Why the original technical material remains one of the best you can buy
First thing’s first: You might be asking yourself … merino wool? For summer? And we’re here to tell you that yes, you can (and should) pull on some merino during the summer months. In fact, while merino is uniquely suited to handle any climate, it really shines in warm weather. Why? Because it’s naturally able to regulate temperature, wick moisture and resist odors.
So what, exactly, makes merino wool different from other wool? Like all wool, it comes from sheep, but merino sheep are highly prized for their fine wool. It’s thinner and softer than regular wool, making it easy to wear next to skin. And while these sheep had already evolved a fine fiber, further selective breeding continued to refine it into the soft yet highly resistant wool we have today.
We knit our 100% merino active jersey fabric from a superfine 18.5 micron merino. This means that it’s much softer and lighter yet densely knit than, say, a Merino wool with a standard micron count of 24. The fibers have a natural crimp which creates thousands of small insulating air pockets - that’s how it helps keep you warm in cold conditions, and cool in hot conditions.
The complex structure of the wool is also what makes it so efficient at soaking up sweat and odors. Merino fibers absorb moisture from the skin and then release it into the air around you, leaving you dryer and a whole lot more comfortable - no matter how hard you push yourself. This wool is able to absorb 35% of its own weight in water before ever feeling wet. That far outperforms your average synthetic technical fabric. What’s more, merino boasts the ability to protect from UVA and UVB rays without any extra treatments.
Put another way, merino is the kind of fabric that won’t let you down. Wear it multiple times before washing - it’ll hold up and won’t betray you with any unpleasant odors. And its intrinsic durability means that it can be stretched and pulled, twisted and balled up and still recover nicely. We should all be as resilient as our merino performance wear.
* FYI: Merino wool is biodegradable. Meaning that it disappears after about 12 months in the ground—releasing carbon and nutrients back into the soil.
