Merino wool is a brilliant fiber. Merino T-shirts one way or the other handle to be snug in 95-degree Fahrenheit warmth, and merino hoodies hold you heat properly under freezing. Not like artificial fibers derived from petroleum, merino wool is pure and renewable.
One sheep can produce 4 to five kilos of wool per yr. That is as a result of the sheep that make merino wool drink solely the purest alpine waters and research the artwork of consolation beneath the tutelage of these stuck-up Pashmina goats, who, let’s face it, may know a factor or two about splendidly, pillowy softness. Simply kidding. Merino sheep do have thinner, softer wool, which has developed to maintain them snug throughout a variety of temperatures and is snug to put on subsequent to your pores and skin. It is unclear whether or not the the sheep realized to do that from Pashmina goats, however I do know that merino wool is a exceptional material that is change into the cornerstone of my wardrobe.
Sure, even in summer season. I’ve worn merino T-shirts on 100-degree days and felt high-quality, although that is much less true if you happen to throw excessive humidity into the combo—merino sheep don’t trip within the tropics, apparently. Regardless of the case, the wool’s versatility means there is a bewildering array of blends and choices to select from. Listed here are our favourite merino wool merchandise that we have examined.
Up to date February 2024: Adrienne and I’ve added just a few new T-shirt choices, a number of jackets we love, a number of new bras and underwear, and up to date hyperlinks and costs all through.
Particular supply for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This consists of limitless entry to WIRED.com and our print journal (if you happen to’d like). Subscriptions assist fund the work we do day by day.
What Does GSM Imply?
Merino wool is available in completely different weights, which you’ll steadily see listed as “200 GSM” or one thing related. (The GSM refers to grams per sq. meter.) What’s necessary is the size and the place your garment falls on it. On the low finish, you will have T-shirts and underwear, that are usually 150 GSM, although we now have seen some as little as 120 GSM. Usually, something under 200 gsm will likely be an excellent base layer. From 200 to 300 GSM are your mid-layers, and something above 300 is a heavier garment.
Begin With a Hoodie
Merino wool is flexible, however I would nonetheless argue that the perfect use case for it’s as a light-weight mid-layer, like a hoodie. It is heat sufficient for cool days by itself, surprisingly wind-resistant, and may pair with an outer shell to kind an important light-weight day-hiking layering system. It is also an excellent go-to for the gymnasium or round city.
An Icebreaker hoodie was my introduction to merino wool, and it stays my favourite jacket I’ve ever owned. Alas, after about 10 years, mine had a run-in with moths (see our care information under) and needed to be retired. Mine was not the precise fashion pictured, however very near it. This jacket is one hundred pc merino and extremely heat, regardless of not being all that thick. That makes it an important possibility for days when the climate might range significantly–it is heat sufficient for a chilly morning however will not be a burden in your pack the remainder of the day. That is on the tight-fitting facet, so if that is not your factor (and it is not mine), get the following dimension up.
When you do not need to go one hundred pc merino in your first buy, that is OK. There may be now a ton of blended attire available on the market that will get a lot of the good thing about merino, with sufficient cotton or polyester to retain the softness many people are used to. This hoodie from Ten Thousand is an effective instance. It is 76 % polyester, 18 % merino, and 6 % elastane, which provides it a comfortable, stretchy really feel that makes it very best for figuring out, mountaineering, or another out of doors exercise the place you want your jacket to flex and stretch with you.
Options
Ibex Males’s Indie Hoodie ($170): WIRED’s commerce director, Martin Cizmar, examined this midweight wool hoodie and says it is now “one in every of my absolute favorite items of clothes.” See what good wool does for you? Makes you a fan. The lower on this one is sporty however not too tight that you would be able to’t layer beneath it. The thumb loops, zippable tall neck, and hood make it much more versatile than a typical wool long-sleeve shirt. Cizmar says it is excellent for normal winter use, whether or not you are doing yardwork, biking, or tossing a soccer round within the park.
A Hoodie for Children
There is a dearth of merino wool for teenagers. Maybe the value for one thing that children might outgrow in just a few months makes the economics unappealing for producers. Regardless of the case, only a few corporations supply kids-size merino (see under for extra). In truth, this Minus33 hoodie is not obtainable in youngsters’ sizes, however the additional small girls’s match my 10-year-old completely and continues to suit her as an 11-year-old. You will need to verify the match chart on Minus33 in your personal youngsters, but when they do match, this can be a implausible hoodie. It is a lot heat (and my daughter is at all times chilly), sturdy sufficient to face as much as child life, climbing bushes, and working via the woods, and the hand heaters pair properly with mittens on chilly days. Better of all when youngsters are concerned, this one could be machine washed and tumble dried. It will not shrink or lose its form, and the colours will not bleed.
