Why Do We Buy Fleece

[J.Dub]

Shizzy has been "exploiting" farm animals for years ... for the sake of "mutual comfort"

TMI...!!!


Tim, nice job snagging the wool hat at the bike race. (I assume it was a prize for finishing well, or maybe a goodie bag treat for entrants?) That fits in perfectly with my personal motto:

"If it's for free...it's for me!"

 

[jfb]

For the Woolies among us, do they make merino baselayers in various weights (light, med, heavy, expedition) like they do for synthetic baselayers? Any preferred brands besides Ibex, mentioned above? Do the merino baselayers wick as well as the synthetics?

Yes, they come in various weights but it may be hard to tell which is which by the descriptions. For example, Smartwool midweight is similar to Icebreaker 260 and lightweight is similar to 190 or 200.

I have some from Ibex, Smartwool, Icebreaker and MEC and they all work fine. The main difference is not in the fabric, but in style and fit.

Merino does not wick like synthetics. If used properly, it doesn't wick at all. Your skin will stay dry and there won't be anything to wick.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The poll doesn't accurately reflect our opinions because it starts with the premise that "we buy fleece". Many have indicated a preference for wool for certain clothing but I think you have captured the sentiment of those who responded to the poll.

It also says that "wool is the better fiber". Nothing like leading the witness, your honor

Tim

 

[DougPaul]

My purely non-scientific experience/opinion (mainly with wool/nylon gloves) is that wool loses it's superiority disproportionately to it's combination with nylon...does that make sense ? Like a 85% wool/15% nylon product feels and acts more like a 85% nylon/15% wool product to me.

FWIW the very popular Smartwool Hiking socks range from 22% to 29% nylon. (The rest is Merino wool and a a small amount of elastic/spandex.) Helps the sock hold together after you have worn the wool off various spots...

Can't speak for anyone else, but I'm unaware of the nylon (until the wool is worn away).

Doug

 

[Chip]

You know what, I thought my gloves were Smartwool, which is mostly wool - if not all wool, I believe. After thinking about it - these were LavaWool, which is mostly nylon, like 10% wool...so...nevermind...

 

[Stan]

You know what, I thought my gloves were Smartwool, which is mostly wool - if not all wool, I believe. After thinking about it - these were LavaWool, which is mostly nylon, like 10% wool...so...nevermind...

... and here I was thinking that LavaWool was a blend of volcanic ash and hand soap.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

FWIW the very popular Smartwool Hiking socks range from 22% to 29% nylon. (The rest is Merino wool and a a small amount of elastic/spandex.) Helps the sock hold together after you have worn the wool off various spots...

The SmartWool Mountaineering Socks, which Santa brought me for Christmas, are 82% wool, 15% nylon, 3% elastic

Tim

 

[sierra]

The reason people now use more fleece, is that it out performs wool, hands down. While there are some applications where wool is ok, overall if you only wore wool, you would miss the heck out of fleece. Is that scientific enough?

 

[DougPaul]

The reason people now use more fleece, is that it out performs wool, hands down. While there are some applications where wool is ok, overall if you only wore wool, you would miss the heck out of fleece. Is that scientific enough?

Many of us here were hiking back in the days before fleece became available. Some of us still use wool as major parts of our clothing (eg wool pants, socks, mitten liners, and hats for me). I could certainly hike fleece free--it wouldn't be all that difficult*. My pack+clothing might be a bit heavier and I might smell like mothballs.

* The hardest part for me might be digging the gear out of my wool barrel.

In various other threads, I have offered the opinion that wool is generally better in moist/wet environments and fleece/polyester is generally better in dryer environments.

Bottom line: either works for what most of us do.

Doug

 

[Tim Seaver]

In various other threads, I have offered the opinion that wool is generally better in moist/wet environments and fleece/polyester is generally better in dryer environments.

That's interesting in that the pile industry got it's start in making suits for working on offshore rigs - not exactly a dry place! I wonder why pile became the fiber of choice at the time for that field of work, and what the current fashion is on the rigs.

In 1974 a small company called North Cape was founded in Aberdeen producing fibre pile suits and thermal underwear for use in the harsh conditions experienced by the expanding offshore oil industry. By 1977 the company had grown, and made the innovative step of introducing pile and underwear to the climbing and walking world. The lightweight, warm and quick drying properties were an instant hit, and it soon became obvious that the fabrics protecting workers against the cold and damp of a North Sea rig also provided improved comfort and performance on the Scottish hills!

