Weather app fail this morning, dressed for the -1 not so much for the torrent of rain that accompanied it mid-ride. Trousers soaked but lucky I had my merino wool base layers on held up enough on the water but more importantly the temperature. All hail, premium sheep hair!
I’ve always been curious, but the premium held me back. What’s the difference between regular wool and merino? Do you think regular wool base layers wouldn’t have kept up?
The primary difference is that Merino wool comes from Merino sheep. As for what makes the wool special, it appears to be the size of the fiber itself. The USDA has specifications for wool grades based on the size of the fiber, and Merino wool fibers range in size from <18 microns to 26 microns; for reference, a human hair ranges in size from about 50 - 100 microns. That puts all of Merino wool at grade 62 or better. Because it’s a finer fiber, each individual strand is more flexible, which makes it less scratchy. The flip side of that is that a lighter fiber means that it’s also less strong, so Merino isn’t well suited to outerwear that’s going to be used in more austere environments. Wool in general doesn’t have very good abrasion resistance, and a very light fiber will be much less so.
Any wool base layer made from sheep’s wool should keep up just fine, but a coarser wool is going to feel less comfortable against your skin. I have an old Army milsurp sweater, and the wool is very coarse; most people would not find it comfortable on their skin.
🙇♂️
IIRC the key difference is that it’s smoother/softer and doesn’t feel itchy. I only own merino wool stuff though and can’t remember last time I wore regular wool, so not sure of other differences.
Bought a bunch of long sleeve shirts from Costco (like 15ish?) when they were cheap, as low as $6 per shirt as well as their Kirkland socks (for women, men’s are garbage) so some good deals can still be had there on certain products.
Only saw 50% merino wool/synthetic mix base layers though for sale there, but I know Ice breaker can occasionally have decent sales, but their prices have gone up over the years and quality down a bit since they move production out of NZ.
Edit: I think I first saw the shirts in UK, but only bought them in Canada and they’re made in Canada. They’ve doubled in price (non sale) in the last 3-4 years, but still cheaper than anywhere else and could be used as base layer.
Thank you so much for the reply! Are you talking about something like this? Looks comfy, although pricy. Might look for sales at other merchants.
Yup, my wife has and likes some of their base layers. I only bought their descender/quantum hoodies when they were like 40%-50% off. Never paid full price for anything with them.
If you have an Aldi worth keeping up with the special buys they have at least one run a year.
I do have a Lidl! Thanks for the hint!
Any polyester could’ve done that but without animal abuse?
No. Polyester simply doesn’t have the same properties that wool does. Polypropylene is a good base layer for moving sweat away from your skin, but won’t keep you warm when it’s soaked. Cellulose fibers (cotton, linnen, hemp, rayon, etc.) soak up water, and will kill you from hypothermia in cold weather. Also, shearing sheep is not inherently harmful or abusive; on the contrary, sheep that are not shorn may become immobile due to the bulk of the wool. Sheep have been selectively bred for thousands of years for wool production, and so failing to shear a sheep is harmful to them. Additionally, wool is FAR better for the environment overall than any synthetic fiber, which are all made from oil.
I have a polyester ski jacket and I haven’t frozen to death on the slopes yet.
Sheep have been selectively bred for thousands of years for wool production, and so failing to shear a sheep is harmful to them.
Selectively breeding an animal to be reliant on you does not suddenly give you the right to do anything to them. If you really believe they suffer unless you put them through the shearing process (which is not peaceful, look it up on YouTube) then maybe don’t breed them into existence? This is the same concept as pugs who have been selectively bread to look cute but would be better off not being bred into existence because of their many physical problems caused by this selective breeding.
You also fail to mention that all sheep go to a slaughterhouse where they are killed by stabbing at a fraction of their natural lifespan.
wool is FAR better for the environment
Source? I don’t believe you can justify animal abuse with this but since you seem to think so so I will entertain you.
the wool required to make one knit sweater is responsible for 27 times more greenhouse gases than a comparable cotton sweater and requires 247 times more land. - CIRCUMFAUNA
I have a polyester ski jacket and I haven’t frozen to death on the slopes yet.