Change Fleece With a Mid-Layer
I’ve nothing towards artificial fleece. It has its place, however I hardly ever put on it today. I choose a hoodie just like the one above or the mid-layers under. Merino is best at serving to your physique regulate its temperature, somewhat than simply preserving you heat like fleece and different synthetics do.
Kora’s Yardang Jersey is designed as a midweight mid-layer. It’s in all probability essentially the most versatile factor I’ve in my wardrobe. It is a lot by itself on a cool spring day however then skinny sufficient to place one other layer on prime of it while you want extra. It is pleasantly breathable and really comfortable. The Yardang is a mix of 70 % merino, complemented by 30 % Himalayan yak wool. It is the softest little bit of merino in my assortment. When you like this mix, there’s additionally a hat and neck gaiter within the Yardang line.
If in case you have issues about utilizing goose down as an insulation layer, merino wool can also be a good substitute for artificial insulation. Vests are just like the cheat code of layering if you happen to wish to hold your core heat however your arms cell otherwise you need to get an additional soupçon of heat with out including an excessive amount of bulk. I (Adrienne) wish to layer Ibex’s Wool Aire Vest beneath my common wool coat if I am going out for the evening or on a long term.
Base Layers
I’m sufficiently old to recollect when a “base layer” was no matter cotton T-shirt you placed on. When you received chilly in that, you placed on a jacket. When you received sizzling in it, you sweated. Do you want a particular shirt to go mountain climbing? No. Simply go mountain climbing. That stated, out of doors gear advertising or not, base layers are a factor. I’ve come to like some merino T-shirts, particularly in spring and fall. They actually do not feel vastly completely different from cotton, however they do not scent after you have been sweating in all of them day, which is a big bonus on multiday mountain climbing journeys, or simply journeys to the gymnasium.
We love these long-sleeve Smartwool shirts for the way comfortable they’re. An 87 % merino wool mix with nylon means they’re extremely snug. In our base layer information, we are saying this shirt is an “very best weight,” with heavy seams (learn: sturdier, longer lasting), however not so heavy that they trigger any discomfort—the shirts lie flat and sit off the shoulder, as any half-decent base layer ought to.
Remember your legs! It by no means fails to shock me (Adrienne) how many individuals put a number of layers of insulation on their prime half and depart their legs utterly naked. Relying on the climate, I’ve a number of completely different weights of leggings that I can swap in. My favorites are the traditional Icebreaker leggings, which have lasted me virtually a decade. Nevertheless, the remainder of my household (my partner and two kids) use REI’s in-house merino wool base layers and leggings, that are a fairly priced possibility and do not irritate my son’s delicate pores and skin.
Options
Bombas Merino Wool Mix Lengthy-Sleeve Shirts ($74): If you’d like a softer shirt, we like these blends, that are 50 % wool and 50 % Tencel, a light-weight eucalyptus fiber. Tencel could be very silky to the contact, which makes this shirt notably versatile—it’s heat while you want it and gives UPF50 safety if you wish to put on it within the solar (simply don’t get the black colour). I can even say that I, Adrienne, am 5’2″ and located this shirt to be the proper size, which implies that it’s going to in all probability be fairly brief on anybody taller.
Woolies Professional Tech Crew ($115): If you’d like a hard-wearing shirt, this one is barely costlier and is manufactured from 85 % merino wool and 15 % nylon. These are made out of Nuyarn, which is a merino wool-specific know-how whereby merino wool is wrapped round a nylon core for heat, lightness and further sturdiness. It is a actually gentle base layer that I put on for working and high-aerobic actions when it’s chilly. I do must say that Ibex is no matter passes for a heritage firm on this area; the corporate was based in 1997, and my mother and father purchased me two units of Ibex base layers in 2001 that I nonetheless put on in the present day, within the yr of our Lord 2024. That bodes very properly for Ibex’s longevity, and I sit up for seeing if these replacements additionally final that lengthy.
A Few Ladies-Particular Choices
And now, a phrase on match. Ladies should not the one individuals whose our bodies can differ from commonplace sizing. However I (Adrienne) am 5’2″ and battle to search out clothes choices that may match—particularly ones that should match subsequent to the pores and skin. As high-quality as the bottom layer is, it will not hold you heat if it rucks up round your waist or sags under your hips.
