Base layers...Merino wool

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Phil Boyles

Member
I am considering buying some base layers, hoping to catch some deals this spring/summer. The stuff I've seen is Sitka/First lite stuff. It's expensive and while I don't mind paying for good stuff, I'd rather find some deals. For those that already use the stuff. How does it compare in warmth to poly stuff. When I layout hunt for ducks and geese it's for several hours. Currently I use the heavy weight poly stuff that's restrictive, but it keeps me warm. The merino wool I have seen is substantially lighter in weight and thinner. Will it perform as well as the heavy poly stuff? Do you need two layers of it? Is the name brand worth the cost over a military surplus stuff? Lot's of questions I know. Thanks

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Phil,

I have been wearing this as base layer for over 20 years now. My layering for most days hunting in the 30 to 40 range is a "silk" base layer Cabelas Brand with a Filson Medium weight for both upper and lower. For days below 30, wading or even on strong windy days I wear the same silk base layer and a heavy weight Filson. The key to the silk is that you are going to perspire even when it cold and it wicks way to the wool which helps wick away even further. I have honestly stopped wearing anything but wool for waterfowl hunting. My pants, collared shirt and sweater are all wool. Its the only fabric that still retain heat even when soaked. I can give you an example where I tripped wading green timber in northern Louisiana with a group of guys around 2009. I soaked my upper body and only because I had a belt on my waders I did not soak my lower half. When we got to the spot I took all my uppers off and rang them out. I did not put back on the silk layer. Placed all else back on though slightly chilled not really cold and hunted the rest of the morning. It was around 29 degrees that day and I was wearing the heavy layer. That same day a guy did the same walking out. By the time we got back to the trucks he was numb and blue. It certainly is worth it spending your money on wool; name brand or not on wool layering. I highly recommend Filson but Wool Rich, Sitka and others are out on the market.

Regards,
Kristan
 
Check out "Smart Wool," it's sold in a lot of camping stores. It's warm and it keeps the moisture off of you. Sitka is also excellent. I swear by both brands.
 
i have a set of fuzzy merino wool and it is wonderful on your skin and warm. pricey yes but i think worth it. have had multiple sets of synthetic stuff as well. not a big fan of the feel of the synthetic stuff but if you get the kind with fuzz on the inside its better. usually wear wicking shirt, merino, fleece, fleece vest. never get cold. lot depends on how easy you get cold, vary the layers by that. good luck.
 
Phil Boyles said:
I am considering buying some base layers, hoping to catch some deals this spring/summer. The stuff I've seen is Sitka/First lite stuff. It's expensive and while I don't mind paying for good stuff, I'd rather find some deals. For those that already use the stuff. How does it compare in warmth to poly stuff. When I layout hunt for ducks and geese it's for several hours. Currently I use the heavy weight poly stuff that's restrictive, but it keeps me warm. The merino wool I have seen is substantially lighter in weight and thinner. Will it perform as well as the heavy poly stuff? Do you need two layers of it? Is the name brand worth the cost over a military surplus stuff? Lot's of questions I know. Thanks

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I own quite a bit of merino wool, I see the benefit of merino in big game hunting and backpacking, not so much waterfowl hunting. The real benefit of merino is that it doesn't funkify like synthetics, so on extended trips it is good. I don't see it as any warmer and it is much, much more fragile. It is also heavy. Good merino feels very good close to the skin, so a benefit there and I like wear it since I have it.

I have tops (that were expensive) just get random holes in them (in the wash?) and this is common in reading about peoples' experience with premium merino. A downside of merino is that while it may have the legendary keeps you warm even when wet going for it, it also gets really heavy and holds a lot of water when wet (unlike synthetics). For layout hunting, I just don't see you getting anything using merino over modern synthetics, unless you don't like the way you smell at the end of the day and you will be paying several hundred dollars tops and bottoms (I'm thinking heavy weight doubled up is what I'd wear) and understand that it does not last as well as synthetics.
 
Phil,

Merino is the only base layer I wear while hunting and cold weather fishing. I have had a lot of it over the past 15-20 years and feel that the name on the tag doesn't necessarily mean better quality. More important is the weight of the material. I have had Filson, Ice Breaker and Minus33. The Filson wore out the fastest. Ice Breaker and Minus 33 are very similar in weave and construction but the Minus 33 is quite a bit cheaper. Their office is in NH I believe but like many makers - is made overseas.

Wearing Merino wool is like having a hand warmer for your body. I will agree with Tod that the durability isn't as good as some other materials but the warmth factor is much better IMO. I gave up on synthetics for any "next to my skin" applications a long time ago.
 
Phil, If you are interested in Merino, check out KUIU's base layers. They are very high quality. I would agree with the statements above regarding merino. The coldest I hunt in is 10 degrees, and I am always warm with a heavy merino base layer under a fleece coat.
 
I love wool as a base-layer or an insulating layer and wear it for most outdoor activities from hunting to running...

I've had First Lite, KUIU, IceBreaker & SmartWool.

First Lite - nice, but I got 2 very itchy tops and didn't feel it was as durable for the price
KUIU - very athletic fit not as nice as FL (for a snug base layer I am a L in SmartWool, M in First Lite, and XXL in KUIU)
IceBreaker - felt it was okay, not bad not great
SmartWool - This is my favorite, for their fit & feel against my skin

Head to an outdoors store and determine your size, as you can see in the KUIU description the sizes are all over the place...
I buy 90% of my SmartWool off of ebay, late spring to summer is the best time for deals.
 
I wear a wool cabelas sweater most of the late season with a hoodie pulled over it. If it gets really cold I’ll have a thermal on under it all. I’ll gladly spend $200 or less on a nice wool sweater than $500+ on Sitka or something of the like. I actually just went old school and picked up vintage cableas blotchy camo jacket. I’ll be wearing my wool and that jacket for all of the next season. I’ll proably be warmer than those sitka guys too!
 
Believe it or not, but my coldest sport is wade fishing the Salmon River in NY for steelhead trout in January and not duck hunting. A typical outing has air temps below 20 degrees F and water temps near or below 32 degrees (yes it can happen, coldest yet was 30 with a thermometer). Coldest day ever for us was -24 F on the truck thermometer with a 30+ mph wind. Wind chills around -65 F.

Tried everything for a base layer, including wool, poly this and that, but IMO the polystuff cant be beat. And good bad or otherwise with poly you get what you pay for. Tried Under Armor, Patagonia and the US Mil ECWCS all good. The older Patagonia stuff was awesome. However, I settled on Simms. Awesome poly under layers and some high performance overlayers that use Primaloft. For 4 - 6 hours of near constant wading in breathable waders all I need is a Simms poly farmer john underlayer, with Simms primaloft pants.

For what its worth the socks are Smart Wool, have not found any poly socks that out perform Smart Wool.

For the record the warmest hat I ever owned was a knit hat with ear flaps from Peru made with Vicuna wool. The only problem with Vicuna wool is that when you sweat, you smell like a wet Vicuna, which makes wet Lab smell like roses,

I guess it just down to you wear what you like and have confidence in.
 
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