Sorry - I just had to vent. Am I the only one who finds Warmlite's site to be the most poorly designed site ever? I read the very badly written info on the products, and I still really have no clue what I'm buying. I would like to try out some of their gear, but the horrible, horrible layout and content writing makes me never want to do business with them.

Alright - venting is over.

I feel your pain brother.

However, their products still perform well and are "state of the art" even though they are thrity years old.

If I could only own one tent it would be the 2R.

Their vapor barrier shirts are great.

Having just ordered from them, I can appreciate these statements. I also have to wonder what is with the nudity...I was looking over my shoulder while ordering at work to make sure no one thought I was surfin' for xxx!

The Stephensen's were Naturalists and openly promoted the life style. Their children run the business now, but the website remains.

Edited by wandering_bob on 02/04/2008 16:25:50 MST.

> Their children run the business now, but the website remains.
Yes, Lord Jim has been replaced by his son, but the original web site has also been replaced. What you see today is but a pale shadow of the gorgeous array of nude females that once adorned it. :-)

Yes- so sad to see those great images are gone! I love the quirky nudes with gear image shots from years past. I have to say I miss those old images- they DEFINED Warmlite for me.

Oh well- boring progress.

I can't tell you how much the images in the catalogue rocked my world when I received it the first time at the tender age of 12! >:-D I had to hide it from my parents. I always was precocious...

Oh, yes, I actually own a 2R...

Kevin, where ya been? we thought you finally went too light.

Edited by joshcgil2 on 02/04/2008 22:36:22 MST.

Where have I been? New work and more emphasis on mtneering and now ski oriented activities. I'll be watching.
:-)>

The only gear website where I read every word from beginning to end - go figure. Bought one, slept in it that night @ 20 degrees and slept like a baby, not cold, not hot, no sweat, just a perfect sleep. I had to buy three more, one for my wife, two for my children, just to keep them away from mine. I'll splurge weight wise (and certainly price wise) to sleep as well as I do with this sleep system. Look past the naturist photos and read the material, quite informative and from someone who got it right 40-50 years ago. For such foresight they deserve and got my business.

Edited by Luisramos on 02/18/2008 21:34:40 MST.

I prefer to choose when I want to use a VBL, like on cold nights is ideal, hot nights are NOT ideal. I also like to be able to remove the VBL for washing separate from my down bag. All my complaints about Stephenson's sleep system would be solved if they offered a version that allowed these two choices.

I also think they oversell their tents. My WarmLite was the most uncomfortable tent I have owned thanks to too much condensation (yes, even with a VBL in place). Nice theory about the high-low vents, but didn't work in my reality. Nowm if Warmlite ever makes a version with a mess inner wall instead of silnylon, I might reconsider...

I was surfing for photos of naked women the other day and got directed to the Stephensons/Warmlite site. I was afraid someone would look over my shoulder and think that I was looking for ultralight backpacking gear!

I find the nudity thing hilarious. Awesomely kitsch. I love it. Definitely reminds me of and gives me a glimpse into an ideal from a different area and ideal. I know of no other place where you could find a glimpse of this area and idea.

I would hate to see it disappear but perhaps they can put it in a "website museum" by keeping it on the server somewhere.

Their website is god aweful. It's not just the design, but the lack of good detailed product shots, horribly dated... and the writting. What's with the attitude? I read the vapor barrier article and can't remember when the last time it was I read something with such a horrible chip on the shoulder. The general theme of it seems to be those clueless mainstream ass holes spreding missinformation and downright stupidity. The article is good, shows a remarkable knowlege, but it's so laced with off the cuff remarks it completely undermines its own validity.

"What's with the attitude?"

Jack senior (John), in the late 60's, put all that together on a typewriter and did his own photo shoots. He was following the marketing mode of that era. "Baffel 'em with bullsh*t, and sell 'em with sex." It will make for a great anthropological study some day.

Jack junior (William) is just coasting along, literally scanning in the old catalog, seeing no point in change, as long as the money keeps rolling in.

Edited by greg23 on 12/05/2009 07:55:36 MST.