Why You Should Invest in Merino Wool
Yeah, that’s a real text. And yes, that’s pretty much the entire gist of this post.
When it comes to travelling, I love packing light. There are so many advantages to bringing as little with you as possible that gives you all kinds of freedom.
Still, there are a few concerns with packing light. Obviously, it means that I’m bringing less clothes. This also means I’ll have to wear the same shirts and bottoms over and over again. Conclusion: they are gonna get dirty and start smelling eventually, especially if I’m doing a bunch of hikes as I usually do. Particularly for long trips, where laundry may not be possible or favourable every few days, this can become a major concern. No one wants to annoy their fellow travel mates or repel new local acquaintances with the smell of your musty, I’ve-been-wearing-this-for-longer-than-is-appropriate t-shirt!
Of course, you can do laundry every few days in a sink and hang your clothes to dry overnight. But again this might not be possible (if you’re camping on the side of the road) or a good idea (laundry in a hostel sink is not always the best, nor is hanging your cotton sweats to dry since they won’t by the next morning).
All in all, packing light and not feeling nasty can be tough. That’s why merino wool is such a fantastic product, it minimizes or eliminates many drawbacks of packing fewer clothes for a trip:
- People repellant: ripe, days old clothes smell. Merino wool is naturally odourless and antibacterial. That means, it won’t smell after days of wearing it. I actually ran a little experiment myself when I bought my first merino shirt. I wore it on weekends for 5 weeks straight to test whether or not it was truly odourless (bear in mind I was in my undergrad and holed up studying most of the time). I was blown away that after 5 weeks, there was no smell whatsoever, except for the faint smell of my liquid deodorant. In fact, as I write this I’m wearing a merino cardigan that I have not had to wash since I purchased it. Don’t tell anyone.
- Oops, I spilled something on one of the two shirts I brought. Luckily for you, merino wool is stain repellant!
- Looking like you just got out of bed wearing wrinkled clothes straight out of a suitcase. Guess what? Merino doesn’t crease easily like other fabrics. You can pull a shirt out of a bag, give it a few shakes, throw it on, and head out on an adventure not looking like a wad of crumpled paper.
- I’m doing a lot of physical activity on my trip, read: I’m gonna sweat. Merino wool is a fantastic fabric for activities that will make you sweat. Like much modern sportswear, merino wool wicks away sweat from your skin. That’s great, that way you won’t develop hypothermia hiking in Iceland in the middle of winter!
- I’m going somewhere where the temperature fluctuates more than my mood when I’m hungry. Merino wool deals well with a wide range of temperatures. It retains heat when it is cold, being wool after all. Conversely, it also is quite cool when temperatures are mild as it is a fabric that breathes. But what if I’m going somewhere where it can get really really cold? Sportswear-specific merino wool clothing has a temperature rating. 260 rated merino is suitable for much colder climates than say 130 rated merino.
- I hate wool, it feels so itchy on my skin. A-ha! That’s the beauty of merino wool, it doesn’t feel much different than a cotton shirt. A few people report having reactions to the wool, but most people like me who find wool causes itchy redness on their skin don’t see the same occurrence with merino wool.
Drawbacks:
- Merino wool is expensive. Like, really expensive. One could argue it defeats the purpose of budget travel if you have to spend an insane amount of money on merino travel clothes. But look at it this way, merino wool is an investment. You’ll be wearing these clothes every time you go on a trip. Now, if you’re only planning on travelling once every ten years, the benefits don’t outweigh the cost. However, if you plan on travelling frequently for as long as you possibly can (Hey! That’s me!), merino wool clothes are definitely worth it. Plus, there are always ways to find merino wool for cheaper: wait around for sales at your local outdoors equipment retailer or on merino wool retailer’s websites. Head to budget stores like Winners; they often carry 100% merino wool products. Note that these are most often light and not designed for high intensity activities, however I have recently acquired a regular $130 pair of activewear merino/cotton brand name pants for $30. Just like you may hunt for deals on flights, you can hunt for deals on merino wool products.
- Merino wool products tend to run smaller than usual shirts so make sure you get a size up if you can’t try the piece on or find a size chart.
All in all, merino wool clothes are fantastic. I’m incredibly happy to have my small all merino capsule wardrobe for when I travel.
What are you still doing reading this post? Go. Go out and check the clearance racks in that outdoors store! Find yourself some sweet deals on some merino wool!
Gen
