Kitsbow Partners With Polartec For Hybrid Wool/Synthetic Made In USA Base Layer For Any Weather

I like the idea of having the tougher plastic on the outside. My Filson base layers have good stitching, but catching them on trees will chop them up in a big hurry.

Wool…. or Superfine Merino (which IS wool but the two textiles do differ quite a bit) is a heavily misunderstood fabric. Polyester fabrics need to wick in order to create a thermal effect in the cold, if they don’t, or get saturated, then they have low thermal properties – pretty much like cotton, which is the worst of the worst when you need to stay warm and dry.

@STS is actually right to a point. Superfine does wick but it also does reach a saturation point, hence the feeling of it being damp. The difference is that once the saturation point is reached, the insulation properties of the fibre are not affected and can actually get better. This is why Merino is a solid all year fabric. Laminating merino with a ploy in the inside defeats the properties of the wool, but when put on the outside does create a harder wearing fabric but one that is heavier in weight – which is why Sportwool died in the proverbial when pushed as a summer fabric.

There is a mass of information to delve into in regards to Merino but if you are interested in the technicalities, you can read about it here, a page we threw up recently with some great info: http://www.eleven.cc/merino/

@STS – Read wikipedia once in awhile. “Wool fibers readily absorb moisture, but are not hollow. Wool can absorb almost one-third of its own weight in water.”

Too baggy. If you’re going hard in damp fall/winter weather, the base layer needs to fit almost like a second skin.

I go through thinking I “need” some new base layers every couple of years, then always come back to the (no longer available?) old polyester Craft pair I already own.