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5 September 2023 --- Ralph

We're building here a collection of vids on the performance of our garments and our Fabrics. Most recent video on top.

This most recent video was inspired by the four videos that follow it. Most people have heard that "wool keeps you warm even when it's wet". So, a few of us dunked ourselves in cold winter water to see if wet wool really would keep us warm. It did. When we posted these "dunk" videos, and cited some research that wool actually generates heat when water is added, there was some disbelief. And really, the idea of a wet fabric getting warmer does seem to run counter to common sense. But Albert Einstein, who famously turned common sense inside out, observed that "common sense is actually nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind prior to the age of eighteen."

We did address some of the skepticism in writing on this page.

So ... this first video is a crude kitchen-table experiment. Maybe we'll refine it, but the idea was to demonstrate in a simple way that wool plus water actually does generate heat. This is very important for All-Purpose Outerwear!!

 

 

If you want to try this wool+water test yourself, a typical household thermometer is probably sensitive enough, and we can certainly provide small pieces of Fabric.

Back in grade school, the science teachers liked to propose "thought experiments" ... that is, just think about something. Most people are shocked that wool deals so well with water, and that it will actually generate heat when wetted. But imagine people who had been wearing wool all their lives, all the time, testing cotton. I guess they'd be shocked that it feels colder rather than warmer when wet. Probably they would also be shocked that wet cotton chafes. One of the things I like best about wool socks is that they don't chafe, no matter how wet.  

Next, four winter "dips" in WeatherWool. The idea is to see how a person in our wool might feel after an accidental dunk in the cold.

This most-recent video is from Advisor Cody Bokshowan (@TrustinTimber), who is working with us in his professional capacity (as explained in the video). Cody's main responsibility with us is improvement of our presentation. He explains more in the video, but basically he felt as a professional he must speak from personal experience. Seeing my and other people's winter-swim vids (also below) was not good enough.

 

Drew Gray bought a MidWeight Drab Anorak in February of 2022 and tested it for a month. Drew sent us this video on 27 March, 2022, and gave us permission to use it.  MANY THANKS, DREW!

 

About the same time Drew did his dunk, "P", a cold-weather instructor for the US Military, also did some testing of our wool. P acquired his Anorak through a donation to our WarriorWool Program. P posted the results of his test on YouTube. THANKS to P for a great review!

 

Below is me swimming briefly on a winter day when air temp was right at the freezing point. I was wearing wool socks, WeatherWool Pants ("commando style") and the very first All-Around Jacket we made. That Jacket was made from the first Fabric that met my Performance Specs.

 

Denali (THANK YOU!) and I made this video in 2017 because I was frustrated and, frankly, somewhat annoyed at three or four magazine pieces I'd just come across. The articles talked about how a person should respond in the aftermath of an unexpected dunking in winter ... such as breaking through ice or falling from a canoe. The authors suggested ways of building emergency fires, and recommended always carrying extra clothing sealed in waterproof containers. But none of the articles addressed the clothing you should wear in the first place. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." ... Wear wool ... nothing but serious wool ... and once you get out of the water, you can go about your day as if the dunking did not happen.