Why doesn't Merino smell?

On the one hand, wool is not a hollow fiber in which bacteria can quickly nest, and on the other hand, protein molecules and sulfur proteins in the fiber core create an environment in which odor-causing germs have difficulty settling. You can find more information about the fiber structure of wool and its self-cleaning function in our encyclopedia article "Why Merino underwear?"

How quickly does merino wool dry?

Merino wool can store a lot of moisture without feeling wet and uses this moisture to cool you down in hot weather. At the same time, the wool keeps enough warmth on the body even when wet in cooler outside temperatures, so that you don't get cold or shiver.
Although synthetic fibers dry faster than wool, they also cause the body to lose a lot of fluid and cause strong evaporative cooling during inactive phases. Very fast drying is therefore not necessarily an advantage.
Merino wool also feels dry quickly on the body, even if moisture is still buffered in the middle of the fiber.
For people who sweat a lot, a merino blend can still be useful to shorten the drying time or to prevent the fabric from becoming too heavy due to the wetness.
We wanted to know exactly, so we did a self-experiment in which we compared the drying time of a 100% Merino shirt from Icebreaker with a Merino-Tencel® shirt from Ortovox:

video

In the test, hand washing and thus a very wet condition were deliberately simulated in order to assume the “worst case”.
When washing in a machine, the spinning process naturally results in a much shorter drying time. The same applies when drying on the body or in the sun.

Is Merino too warm in summer?

There is a fiber that can do both - warm and cool at the same time. Many people associate wool with winter. Wrongfully, because it is the ultimate all-rounder and unrivaled in this respect. No other material creates a better balance between warm and cold. The reason for this is that water vapor molecules are buffered in the fiber core of the merino wool and have a cooling effect in hot weather. At the same time, when the temperature drops, body heat is retained by air cushions in the curled fiber structure, even when the material is still damp. This principle makes wool an air conditioning system that has been working for thousands of years and is also the reason why sheep do not overheat even in the summer on the pasture. Try it out and trust what nature has already shown us.

Is merino wool breathable?

Wool, on the other hand, absorbs up to a third of its own weight in water vapor without feeling wet. The moisture is released evenly to the outside. The slower evaporation in combination with the excellent heat retention despite the stored moisture creates a natural regulation of the perceived temperature. Wool is therefore breathable in the sense that it prevents overheating and at the same time does not lead to cooling during inactive phases.

How warm is merino wool?

Wool is one of the warmest materials in the world and has therefore been used for clothing for thousands of years. Due to its ultra-fine fiber thickness, merino wool can also be processed using modern knitting technology to create high-performance functional clothing with special heat-storing structures.
When it comes to functional underwear, merino wool is unrivalled in terms of thermal performance and is far superior to all synthetic fibres in icy outdoor temperatures, particularly due to its ability to retain heat when wet.
With us you will find a wide range of extremely warm underwear , which is also ideal for double-digit minus temperatures.

Is merino wool scratchy?

This topic always gives rise to a lot of discussion. Unfortunately, these discussions are often not based on facts, especially among supporters of synthetic fibers, because not all wool is created equal.
Even with the finest form of sheep's wool (Merino), there are large differences in the fineness of the fibers (between 14 and 22 microns) . The following factors influence the softness of the finished Merino fabric:

Country of origin of Merino wool and the climatic conditions there
Abundant grassland and species-appropriate animal husbandry
Selection of the best wool qualities from the underbelly of the Merino sheep (this point is a major cost factor)
Further processing of the wool with know-how and the latest knitting technology

As with wine, there are even different vintages of this natural product that produce wool of varying softness. As a rule of thumb, the greater the temperature difference and the lusher and more biodiverse the meadows, the higher the quality of the wool. This is why our suppliers almost exclusively use merino wool from New Zealand, Tasmania or the South American Andean regions. Species-appropriate sheep farming is also a basic requirement for high-quality wool.

