Base layers: in praiseof merino

[gbs]

Is there anything better? Has anyone tried bamboo?

 

[ianrauk]

I have had a couple of bamboo base layers for years. I really like them. They do the job.

 

[MichaelW2]

Is there anything better? Has anyone tried bamboo?

I think bamboo viscose is over rated for heavy sweat in cold conditions.

 

[slowmotion]

Merino itches like Hell if you get sweaty. Also, moths destroy it.

Try Uniqlo Heat Tech Ultra instead. It's half/third of the price and far easier to maintain as regards washing etc.

 

[Drago]

Bacofoil is better.

 

[chriswoody]

I have very sensitive skin and find even Merino can get a bit too itchy for me if it's worn under a lot of other layers so I tend to avoid it for winter thermals. However, a fair few years back I gave Merino Wool t-shirts a try and they were a revelation. I don't generally wear anything else in the summer when cycling now, even when the temperatures are in the thirties I find them really comfy and keep me much cooler than any other base layer I've tried. In the last few years I've also ditched padded short liners and now just wear Merino Wool boxer shorts under my outer shorts and again couldn't be comfier, so yes I love Merino despite the high cost.

I've also been more aware in recent years of the ethical impact of Merino and try to make sure I spend a little more on wool thats certified to come from non-mulesed sources as well. I've not tried any other natural materials, but for me, Merino works just fine.

 

[BrumJim]

Another vote for bamboo being as good as merino. I have several bamboo base layers that get hard usage when I am out in cold conditions.

I try to avoid the petro-chems materials, which tend to smell a bit.

 

[T4tomo]

I like merino, but too itchy directly on the skin. I have a few craft cool mesh base layers for next to the skin for sports. I have bamboo and merino stuff for the next layer. hard to beat merino on a cold skiing day.

Bamboo boxer shorts are super super comfy, as are bamboo socks.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Merino - vastly over-praised imo. Itches like crazy on my back.

Plenty of better tech' options available that work well and, equally importantly, don't itch.

 

[Alex321]

Interesting that a few people have said they find merino itchy.

I have never tried it for cycling (I hardly ever wear a separate base layer for cycling), but I do have a merino top I wear under my jacket when skiing, and have never found it at all itchy. I do get pretty sweaty, and have found it works well enough that I can wear it every day of skiing in a week long trip, and it still isn't too smelly at the end of that.

 

[T4tomo]

Interesting that a few people have said they find merino itchy.

I have never tried it for cycling (I hardly ever wear a separate base layer for cycling), but I do have a merino top I wear under my jacket when skiing, and have never found it at all itchy. I do get pretty sweaty, and have found it works well enough that I can wear it every day of skiing in a week long trip, and it still isn't too smelly at the end of that.

Glad i don't share a room with you! I normally take a couple of base thin layers, wear one and wash it out in the shower and dry it on the radiator whilst wearing the other the following day - ditto ski socks, repeat as needed.....

can usually get away with not having to wash the mid layers though, take a selection t choose from and wear them all if really cold!

 

[Alex321]

Glad i don't share a room with you! I normally take a couple of base thin layers, wear one and wash it out in the shower and dry it on the radiator whilst wearing the other the following day - ditto ski socks, repeat as needed.....

can usually get away with not having to wash the mid layers though, take a selection t choose from and wear them all if really cold!

With anything but that merino top, it would have needed washing every day.

Before I had that, I used to take a cotton T shirt for each day - and by the end of the week, my jacket was stinking, even though each top had only been worn a few hours.

By the end of the week, you could tell it had been worn, but it was still a LOT less smelly than any of the individual daily tops would have been previously.

I will admit, I was very surprised by that. I had expected to be washing it each night and drying on the radiator.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've also been more aware in recent years of the ethical impact of Merino and try to make sure I spend a little more on wool thats certified to come from non-mulesed sources as well. I've not tried any other natural materials, but for me, Merino works just fine.

I had to look that up. Another thing to worry about.

Maybe next one should be bamboo so I don't have to worry about sheeps' bottoms. But bamboo probably causes deforestation or something.

 

[BrumJim]

I had to look that up. Another thing to worry about.

Maybe next one should be bamboo so I don't have to worry about sheeps' bottoms. But bamboo probably causes deforestation or something.

No, not really. You harvest the bamboo stalks, leaving the roots in the ground.

The big issue with bamboo is the fact that you aren't actually making clothes with the bamboo, in the same way that you aren't making clothes from oil. There is a lot of processing following the harvesting, involving a lot of chemicals, some of which can be a bit nasty. None of them get into your clothes, but someone has to do the work.

Always wonder why Scottish islands aren't turning to merino, as avoiding the spread of the pests should be reasonably easy.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

As with many things, there's merino and there's merino. Merino from say, Planet X, will be far rougher and hence itchy than stuff from say, Finisterre. But one is a lot more than the other. I'm sure there'll be a thread count per square whatever and the higher the better.
Bamboo isn't bad, but I prefer merino. Synthetic just stinks.
A merino top is a birthday present to myself every so often.