Have you tried falling through ice into a river yet? Give it a shot, let me know how it goes. Get it completely saturated, and then hang out in sub-zero temperatures for a few hours or overnight. If you survive, try the same exercise in the same kind of layers of wool clothing.
which is not peaceful, look it up on YouTube
Read what I actually said again: shearing is not INHERENTLY harmful. It can be harmful, on farms that are careless in their treatment of livestock. But how many videos do you think PETA is going to put on YouTube of sheep shearing that doesn’t hurt the sheep? Or do you think that maybe they’ll only post videos that reinforce their position?
then maybe don’t breed them into existence?
We’re well past that point; they already exist. Are you suggesting that we should slaughter all of them…?
You also fail to mention that all sheep go to a slaughterhouse where they are killed by stabbing at a fraction of their natural lifespan.
That’s not actually relevant to the production of wool though, is it? It’s utterly irrelevant to the wool; you could let the sheep graze and shear them annually, and allow them to die of natural causes, and it would make zero difference to the wool itself.
Source?
The vast majority of the microplastics that are going into everything on the planet are from synthetic fibers, particularly polyesters. (source) The product itself, not just the creation of the product, is harmful to the environment. Most synthetic fabrics degrade by breaking down into smaller fibers, rather than actually rotting away, so you get harm done at both ends of the produce. Natural fibers (and rayon, which is cellulose) will biodegrade completely over time. There is no way to mitigate the damages caused by microplastics; we don’t have an effective way of removing them from the environment. Conversely, carbon dioxide can be mitigated, by reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and by reforestation. (Although, TBH, we don’t mitigate it, and we’re already past the point of no return, so…)
27 times more greenhouse gases than a comparable cotton sweater
…Except that these items are not comparable, because they perform differently under adverse conditions. The similarities are in the form, not the fiber. Sure, if the extent of your exposure to weather is walking to and from your car in the winter, you’re never going to notice a difference. If you go camping for a week in the Tetons in January, you absolutely WILL notice the difference. Cotton has to be heavily treated–with Teflon, with parafin or beeswax–in order to be water resistant; wool is naturally hydrophobic. That’s pretty important when you’re outdoors in cold weather.
Have you tried falling through ice into a river yet?
I don’t know how my jacket is gonna stop my shoes from getting wet and causing my toes to freeze off in this case? But even if I personally don’t have the survival skills for that situation, I don’t think the jacket would be the issue, there is vegans climbing Mount Everest.
PETA
I never mentioned them. I was thinking like tutorial videos of how to shear sheep. It is almost never nice for the animal.
Are you suggesting that we should slaughter all of them…?
You’re saying this as if farmers aren’t going to slaughter them? If you would stop breeding animals the problem would be gone in 6 years (or 20 if you stop sending them to slaughter prematurely)
From your source:
While garments made of natural fibers, such as cotton and wool, would appear to be a solution, unfortunately they also shed microfibers that can pick up pollutants in the environment.
You also fail to mention that all sheep go to a slaughterhouse where they are killed by stabbing at a fraction of their natural lifespan.
what’s the natural lifespan of sheep without protection from predators and disease and starvation and dirty water and the elements and access to veterinary care?
A quick google: Wild sheep(mouflon) live 8 to 12 years in the wild. Farmed sheep are killed at 3 to 6 years old (excluding lamb which are killed at between 10 weeks to 6 months old)
wild sheep have not been domesticated. we are taking about different animals.
Do you mean to say that it’s justified to slaughter the domesticated sheep because it doesn’t have the instincts anymore to run from predators? A dog also doesn’t have the same instincts as a wild wolf and probably wouldn’t survive long in the wild either but I’m not gonna kill and eat them because of that.
Do you mean to say that it’s justified to slaughter the domesticated sheep because it doesn’t have the instincts anymore to run from predators?
no. I’m saying the natural lifespan of domesticated sheep is exactly as long as we decide.
Oh boy! Microplastics!
