insulation. Therefore, it is important to wash away the dirt. It has always been my advice to wash your Wiggy's bag after each camping trip. Keeping the fiber clean will allow it to retain its original loft.

The following are simple laundering instructions:

Care instructions: All of Wiggy's Bags are machine washable (top load or front load). The water temperature and laundry detergent are your choice. Wiggy's Bags are machine dryable.It is recommended that the dryer be set at the lowest temperature setting because of the possibility of the nylon being scorched by the dryer drum. You may also air dry Wiggy's Bags. They are also dry cleanable. At the present I no of no other sleeping bag manufacture who guarantees that you can launder your sleeping bag.

The last but by no means last important feature of our sleeping bag is the zipper. We use a #10 YKK molded tooth zipper. If your zipper fails to work out in the field, it becomes irrelevant how good the rest of the sleeping bag is. The following comment came from Rich Leiland, who summered on one of the Aleutian Islands in 1987 and 1988, with one of our Ultima Thule bags: "I also like your bag zipper. They don't jam or get caught in the material, unlike every other bag I've ever had. I don't know where you get those zippers, but they are a class addition." We also manufacture snow suits for the North Slope oil field work crews using a #10 YKK. They have advised that it is the only zipper to work at -100° Fahrenheit.

I believe Wiggy Bags are so durable that if all you ever do is sleep in them and wash when they are dirty, eventually you will hand them down to your grandchildren. Therefore, do not be fooled by "hype", it could mean a very unpleasant camping trip or even your life. I say even your life because I believe a sleeping bag is the most important piece of equipment you take into the field.

Thus far I have mentioned three methods if heat loss - radiant, convective, and conductive. There have been a variety of explanations give for these ways of losing heat but all not quite satisfactory as pertains to sleeping bags. The major misinformation deals with radiant heat loss. Radiation is the action or condition of sending out rays. All bodies in our world including the human body do radiate in some way or another. Therefore we want to retain and not lose the radiant heat we produce. In recent years several manufacturers have made effort to produce an insulating material that would contain or reduce radiant heat lose. Their reasoning eludes me since the amount of total body WY heat loss through radiation is only supposed to be about 5%. To fully understand why the effort is a waste of time one must recognize that the radiant heat we produce does not represent a loss but rather a positive. I grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. and had the pleasure of the amusement area Coney Island. One of the favorite places to visit was not the rides, but Nathan's, famous for their hot dogs. There were no tables, just counter space. During the winter months you were exposed to the elements which could be brutal since you were at the ocean. In order to keep their customers from freezing they installed radiant heaters around the perimeter. As soon as you stepped under the line of sight of these heaters you were immediately getting warm. Radiant heaters heat objects not air, and I/we were one of those objects. Therefore, when you get into a sleeping bag the radiant heat you produce is absorbed by the lining of the sleeping bag, since it is the first object the rays hit, The air between your body and the lining of the bag is completely unaffected by the radiant heat just like the air at Nathan's, but I was effected in a positive way. Therefore there is no radiant heat loss. The closer the lining of your sleeping bag is to you, and our lining lays on you, the more rapidly the radiant heat you are producing works in your benefit. Convective heat loss relates to heated air moving or convective air current moving away from the body producing the heat in the first place. While growing up in a house that had radiators that were heated by with steam, you could see the heated air rising from the radiator especially in the sun light. The air moving away from the radiator is convective air movement, and unless stifled will move until it cools to the temperature at a distance from the source of heat. If the insulation of your sleeping bag is touching you the loss of heat via convection is almost entirely eliminated as you will note in a Wiggy's Bag.

Conductive heat loss in my opinion can be demonstrated by using a skillet with a metal handle. When you heat the skillet, eventually the heat will travel to the handle, or will be conducted into the handle. One method of reducing this from of heat movement is by changing the shape of the handle to a spring shape. This is most often seen on pot belly stoves. Although the handle is steel it does not hold the heat as a solid steel handle will. The same principle is in effect when you see the shape of the continuous filament fiber, it has a "vvv" shape. Further since the insulation is not compacted as quilting does, the conductive heat loss is significantly reduced as is demonstrated by the spring shaped handle of the pot belly stove.

At this point, I will go into a little more depth as to why Lamilite insulation is presently the most efficient form of sleeping bag or outerwear garment insulation in existence. The primary component of Lamilite is Comfort Fil 7, the unbonded silicone treated contimuous filament fiber, a product of the Hoechst Celanese Corp. In 1964 the Celanese Corp. patented this fiber fill product. Its intended uses were pillows, furniture stuffing and insulation for sleeping bags. It was not until October 1986, that I developed the necessary technology that allowed me to use this remarkable fiber for sleeping bags and outerwear. This process negates the need to quilt the material together. Actually the manufacturers that quilt continuous filament fiber (Polar Gaurd®) are destroying a significant portion of its abilty to perform. Polar Guard is a resin bonded,continuous fiber product. When manufacturing Polar Guard, the fiber is sprayed on both sides with a resin and put through an oven for approximately. The oven temperature is approximately 300° f. I beleive the process resin bonding destroys all of fibers resilience. It should be obvious since all of the manufacturers who use this product do not guarantee the loft and otherwise recommend that purchasers of their product not store them in their stuff sacks. Lamilite's core ingredient Comfort Fil 7 is used to manufacture Polar Guard.