 

[DougPaul]

That's interesting in that the pile industry got it's start in making suits for working on offshore rigs - not exactly a dry place! I wonder why pile became the fiber of choice at the time for that field of work, and what the current fashion is on the rigs.

We used to use wool and rain gear on white water before we got wet suits. (White water in NE is often ice water.)


Fishnet underwear was also used by North Sea fishermen. (The Brits called it string underwear.)

Doug

 

[ColdRiverRun]

Fishnet underwear was also used by North Sea fishermen. (The Brits called it string underwear.)

Good, now I'll have an excuse.

 

[Stash]

That's interesting in that the pile industry got it's start in making suits for working on offshore rigs - not exactly a dry place! I wonder why pile became the fiber of choice at the time for that field of work, and what the current fashion is on the rigs.

The lightweight, warm and quick drying properties were an instant hit

Perhaps the reason was more the quick dry, rather than warm when wet. With shift work you'd have a better chance of putting dry clothes back on rather than some old wet stuff from the last.

 

[mahony]

Wool

Jacques Costeau used to dive with a wool watch cap...I've tried it and it works very well and is much less restrictive than a thick neoprene hood. Once I saw how well that worked I've been a big fan of wool for cold weather where I might get wet.....which is pretty much anytime I'm outdoors.

 

[bandana4me]

Wool 4 me

Although I do have both fleece and wool clothing, I still prefer wool. Actually I have a pair of wool knickers I purchased in the mid 70’s (that still fit!), but I did just recently retire a favorite wool sweater. It will not be forgotten though as my wife cut the sleeves off of the sweater and made them into mittens which I can wear inside my OR mitten shells.

 

[DougPaul]

That's interesting in that the pile industry got it's start in making suits for working on offshore rigs - not exactly a dry place! I wonder why pile became the fiber of choice at the time for that field of work, and what the current fashion is on the rigs.

The lightweight, warm and quick drying properties were an instant hit

Perhaps the reason was more the quick dry, rather than warm when wet. With shift work you'd have a better chance of putting dry clothes back on rather than some old wet stuff from the last.

Fleece is also much easier to clean than wool. Probably a bigger issue for oil workers than hikers.

Doug

 

[Little Rickie]

Lets see what we have so far:

Top Three Survey Choices

19 Don't care
17 Feels better
14 Cheap


Honorable mention
11 Don't care

It looks like the survey says: "I really don't care if I feel good and it's cheap."

Other thoughts?

I'm really surprised there wasn't more of a response to this.

I for one am rethinking how I will buy stuff and will drag out some of my old wool stuff for this wekends campout.

 

[chomp]

I'm really surprised there wasn't more of a response to this.

That's because most of us that voted don't care.

Fleece works great, its light, and it dries quickly. If the weather is going to be nasty, I'm going to have a shell on anyway. The only issue I've had with fleece is when its windy - a problem that has been solved several years ago with the windstopper fleece.

You seem to be implying that anyone who prefers fleece to wool is wrong and a victim of marketing campaigns. I just don't think the whole "warm while wet" is that big of a deal. Fleece isn't like cotton where it absorbs water, gets heavy and doesn't insulate. I find that when my fleece gets wet, it wicks to the outside and dries quickly. Wool just gets wet and heavy and doesn't dry out for days. Plus, if I leave it too long in the drier is shrinks. The more I type, actually, the more I really don't like wool!

 

[Chip]

I'm guessing "MOST" hikers do not spend enough time in their fleece to get it to stink or enough time in conditions where wool's superiority becomes more necessary.

 

[Little Rickie]

You seem to be implying that anyone who prefers fleece to wool is wrong and a victim of marketing campaigns.

I'm implying nothing. I asked for peoples thoughts. Interpret this as you see it and it looks like you have.

I am filmly in the camp of a fleece buyer because it is cheap and plentiful. I will be thinking about using more wool as a result of this poll though.

I do think some people are slaves to fashion, what's trendy and advertising. Is that good or bad? Not to the seller and not to the people that buy that are pleased with their purchase.