Even though scientific studies assume that scratching is no longer noticeable to humans when the fiber thickness is less than 20 microns, there are people with very sensitive skin who can still feel a slight tingling sensation. This can also be associated with a psychological effect of anticipation. In this case, it is usually sufficient to keep a merino shirt on for longer than 15 minutes until the skin gets used to it.
90% of all users find merino wool very pleasant on the skin. Alternatively, there are numerous products with merino blends for extremely sensitive skin types, which are even softer to wear and definitely scratch-free. There is one exception, however: if you have a known allergy to animal hair, you should avoid using it.

Does merino wool have UV protection?

Who thinks of merino shirts when they think of UV protection clothing? With a UPF value of 30-50, textiles made of merino wool actually offer exceptionally high UV protection, which is only surpassed by specially treated UV protection clothing. The thicker the fabric and the denser the weave structure, the higher the UV protection. Most merino shirts ( fabric weight of 150-180g/m²) have a UPF of 40 or more. With a UPF of 40+, around 97.5% of harmful UV radiation (UV-A and UV-B) is blocked.
For comparison, a white cotton shirt only has a UPF of 10+. The UPF value (=Ultraviolet Protection Factor) indicates, similar to sun creams, by what factor the skin's natural protection can be extended over time.
Many Merino sheep live in Australia, where they are exposed to some of the strongest UV radiation on the planet. No problem, because wool naturally protects against sunburn and has more sun protection than any other natural fiber.
It is important to note, however, that the color of the fabric also plays a role. Darker colors provide better protection because they reflect additional sunlight. If a fabric is wet or stretched, the UV protection can be reduced.
In addition, sensitive skin types (e.g. redheads, fair skin) should combine UV-protective clothing with sunscreen on exposed areas of the body such as the shoulders and neck.
Basically, the natural UV protection of Merino clothing is completely sufficient for many outdoor activities and does not contain any skin-harming additives such as those found in many sun creams and does not require any chemical treatments or the annoying smell of sweat found in synthetic fiber clothing.

Does Merino wool get burn holes? (Picture socks at the campfire)

While synthetic fibers are a fire hazard in the truest sense of the word, wool is very difficult to ignite. Wool does not burn, it just chars, and temperatures of over 500° Celsius are required for this. A spark is therefore not able to cause damage to Merino clothing. So nothing stands in the way of a cozy campfire.
Due to its flame-retardant properties, wool is also used in fire protection clothing or building insulation and meets the highest safety standards.

Does wool become statically charged?

Wool is generally considered antistatic and is therefore also used as workwear in electrostatically sensitive areas.
However, there are always reports that say the opposite. This misinterpretation is mainly due to the fact that other fibers (especially synthetic fibers) can become charged when they rub against the curled wool hairs.
For example, if a synthetic fleece jacket is pulled over a merino long sleeve, it can crackle quite a bit.
Merino wool on its own hardly reacts electrostatically, even when rubbed. If you have any doubts, it's best to do the test yourself:
Just rub a shirt made of 100% merino wool over your hair for 30 seconds and see that not much happens. If you want, you can then repeat the same thing with a synthetic fabric and see how your hair literally stands on end.

How robust is merino wool?

The answer here is "it depends". Experienced manufacturers like Icebreaker in the picture above regularly subject the fabrics to stress tests and continuously work on improving the knitting technology.
The finer and thinner the wool fibers are, the less tear-resistant they are. At the same time, these fine qualities are particularly important because they are the softest.
The well-known Merino brands prove again and again that it is possible to combine both.

“There are Merino shirts in my closet that date back to the time when the Merino Store was founded, that have been washed hundreds of times and still have no holes” (Quote from Managing Director Andreas Schechner)

Like most natural fibers, wool is not as tear-resistant as synthetic fibers. In a practical comparison of merino versus synthetic fibers, this is one of the very few points where synthetic fibers have the edge. After all, they are made of plastic, and that not only has a high price for the environment, but also many functional disadvantages compared to merino wool.

Thicker merino fabrics (from 180g/m² ) are less susceptible to tears or holes. With thinner fabrics, especially when subjected to greater stress (e.g. from a heavy backpack), it makes sense to either use merino blends or to use shirts with the so-called "corespun process", in which a thin synthetic fiber structure is spun with merino wool as a stabilizing carrier material.

In addition, you can significantly extend the lifespan of Merino functional clothing by following a few simple rules. You can find more information in our Merino care instructions .

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