Most main manufacturers supply a girls’s model of their base layers. Nevertheless, if you happen to’re having a number of issue discovering a pair that works, Kari Traa’s leggings have a really excessive waist that helps hold them up. The patterns are additionally fairly, for these of you who object to parading across the lodge in what seems to be like pajamas.
Extra Nice Choices
Unbound Ladies’s Lengthy Sleeve Merino Crew ($95): This one hundred pc merino shift from Unbound is extremely comfortable. It is a versatile shirt that can be utilized as a base layer, but it surely additionally works as a T-shirt when it is not too chilly. Match runs true to dimension, and if the one you need is bought out, be affected person, Unbound steadily updates its inventory.
T-Shirts
Wool may not appear to be a sensible choice for a summer season T-shirt, however merino is surprisingly snug even when its heat. To some extent anyway. On humid days over about 90 levels, I often go together with cotton or linen, however something beneath 90 and I’m sporting merino. There are much more merino T-shirt choices on the market than we are able to cowl, however listed below are a few of our favorites.
These are my absolute favourite T-shirts. They’re the softest, best-made, best-fitting T-shirts I’ve ever worn, merino or in any other case. Sure, they’re that good. They’re extremely versatile. I’ve worn them doing the whole lot from backpacking in the summertime warmth to rolling jiujitsu to sitting across the fireplace on cool autumn evenings. They’re by no means something however comfortable. I additionally like that they haven’t any brand. Unbound’s Energetic Merino T-shirt (males’s $95, girls’s $85), aimed particularly at figuring out, can also be fairly good, but it surely’s a tighter lower than the common T-shirt.
Artilect’s mix of merino wool and Tencel (a fiber made out of eucalyptus) is shockingly light-weight and versatile. This summer season, the Utili-Tee turned my (Adrienne) favourite shirt for climbing and backpacking. It was comfortable and comfy after I was within the tree shade, after which magically stayed gentle and breathable after I broke via the tree line and the temperature abruptly rose by 15 levels within the daylight. The flat seams didn’t trigger chafing on my shoulders or waist via backpack straps or a harness, and although it’s a flattering slim match, it didn’t constrict the motion of my shoulders or arms in any method.
These Icebreaker T-shirts had been one in every of my gateways to merino wool. They’re heat, but one way or the other cool, and surprisingly good at stopping the wind. These shirts aren’t nice in humidity; for that, I would in all probability go together with a mix. Notice that a few of Icebreaker’s T-shirts are blends, so verify the small print in your favourite design earlier than you make investments.
Minus33 is aware of a factor or two about preserving you heat. The corporate is in New Hampshire, in any case. This 170-GSM T-shirt is snug, with a free lower that works properly over a base layer on cool mornings or as a T-shirt throughout hotter elements of the day. It is an important all-around alternative for all however warmest of summer season days.
Different Nice Choices
- Unbound Ladies’s Merino Muscle Tank ($70): Desire a cooler possibility for decent days? This tank prime is ideal for hotter, humid climates. It is one hundred pc merino (175 GSM) and would not have any brand or tag, which we like.
- Paka Males’s Tee ($55): This is not merino, it is a mix of natural cotton and Alpaca wool, but it surely’s such a pleasant, comfortable T-shirt I am together with it right here. If you wish to go pure fibers, however aren’t certain you may decide to merino, this makes an inexpensive various.
Socks
Whereas merino wool could be very comfortable, most merchandise on this class are blends, often with some type of nylon. Darn Robust socks are a WIRED favourite. They’re nice for snowboarding, mountain climbing, climbing, and absolutely anything else you need to do. These blends range by weight, however most of them are round 50 % nylon and 50 % merino, which makes them dry a bit sooner than pure merino whereas remaining a lot heat and comfy.
The bizarre factor about socks is that, as a warm-weather lover, properly, I hate socks. Each day with socks is a type of failure. That stated, these Carhartts (gifted to me by a good friend who was apprehensive that I wandered about in sockless sandals within the snow) are very nice. They’re extremely heat and comfortable, and so they by no means scent. They’re probably my favourite socks—if I really took the time to choose my favourite socks.
Underwear and Bras
The phrase “wool underwear” may conjure photos of some lumberjack from the 1800s with hair rising via the weaves of his itchy, sizzling lengthy johns, however that is not what the merino underwear we have examined is like. Generally these are blends, with some nylon as properly.