The following diagrams show cross sections of various constructions of sleeing bags. Please note the similarity between a down bag and a Wiggy's Bag.

Note that the exterior seams are not quilt seams. They are the the stitch lines that hold the baffles is place. Baffles are fabric walls that keep the down from shifting. Also note the unfiformity of thickness which extends from the head to the foot of the bag. The heat your body produces rises but does not have easy acess. Unfortunately the moisture from your body and body oil get into the down. this adds weight and reduces the loft of the bag. Loss of loft means loss of insulation. You can use a vapor barrier to protect the down but this is done at your own detriment. You will find that you sleep clammy. When you bring your clothing inside the vapor barrier to dress, if they haven't spent the night with you, they will absorb your body's moisture. When you come out of the bag fully clothed, the moisture in your clothing immediately causes you to chill. This is caused by your body heat being drawn very rapidly by the moisture you created.

Now we will examine three synthetic fiber constructions. All three are presently in production with either Polar Gaurd, Hollofill, Quallofill, or unbranded fiber.

As you can see, the methods of use vary. The one constant is exterior appearance. A concerted effort is made to resemble a down bag. The primary difference between these bags and a down bag is the quilt stitching that is actually seewn through the seams. The uniformity of loft seen in a down bag does not exist. What does exist are cold spots. Offset quilting, overlapping layers of batting (shingles) or increasing the layers of fill do not alter the fact that cold spots are built into the bag. The purpose is simply to suggest that a down bag with synthetic insulation will keep you warm. Other things that are accomplished are more costs and heavier weights.

The first aspect of a Wiggy's Bag is the uniformity of loft as was previously observed in the diagram for the down bag. By eliminating quilting with Lamilite, we use less insulation which allows us to produce a larger size as a standard. Our regular size is still lighter that all other bags for equal temperature range. The result is the duplication of a down bags' best feature, without the disadvantages of water absorbtion and cost.

Earlier, I mentioned the hrdrophobic characteristic of the Comfort Fil 7 fiber. This the most important aspect of any form of insulation - how it reacts to water. Down performs admirably well until it gets wet. Regardless of how careful you are of how dry the climate is, body perspiration will be absorbed by the down. After this occurs, loft deteriorates, insulation is lost and your sleeping bag or garment gets heavier. As for the other forms of synthetic fiber insulation, they do not absorb moisture but rather inhibit the flow of this moisture, which condenses in the sleeping bag. The fibers that are touching each other also cause conductive heat loss. When fibers chill, the moist vapor is cooled rapidly changing it to liquid then ice. It is very important to know that in our climates. the bosy is generating moisture

Lamilite is quite different with respect to water. Because the fibers are anti static and repel each other and are not compacted from a quilting process, the moisture moves easily through the Lamilite. This movement of moisture is further enhanced by the silicone treatment of the fibre. Silicone acts like a lubricant which allows the moisture to move approximately 16 times more rapidly through the Lamilite insulation. In extreme cold conditions, the more rapidly your own moisture dissipates the better off you are. A verynotable charactersitic of Lamilite insulated sleeping bags has to do with the fact that they do not retain moisture after continued use in arctic conditions. We have observed that moisture will boil at lower temperatures as we gain altitude. This is due to lower air pressure, it also means that the moisture we are producing, if unrestricted as we previously observed is constant in Wiggy Bags and will not build up as we also observed occurs in virstually every other sleeping bag manufactured.

We also take into consideration some other very important factors:

1. Use of a shelter.
2. Use of a ground pad.
3. Experience as a camper. This is a very lengthy subject of which volumes have been written. All I will say at theis time is that the more knowledge you have about campoing, the more comfortable you will be and the better your equipment will perform.
4. The temperature outside of the shelter (tent). As an example, if you are using our Ultra Light model, the coldest ambeint or still air temeprature outside your tent should be -7 degrees. Under these conditions, the avarage person should sleep comfortably for 6 60 8 hours while wearing basic underwear and booties. Please note this is not a guarantee for all individuals, only a guide. Some people may need long johns while others may be comfortable at lower temperatures.

You should also have thorough knowledge of yourself. Do I sleep cold or warm? If you sleep cool, my advice is to gat a bag for the temperature range lower than you expect to encounter for most of your camping. Remember tht it is better to vent your bag if you get too warm than to have to put on an additional layer of clothing.

