Merino....how's it work for you?

[dzlfarmboy]

Merino base layers are a must for me. Socks underwear, t shirt, and pants. When hiking I sweat a lot and merino will not stink and get funky like poly. It dries very quick, have you ever soaked a merino wool sock and a cotton one and rang them out and seen how much water the cotton one still had retained compared to the merino? There are warmer base layer options out there but not ones that have those characteristics.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I have Smartwool, First Lite, and Ice Breaker......once sweat soaked and wet.....I strongly disagree with it drying out under a puffy. It's wet/damp at home in front of a wood stove much longer than anything else I've used.

If not backpacking....I hike in 3-4 miles with a headlamp and get naked and changed out before sun up. All day damp with Merino sucks. I have switched to packing a fresh base layer, either fresh merino but most often a synthetic. The FL Chama hoodies are very handy, but I have warmer and more dry synthetics when it really counts.

Once I quit wearing it out West, things got a lot better for me. I didn’t have to take extras to change in to, cause I found that I didn’t sweat without it.

Too bad it doesn’t dry any better than it does or actually offer any benefits.

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

Love it, all my base layers are wool. A lot less stink and I find it much more breathable that many synthetics, which I tend to sweat more in.

I won't wear anything but wool blend socks. A good pair I can wear for 2-3 days and there's no stink with airing out over night. My feet run hot, so they're always a little moist, so wool helps keeps them warm.

I like that fact that things can get a bit wet and still feel warm. Most of my layers are quite thin, so they tend to dry out quickly, not as quick as a synthetic, but nothing like cotton. Wool also sheds dirt, I have pair of icebreaker wool field pants and they're tough to get dirty, even mud brushes off once dry.

Wool clothing requires proper care and I'm skeptical of the brands that say you can wash with everything else. I use wool friendly detergents (wool lite) and always hang to dry. Detergents alkali pH will adversely affect wool fibers. Washing with detergent and a dryer will remove the lanolin oils in the wool which gives a lot of it's benefits, it will also feel less soft.

 

[Trial153]

I have gone 180 on wool and back to synthetics for active hunting. Dry quicker and wick better for me.
I have several merino brands and honestly other the fit and finish I don't find much performance difference. Ibex, Sitka, first lite, wool power and smart wool. They are all good quailty and have there place.

Call me crazy but for little weight plenty I been wearing a sitka core hoody almost exclusively, I carry a second one with me. I will switch them out after a couple days and if have clean water available I will wash it a creek. The thing drys quicker then any merino I own and its luxury to switch into a clean base after few hard days.

 

[*zap*]

I wash my 100% wool on a washboard and with woolite, wool blend socks go in washing machine.

 

[ctowntex]

Ever since I switched to First Lite merino base layers I don't get nearly as cold as I used to with synthetic stuff. I also don't wear as many layers as I used to so I feel less bulky. Call me an outlier, but I don't ever see me going back to synthetic base layers.

One important thing I've noticed about merino. It SUCKS if there's any wind and you don't have a windproof outer layer on. I make sure and have a good windproof outer layer and I'm good to go.

 

[tonedover]

Im back to synthetic. I drank the merino base layer kool aid and after last year’s repeated miseries i sold most of it.

Wind cuts right through it - even with 3 layers of it. This year ill be heavy on sitkas polygiene base layers so ill see how the smell goes with those.

In my treestand experiences, i just dont get along with wool.
Oddly for my heavier weight, i run quite cold, and get more warmth from my fleeces

 

[Chuck44]

The lack of odor retention and the ability to wear several days without washing are the main reasons that I use Merino for base-layers. I even switched from a synthetic mid-layer to a Wool one (Sawtooth) because I noticed the underarms on the synthetic mid-layer would get ripe after just one day even though the merino base-layer under it would have no odor. If I get cold, I put an Insulation layer on over the mid-layer. Always have a wind/rain protection layer available...

 

[5MilesBack]

I love lightweight merino for archery elk hunting. I wear it 24/7 tops and bottoms while out there. I'll completely soak my merino shirt with sweat every day and sometimes even my poly camo shirt over it, but the lightweight merino shirt is always dry by the time I hit the sleeping bag every night. It works as intended and works very well.

 

[All American Boy]

Darn tough merino wool socks are awesome. The merino wool shirts and underwear, not so much. They don't dry fast and they stretch out like crazy. Synthetic going forward.

 

[traviswdalton]

For my whole one day of elk hunting in the rain I wore first lite. The 100% merino wool stuff. I felt warm all day even though I was soaked. Granted we were walking most of the time but even when we stopped I didn’t get cold at all. Temps were in the 50’s I think. Might be different if it were in the 40’s.


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[Jtgreene20]

There are lots of opinions about merino vs synthetics and ultimately it comes down to personal preference. For me, it's hard to beat merino base layers when it comes to odor control if you are on a 7 to 10 day backcountry hunt. I haven't found any synthetics that can even come close. I do prefer my outer layers to be synthetic or down for durability/warmth.

 

[Jdhunttrapfish]

I have just started wearing merino base layers this year for treestand hunting, I have had generally long walks probably a third of a mile or more and the merino has been awesome for soaking up any sweat, as it has been atleast in the 60s when I was hunting, also no stink either, and when it did cool down I to the 50s I was fine with just the lightweight merino shirt

 

[G2outdoors]

I agree. Not that warm, but don't stink either. Carry a light down puffy for insulation when you get chilled.

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[Fonkie]

Still love my FL underwear & socks but I’m losing my love affair with merino after that. I think the advancement in the synthetic lines with scent control & their superior durability & comfort over days in a row use with the ability to dry makes them a better choice to spend my money.

 

[InfantryDL]

Merino base, not necessarily for warmth, its just softer and dries a little quicker.
In comparison to cotton that is, never tried poly or other plastics.

 

[RCB]

In my experience and from what I’ve read, cotton, wool, or synthetic shirts of the same thickness all pretty much insulate to the same degree, at least in dry conditions. Merino wool long johns of a given thickness aren’t noticeably different from cotton long johns of equal thickness. There is probably some difference, but I’ve never noticed it.

None will feel truly *warm* when fully wet. None will insulate well when soaked. Supposedly merino wool performs better in that case, and I buy that, but I’ve never seen anyone show the numbers. If it’s only a few percent better at insulating, you’d never notice, even if technically true. If someone knows the numbers, please share.

The one difference I do know of from my own amateur experiments is that cotton appears to absorb more water per weight than merino, and more still than a polyester synthetic (especially fleeced). My experiment showed something like 40% more than wool. Synthetic only slightly better than wool. That’s generally a good thing, especially if the source of water is external, because water sucks out body heat both through conduction (much more conductive than air) and evaporation. More absorbed water = more heat loss. It also means soaking up less sweat.

If you’re really cold, use down or down-like lofted synthetic jackets. Base layers of any fabric won’t do it.

 

[khel]

Works great for me. Socks - Darn tough for many years and no plans to change. Love it as a base layer as well. Non of the synthetics are even close as far as scent control goes. When wet - it feels warmer than cotton to me. If not for the price - I'd have a lot more merino t-shirts.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I wear merino as a base lay, from socks to neck. Then I put Sitka on over it. Why? Fall in a freezing cold stream one day and you'll understand. Your camos might save your life.