Merino wool for outdoors adventuring

[guitarplayer]

I don't find a lot on merino wool for outdoors adventuring on the forum. On the internet I read that people value these highly, e.g. set out adventuring with three t-shirts / long sleeves, one for sleeping, one for the day and a spare one and can go on for days on end with no odour at all.

I had a brief look online and see pure merino wool items but also blends with synthetic. Anyone has experience with any of these products or otherwise anything of value to contribute on that?

[Laura Ingalls]

I have had several merino items over the years. Love my darn tough and smart wool socks. Love my icebreaker long johns and zip hoodies. Best part of the long johns are that they dry so fast. Two pair would be all you ever needed.

I don’t like merino tops. This “they don’t stink” stuff has not been true for me. I also find them a bit itchy which has not an issue for other merino items.

[Jean]

Merino will wear away very quickly, but from a confort and odour point of view, it is really great. I really enjoyed mine while it lasted.

But

The short lifespan and the big price makes it too expensive to use.

Now i use coton.
I have usually two t shirt. One that i wear all the time, and a spare one.
In addition, i have one warm layer (wool fleece or down) and one protect layer (coton or fleece).

[AxelHeyst]

Merino is my go to cool or cold weather technical base layers. In warm or hot weather I find them itchy, I wear cotton. All my socks and undies are wool, all weather. The heavy weight icebreaker merino hoodie base layer I’m wearing right now I’ve had for almost ten years.

I think it’s the lightweight warm weather merino stuff that wears out quick. For heavy cold weather layers the stuff lasts longer ime.

It's true you can go days and days wearing the same wool undies and it’s not gross. I travel with two pair and handwash a pair every few days.

I really like wool and prince tshirts and boxer briefs. I’ve had their blends, not 100% wool. Expensive but very long lasting.

Three shirts for adventuring is excessive. I don’t know why you need an expensive technical layer to sleep in. And a backup shirt? What kind of adventuring are we talking about here?

[guitarplayer]

Thanks all for input!

I really like wool and prince tshirts and boxer briefs. I’ve had their blends, not 100% wool. Expensive but very long lasting.

So is my understanding correct that merino blend offers added benefits without compromising core qualities of merino wool clothes?

Three shirts for adventuring is excessive. I don’t know why you need an expensive technical layer to sleep in. And a backup shirt? What kind of adventuring are we talking about here?

Here I meant t-shirts (might be my language confusion), so imagine a thin sort of clothing. I might well discover after some time with three of these that I only need two.

[guitarplayer]

Also, what precisely do you consider a worn out merino base layer? We have a lot of tolerance, can mend and don't mind small holes etc. Also, if applied like in the case of @AH in cold or cool weather, so in conjunction with a jumper or similar, then they don't need to look good so long the fabric still roughly keeps together (brings to my mind the first matrix scene when they eat their breakfast goo).

But if I read @jean saying they wear out quickly I think this probably at the least matches our tolerance level.

By the way I find there are heaps of merino wool jumpers by popular brands in charity shops for less than $20, I have a few and use them almost all the time outside of summer (and sometimes in summer to, like now). One of them somehow ended in a regular laundry and shrank, yesterday I tried using it as a long sleeve base layer with reasonable result, but I need to try this again in cooler weather. It was a tad itchy in the 20 C we had here yesterday.

[IlliniDave]

I wear merino or merino blend hiking socks any time I'm outdoors. I can't really tell a difference between the two. For me they last longer than socks made from other material, and don't come with the itch of regular wool. The main reason I like them is they hold very little water and dry quickly. They stink up slower than alternatives, but they aren't completely odorless. I've never tried any shirts or pants or jackets intended for outdoor activities. I do have a couple everyday sweaters made from merino that I like better than wool, but tbh I prefer cotton for sweaters.

[AxelHeyst]

So is my understanding correct that merino blend offers added benefits without compromising core qualities of merino wool clothes?

Here I meant t-shirts (might be my language confusion), so imagine a thin sort of clothing. I might well discover after some time with three of these that I only need two.

I think so. Blends will hold their shape better / longer, I believe. The main reason to not have a blend is if you’re a purist, I think? I don’t have any 100% merino shirts but I just got some pure merino boxer briefs and I won’t do that again. They don’t hold shape/support. If I didn’t care about that I would like the pure merino. I might try 100% merino for a tshirt when I need another one next.