Earlier, I mentioned that Lamilite is hydrophobic and emphasized the importance of avoiding frost buildup in your sleeping bag. I also noted that Lamilite allows your body's own thermostat to function more easily. Our bodies heating mechanism is constantly turning on and off to compensate for heat loss or heat build up. Our body is always generating moisture which is emitted throughout the pores of our skin. If the flow of this moist air is blocked or absorbed by the insulation, that moisture now becomes our enemy. If the air temperature is below the freezing point, the moisture trapped in the insulation may freeze and you have now put yourself into a freezer of your own making. This is especially a problem in extreme cold conditions such as we find in the arctic. Evaluation if many sleeping bags show an approximate weght gain if 10 pounds of ice or more per week. Consequently, your heat is now being conducted away from you by the ice forming within your bag. Ice is another form of water. Water is possibly the best conductor if heat. An indications of this si where you can live a lifetime in a climate with an ambeint air temperature of 7.25 degrees but only an hour or so in water that is 7.25 degrees. Lamilite insulation is the least restrictive with respect to the flow of moist air. To the best of my knowledge ice build up has never occured in any Wiggy's Bag. Wiggy's Bags never get clammy in warm enviroments or become freezers in cold temperatures. As for the so called waterfroof breathables that some manufacturers use, particularly down manufacturers, these products are virtually guaranteed to have frost and then ice buildup in their bags and garments. It is irrelevant the insulation used. It is of no consequence what the marketers of the so called waterproof breathables say. Water proof breathables materials no not exist at this time, nor will they ever. In order for an entity to be considered breathable it must have the ability to inhale and exhale!

Another feature to consider when purchasing a sleeping bag is its length. Our bags are generally longer than those of other manufacturers. Other manufacturers display the foot sections of their bags with a diagram of feet almost at the end of the bag. Not much room to store anything, is there? To purchase a bag with a length so close to yours is a mistake. At Wiggy's we produce 6 foot and 6'6" length bags. It is our recommendation that an individual taller than 5'10'' pruchase our longer bag. The primary reson is tho have a place for iems you do not want ot get cold. This certainly does not mean our foot section is lacking. Keep in mind that the last part of our body to recieve inportant blood supply is our feet. Therefore, the foot section should get all of the insulation assistance available. you can also snuggle lower into the bag if you wish.

A suggestion that will hel your sleeping baf perform better is to change into dry clothing. You should carry "sleeping clothing" which is especially important whn campin g in tempertures of 32°f / 0ºc degrees or lower. It is imporatnat for you to understand that the body moisture will become trapped within the clothing you have worn all day. If you leave some of this clothing on while you sleep, the trapped moisture will quickly absorb the heat from your body and cause you to chill. Bringing separate sleeping clothing can better gaurantee a comfortable nights sleep. In addition, you should wear our booties. Wool, cotton or silk socks may feel good but they will absorb the perspiration from you feet will cause them to get cold. And a hat! Ther are many synthetics that feel like wool and would be best since the synthetic does not absorb moisture.

Having read thus far, you will understand the importance of why air permeable fabrics are vital in the construction of cold weather products. Retention of moisture in any cold weather product such as a sleeping bag, parka, bib (pants), mittens and hat works against you. Under one condition do I recommend waterproof outer wear and that is rain gear. If your are hiking or sailing and it rains, the temperature of the rainwater can be as low as 1 degree c and you will chill very quickly if this water gets through to the skin. The moisture our own body produces will not escape either. Therefore, the first layer of clothing is important. My recommendation is synthetic underwear. If your rain gear is very waterproof, the outside water will not get in. The synthetic underwear allows the body's moisture to pass through to the next layer of clothing which will absorb that moisture. The body produced moisture will not touch you and cause the chilling that would other wise occur. You have a much better chance of staying warm because you have given your skin surface a better opportunity to stay dry.

Until Lamilite the idea of a synthetic bag compacting as small as an equal temperature rated down bag was out of the question. that has changed as a result of Liamilites development. the U.S. Air Force has needed a sleeping bag that could be compression packed to a small size to fit a survival kit compartment within the ejection seats of its aircraft. Historically, the Air Force has always considered down as the best form of insulation of these bags. They had never been shown a synthetic bag that would respond after it had been subjected to the compression process. At least not untill they were shown several of our bags. At this time, the Lamilite insulation may be accepeted as a part of the next government contract and solicitation to bid. The reason I mention this is to give you as an idea of how small a Wiggy's Bag can be compacted. The actual government size requirement at this time for a -29 degree bag si 12" x 12" x 1/2". We have shown that our Ultima Thule bag manufactured using their pattern will provide a bag that fits the size requirements as well as temperature rating.

At the outset of the article, I stated "to purchase any other brand of sleeping bag would be a waste of money." I believe the facts are clear to support that statement.