What's wrong with wool ?

Recently I found my old 100% wool mittens that my mother had knit for me when I was young and pure. I wore them for a rainy-day hike, and I have to admit, they worked amazingly well. It breathes perfectly, the water pearled on it, they're very warm, etc. Between fleece and wool, I choose wool. And don't bring the merino wool on the subject, IMO, merino wool is luxury made attractive by good marketing.

Now, how come EMS or other outdoors shops don't keep 100% wool gear in their stores, but 10 000 fleece items instead ? Is it because wool itch a bit ? Is it really so uncomfortable ? I mean, we're talking about walking in the woods, not having a drink in front of the fireplace... It weights more ? I believe most of the very large community of outdoors enthousiasts doesn't weight their gear on the scale. Not washer/drier friendly ? Do we really need to wash and dry all our gear after each hikes ??

Or maybe it is because synthetic fabrics industries is way more profitable ? Anyway, I know I would have a better conscience supporting sheeps instead of polluting polyester industries. My two cents.

yeah! and while we are at it bring back those wool knickers and knee socks for the x country skiers. Mine are still in moth balls waiting for the fickle tides of fasion to to turn back.

I have fair amount of wool stuff, as well as some Alpaca and even Mohair! I love it for a variety of reasons. But, the two basic competitve disadvantages of wool are: (i) it likely cost more to produce than fleece; (ii) it gets damn heavy when wet and takes a LOT longer than fleece to dry out. BTW, the beauty of merino is it's comfort - it is not as itchy as regular wool (makes a big difference for against the skin layers, but not so much for sweaters, mittens, etc.).

Wool is for real men

I used to hike in wool with a nylon anorak and lived to tell the tale. But... fleece is a lot more comfortable and doesn't absorb water. Wool is a little heavier at the start of a hike and a lot heavier by the end. There are still a few hard core survivors out there in wool pants and sweaters with mouse boots and wooden snowshoes-God bless them!
Fleece, Goretex, insulated single boots and light weight snowshoes have made the winter woods and peaks a lot more accessible and a lot more enjoyable.
To probably misquote an old colleague " I wouldn't shovel my driveway in the gear I wore on my first winter 4000 footers."

The nice thing about wool is that the crimp of the fiber doesn't collpase when wet, the bad thing is that it still absorbs water. I used to have chart somewhere that had the amount of absorption by weight of the product. If I recall Cotton was somewhere around 300% (absorbing as a percent of the fabric weight - ) where wool was around 35%, and standard malden mills 200 wt polypro fleece was around 10%.

I do recall that The more hydrphobic a material is, the quicker the moisture gets to the surface to evaporate, but I don't recall the numbers associated with standard evaporation in various temps/humidities.

Wool does take a long time to dry and some of the cheaper stuff smells horrible when wet.
For the life of me, I've never been able to figure out why fleece socks never caught on (otehr than they aren't as comfortable as wool socks).

timmus said:

.... 100% wool .....

Now, how come EMS or other outdoors shops don't keep 100% wool gear in their stores, but 10 000 fleece items instead ? ....

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MEC has some.. I got a (merino) wool shirt for $8.00 this past fall.(it had a pinhole in it.)

Or maybe it is because synthetic fabrics industries is way more profitable ?

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Most definately, but I'm sure that isn't the only reason. Wool is old fashioned. Fleece is fashionable. Look at some of the colors!!!!!

Want to get wool cheap? Go to your local goodwill store.


HOWEVER.... Some of care about the way we look in the woods, and if you think that you're ever going to hike with me wearing out-of-fashion clothes... Well, just try it.

I always start out my hike wearing my wool and leather gloves. If they get wet, I just switch to another pair (I usually carry three pairs of gloves). I bought them for $6.00 at the Vermont Country Store. I never leave home without them.

Rick said:

Wool does take a long time to dry and some of the cheaper stuff smells horrible when wet.

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However, unlike cotton, wool keeps you warm when wet, because it still has air spaces.

For the life of me, I've never been able to figure out why fleece socks never caught on (otehr than they aren't as comfortable as wool socks).

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Seams can be uncomfortable.

In the winter I am pretty much head to toe Ibex wool appareal so I am on the bus with you. Being the gearhead that I am, I took both a capalene base and a wool base on my last overnight a few weeks ago to see which would be more comfortable. What I did notice, that even though highly breathable, wool does retain more heat than capalene. This can be both good and bad depending on the season.

From a retail standpoint, I worked at REI in Framingham in college and they tend to push synthetics more b/c it is what they sell more of. My last capalene shirt I bought cost $30 and the last wool I bought was $45. For the typical customer these stores see, they do not care enough to spend the extra $$. Also, I am not sure how EMS works, but vendors came into REI to preach why their gear was better and handed out freebee's.

Pete_Hickey said:

Most definately, but I'm sure that isn't the only reason. Wool is old fashioned. Fleece is fashionable. Look at some of the colors!!!!!