It might be useful to clarify what you mean by adventure though. Climbing? Back/bikepacking? Slow traveling with carryon size luggage only? If I’m in dirtbag mode, I just need one shirt. If I need to be in enclosed spaces with non dirt bags during the adventure, sure, it’s good to have a clean shirt. But I’ll just bring a cotton shirt and only wear it when I need to not be stanky.

But yeah, long story short, merino is great stuff particularly if you can’t stand capilene or other synthetics.

[Ego]

I have owned every type and brand of merino clothing over the years. I find things second-hand so I get to see how they fail. The heavier weight jackets and sweaters tend to hold their shape if you do not machine-wash them. The socks are good but bulky. The lightweight stuff seems to always become misshapen, sprouts holes, and wrinkle if not dried perfectly flat.

A few years ago I found two pair of DanishEndurance bamboo cycling socks in a pile of second-hand cycling clothing. They have lasted for years, resist smells, wick sweat well, dry quickly, do not become misshapen and are super comfortable. Since then I have found a couple of bamboo shirts which have the same properties.

[guitarplayer]

Thanks @AH, very practical elaboration !

Slow traveling with carryon size luggage only?

Mostly this, or with one registered luggage, and with DW, this is also significant. Our hiking gear can be improved, I got lazy due to cycling with panniers on roads as this form of adventuring is very forgiving if it comes to gear (also a form of gear as a handicap when hanging out with DW).

@Ego I will check that brand; also, I have bamboo socks as well and they are wearing off now only after about 2-3 years, so I might follow the cue further. Thanks!

As a side note that you might like, at the Latvian ERE meet-up we visited a second hand store in a shopping mall (!) and DW found me what she thought were black hiking trousers but they looked good enough for me to eg wear to the office. We’d then checked out the brand and turned out the brand cross|sportswear if for folk playing golf. So I recommend this for people travelling with a carry on adventuring as the trousers are stretchy and super light but at the same look good for going more fancy places. Brand is from Sweden and second hand costed below 10$

[bos]

A few years ago, I bought the cheapest Merino socks from Decathlon, but they only lasted two months during the winter wearing it every other day. Later that same season, I received a pair of expensive Darn Tough socks, and they held up for three years. While these are extreme examples, finding something in-between should be fine.

[Western Red Cedar]

I regularly use merino socks for my outdoor backpacking adventures, but haven't invested in much beyond that. Due to the cost, I basically save them solely for backpacking or long hikes, or perhaps an indulgent day at home during the winter. I notice a big difference in terms of moisture and preventing blisters.

I also had a merino beanie that I loved for 10 years. Really breathable and more lightweight than a typical beanie. Unfortunately I left it on a train earlier this year.

[mountainFrugal]

I agree with most of the advice above. Merino is more expensive and is not as durable. I am a stinky person. DW jokes with me that I should be a tester for all these companies that claim "odor" control. I use merino almost exclusively for this reason for my non-exercise activities. For me, the merino synthetic blends last longer and do better for durability, but are also stinkier over time. Heavier washes with vinegar or a small amount of ammonia can help.

[guitarplayer]

I wonder to what extent it is planned obsolescence about these items that wear off quickly.

I have three merino wool jumpers (100% as far as I am aware), two of them for nearly three years now (bought second hand) and using frequently. There are no signs of wear or misshape. I wash them every few months, hand wash only. Another jumper I have is much older and the only issue is that one sleeve gave up a bit at the edge, but I still wear the jumper (I fixed that edge with a needle and a thread).

A merino wool buff that I've had for 8 years old has holes (I suspect from the zip or even from moths from when I lived in the countryside, or from putting it in the washing machine sometimes), but I still wear it and it works perfectly fine.

I will investigate the matter, have a feeling that it is possible to have long lasting merino wool outfit and it might just be the case that the marketing machine somehow convinces people to do things that ruin good gear.

[luxagraf]

merino synthetic blends last longer and do better for durability, but are also stinkier over time. Heavier washes with vinegar or a small amount of ammonia can help.

I've tested quite a bit of merino and merino blends and this is spot on. I happen to prefer higher merino percentage, and haven't had any issues with excessive wear or anything like that, though I have had some moth larva get to a few t-shirts over the years, which sucks (storing it sealed with some cedar helps). And yeah, it's expensive stuff, but iit also far outlasts any other fabric I've tried. Except linen, which is equally nice, but very different use case.