Merino wool in the summer? Whatever next?

By: Blonde Two

From time to time we Blondes are sent free outdoor products to field test and promote on our blog and social media. We will always be honest about our findings and any products we don’t keep for ourselves find their way into our expedition stores. Great for us, great for you and great for our youngsters!

 

Non-scientific comment alert warning…

Some sheep are better at sweating than others.

Well this isn’t exactly true. In warm weather sheep do sweat (as well as pant) to deal with excess body temperature but sheep with open fleeces have more chance of that sweat having a cooling effect than sheep with tighter fleeces.

Which is why merino wool has long been recognised as being just as good to wear in the summer as it is in the winter.

I’m a massive merino fan!

Well I’m not exactly massive but I do love merino clothes. In fact, there are only about two months of the year when you’ll find me not wearing my merino singlets (that’s vests if you’re not in New Zealand) underneath my outfit of the day.

But until recently (despite being a merino super-fan) I haven’t been so keen on wearing merino in summer weather. One reason has been that thinner merino garments, although lovely to wear, can be a bit delicate and see-through. They are also a bit inclined to shrink unless you’re really careful washing them (which of course we are all more likely to do in the summer).

But there is some good news.

Merino can be combined with other fibres

And Isobaa have done a really good job of exactly that with their new Isosoft collection. By adding Polyester made from recycled materials to their merino, they’ve retained the softness and loft (that’s fluffiness) of merino wool but added that touch of strength and durability that will add extra life to your garment.

Something that’s really worth considering when you’re thinking about the sustainability of your outdoor gear.

But is a merino blend as good as pure merino?

Well we’ve only just received our new merino blend tops from Isobaa but the results so far are good.

Blonde One has been wearing her long sleeve crew to do a bit of Dartmoor route planning in the garden but she’s also packed it as her warm layer on her forthcoming World Challenge trip to Vietnam.

I’ve just taken my short sleeve crew on a DofE trip to Dartmoor where it’s been perfect for sleeping bag cosiness and early morning hikes to the loo. I slept three nights in it and I’m wearing it again today so it must be good.

Merino for Blonde adventures

When you’re an outdoor leader, you need clothes that do their job. We think the price, feel and look of these tops are great and we both feel sure they’re are going to become an all-season must-have in our adventure rucksacks.