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It's true that you better wear bright turquoise and orange in the woods lately... Ask Cheney's friend.

Pete_Hickey said:

HOWEVER.... Some of care about the way we look in the woods, and if you think that you're ever going to hike with me wearing out-of-fashion clothes... Well, just try it.

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I remember you were wearing black, lime green and pink spandex last time I saw you on Dix... I'll try to top that.

What's wrong with wool?

Nothing.

I started with wool before fleece became available. Wool works and works well. Fleece is lighter and dries faster, but wets much faster and is easily damaged by sparks from a fire. Both work well in mostly dry conditions, but when everything gets and stays wet (eg a multiday hike in the rain), wool may do better. Note that wool is still king for socks--a wet and punishing environment. If you have ever worn a wool hat in the freezing rain or snow at about freezing, you stay warm and dry underneath the wool, but an icy coating forms on the outside. I cover my fleece hat with a rain hat because it will soak the water right up.

Merino wool can be more comforatable next to my skin in a very humid environment.

I still use a wool balaclava, wool mitten liners under my mitten shells (another damp environment), wool pants, occasionally merino wool long johns, occasionally wool fishnet (keeps wet clothes away from my skin), and, of course, wool socks.

Back in the days when I used to ice climb--I used wool Dachstein mittens (no shells). Ice water could flow through the mittens, but a few minutes later my hands would be warm.

Wool is a very unique fiber--it consists of a hydrophobic sheath around a hydrophilic core. (couldn't find a good ref, but these point in the right direction):
http://www.glmerc.com/sleeping/wool.htm
http://www1305.oemgrp.com/kingo1/http/technicalinfo.php
http://www.nontoxic.com/babynursery/organicwoolbaby.htm

Merino wool is wool from the Merino sheep (a breed). It has a very fine fiber which feels soft on the skin. "Ordinary" wool has a larger diameter fiber that fells scratchy on the skin.

Doug

itches, scratches and is uncomfortable - for me anyway and think it takes longer to dry -

Ugh!

What's wrong with wool? For me it's bad memories of when I was drafted into the Army back in the late 60's. Wool underwear, wool socks and pants, itched like crazy! Plus, I hated being in the Army.

Wear a polypro shirt underneath the wool sweater to minimize the itching. I always loved wool. It is warm and keeps you dry even when wet. Who cares if you look "fashionable" or not? It's not a beauty contest out there!

I wear fleece liner gloves under thick wool gloves, BUT FLEECE IS WHERE IT'S AT:

"In 1993, Patagonia adopted fleece made from post consumer recycled plastic soda bottles into its clothing product line, becoming the first outdoor clothing manufacturer to do so. Known as PCR® clothing, it created a positive step towards a more sustainable system. Today, the company uses PCR® fleece in about 31 products, and has saved some 86 million soda bottles from the trash heap and reports the addition of PCR® filament yarn to some products in its line. PCR® filament yarn contains 30-50% post-consumer feedstock and the remainder is post-industrial feedstock, allowing Patagonia to make both lining and shell out of recyclable materials.
Innovation
Saving 86 million soda bottles from the trash heap is the equivalent of the oil it would take to fill the 40-gallon gas tank of the Chevy Suburban 20,000 times over."

So the more fleece I wear the more gas I get to consume !

As far as EMS goes; I'm sure fleece is higher mark-up and turn-over than wool.

poly### stuff

IIRC, most fabric beginning with "poly" is now made from recycled plastics, not raw petro product. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. However, if that's the case, it may actually be better than shaving sheep.

I love wool. I've stopped wearing fleece (tops anyway) out in the winter. I've got a really lightweight v-neck wool sweater that I usually wear. None of the fleece stuff I have compares, I'm noticably warmer when I wear wool.

I use wool and get most of my stuff at either Goodwill/Salvation Army or military surplus stores.

Found a great deal on two new British mid-lightweight button up wool shirts in a package for $3.00. I bought a couple packages.

occasionally wool fishnet... byDoug Paul

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Ugghh, too much data - the thought of a grown man wearing fishnets in the woods - yikes, help!

DougPaul said:

Merino wool can be more comforatable next to my skin in a very humid environment........
Merino wool is wool from the Merino sheep (a breed). It has a very fine fiber which feels soft on the skin. "Ordinary" wool has a larger diameter fiber that fells scratchy on the skin.

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Hmmmm. I had a problem with my $8.00 merino wool shirt a few months ago. I wore it numerous times and I was fine in it, however this day, while climbing Phelps & Tabletop, it was warm and wet.

The cold wet wool, against my cold wet skin caused terrible chaffing. Under my arms, and my nipples, which had become stiff from the cold, and rubbed against the wet wool. Din't laugh....It really happened.

Yes, I have had similar chaffing from polypro, but not as bad as from this wool.