As with the corporate’s T-shirts, Unbound’s boxer briefs stood out for simply how comfortable and comfy they’re. These are 84 % merino wool, 12 % nylon, and 4 % spandex, so that they do have a little bit of stretch to them. The 180-GSM merino is gentle sufficient for even the warmest of days.
One other nice pair of boxers, these Icebreakers are a really related mix (83 % merino, 12 % nylon, 5 % Elastane) to the Unbound above, however lighter weight at 150 GSM. They match true to dimension and are on the shorter facet by way of size. Icebreaker additionally makes a protracted model that I examined as properly. They’re nearly the identical, only a bit longer.
Branwyn makes what they name merino wool efficiency units. I (Adrienne) am a fan of Branwyn’s garments, all of that are Oeko-Tex 100 licensed, which implies each element of the clothes has been independently examined towards an inventory of as much as 350 poisonous chemical compounds. This is among the most generally recognized and revered labels for client security. These match true to dimension. (I suppose it’s necessary to notice right here that I’m a small-busted girl, and that Branwyn makes a Busty Bra ($58) if you happen to want extra help.)
The material itself is comfortable and clean to the contact, with simply sufficient heft to be supportive. I wouldn’t put on the bralette to go working—I would like one thing a bit extra compressive for that—but it surely’s good for almost another exercise. It precludes the necessity to change from cotton “on a regular basis” underwear to tight nylon “sport” underwear each time I need to do one thing energetic, which is mainly on a regular basis.
Jackets
Once you suppose merino, you in all probability take into consideration heat. That is precisely what these mid-layer and heavier objects are.
Minus33 calls this an expedition-weight base layer, however for these of us not climbing Mt. Washington at daybreak in a windstorm, it is actually extra of a pullover sweatshirt—an insanely heat, comfortable pullover sweatshirt. My testing time was restricted. After a month, my spouse stole it and now refers to it as a safety blanket and has stated it is the one merchandise of clothes she can not reside with out.
I did handle to attempt it in every single place from the seashore on cool mornings to across the campfire on winter nights, and at the same time as a base layer beneath a merino jacket when the temps dropped under freezing final winter. In all these conditions I stayed a lot heat. The looser match means it may go over a base layer, however is not so cumbersome you may’t put a jacket over it.
A rising variety of research have proven that there are PFAs—hormone-disrupting chemical compounds which might be generally utilized in quite a few plastics—in strange sportswear, like leggings and sports activities bras. When you, like me (Adrienne), are on a quest to switch your polyester clothes with pure fibers, then Ibex’s one hundred pc merino wool Shak Jacket is the pure candidate to switch your (my) worn-out Patagonia Higher Sweater ($149).
I took this jacket on a visit this spring to Eire. It’s surprisingly dense and comfortable to the contact. It stored me heat on blustery 30-degree days, layered simply beneath my rain jacket and over my tank prime, and seemed modern sufficient to exit to dinner. In western Eire, at the very least (“I like your jumper!” stated many an Irishman). It would not pack down fairly as compactly as an artificial layer may, neither is it as gentle, but it surely seems to be a lot nicer and it will not really feel like slime in your pores and skin when it will get moist.
Sweaters
Wool sweaters can conjure some disagreeable childhood recollections, however worry not, these should not the itchy scratchy stuff you could not wait to get out of while you had been youthful. These sweaters are comfortable, luxurious, and ideal for extra modern events.
This Taylor Sew sweater is not technically merino, but it surely’s shut: It is one hundred pc child yak wool (which is definitely the comfortable undercoat yak’s shed yearly). It is a bit extra like cashmere than merino, but it surely’s speculated to be extra sturdy. That is been true in my testing. That is fingers down the perfect sweater I’ve ever worn. The unlucky factor is that the Lodge Sweater has been discontinued. If there is a dimension that matches you obtainable, snatch it up. I have not tried it, however the subsequent closest factor within the Taylor Sew catalog is the Evans Sweater ($148), a wool-nylon mix.
Learn how to Look after Merino Wool
Most merino merchandise may have care directions. Most definitely will probably be to scrub chilly and lay flat to dry. The latter is necessary, as hanging wool to dry will stretch it out (due to the water weight). Whereas most merino labels will say the garment could be machine washed, my expertise has been that hand-washing merino will prolong its life. That is notably true of very light-weight (150 GSM) merino base layers and T-shirts.
I’ve by no means had an issue storing merino in my closet between wears, however for long-term storage, I like to recommend you’re taking precautions towards moths, that are infamous for consuming holes in wool. I’ve misplaced merino clothes to moths.
