 But the main question is: does it itch? And don't tell me Merino doesn't!  I'm fine when as long as I am cool, but as soon as I warm up a bit and there is a bit of pressure on the material like under a strap it drives me mad. 
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| Edited: 03/06/11 08:43 |
 Merino doesn't itch. Sorry, but ime that's true. And neither does the Rab MeCo stuff. Here's a thought, merino baselayers have been reviewed over and over again in the outdoors press and I can't recall a single instance of people complaining that it itches. Merino fibres are much finer than standard issue wool, which means they're none scratchy. It's possible that you are genuinely sensitive to something in wool, but it's not a general problem ime. Sorry, but that's all I can say and the Rab stuff is no more or less itchy than any other base layer fabric I've used.
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.JPG) Merino can itch! For me and a few people I've talked to. Just like any wool garment. After giving it a miss for years because of this (tried it in the past), I tried to wear my OH's old patagonia lightweight merino baselayer just to see if well-worn/well washed stuff was less itchy.. Prickly within seconds but just bearable, but after 5 minutes I was tearing it off again. Sorry Jon but, MERINO DOES ITCH FOR A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF US I can happily wear wool gloves and scarves etc., but merino baselayer itches me just as much as plain lambswool against my bare torso skin.
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| Edited: 03/06/11 09:30 |
 Can't imagine that - should you be unlucky enough to be allergic to merino! - this will be notably better. Think the fabrics are just mixed up so still mostly merino. To avoid itches you'd have to line the top with a different fabric, cf Ortovox using beech fibre derivative to do this: tgo review. Of course you then get performance side effects from doing that. Can't think this proportion of cocanna will make it dry hugely faster than pure merino - yes the cocanna portion will but it not going to stop the merino absorbing water etc in its usual way. Not that you'd want it to either 
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 Merino itches for me too.
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I guess it may be partly down to skin sensitivity - there are different grades of merino, some finer than others. Alternatively you may be sensitive to lanolin in the wool or even the dyes.
The fast drying is partially due to the thin fabric for sure, bottom line anyway, is that it works.
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Quite a few people are allergic to lanolin, I'm not. It's true that merino itches less, but to say it does not itch is more than pushing it.
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 Here's a thought, merino baselayers have been reviewed over and over again in the outdoors press and I can't recall a single instance of people complaining that it itches. That's how many people? Maybe as many as a hundred... A hundred people who don't find Merino itchy isn't going to be a problem. It'd be like finding 100 people who don't have a down allergy, or a peanut allergy. Or even 1,000. But that doesn't mean everyone can happily use down and eat peanuts. Merino doesn't make me itch either. I have quite a bit of Merino base layers but Roos experimented with the exact same ones that work for me and they didn't work for her. Pete.
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Fair enough, I guess skin sensitivity varies. I'd say that the merinop/Cocona blend stuff is probably similar to merino in that respect, so if you find merino wool itchy, I guess the chances are that this'll be similar. I'll edit the article as well to take account of the obvious evidence that merino isn't itch free for everyone
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I am not sure if it is actually wool or just texture. I have felt itchy in an acrylic knitted top once I got sweaty. Roos
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Personally merino just isn't tough enough. I like merino in theory but my expensive Patagonia layers look moth bitten after 10 months and are disintegrating, non of my synthetic layers do this. Hoping Rab's MeCo's don't disintegrate.
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Personally merino just isn't tough enough. I like merino in theory but my expensive Patagonia layers look moth eaten after 10 months and are disintegrating, non of my synthetic layers do this. Hoping Rab's MeCo's don't disintegrate.
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 I can't wear merino anywhere that is loadbearing or fuzzy, and as I'm not going to give up using a rucksack and I don't anticipate full-body waxing any time soon, I usually look to stuff like powerdry as an alternative. I've got some powerdry/cocona gear by Marmot. Its comfy, quick drying and the top has survived 5 days of hot (~0 degrees C) energetic skiing without ending up horribly minging. Pretty good as synthetics go, I'd say I do have a chocolate fish merino buff which is very nice as a face cover when it is very cold; it doesn't feel anywhere near as nasty as an icy, damp synthetic thing in that situation. So long as I've shaved recently, of course
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 yep, cant wear merino cos it also itches on me. I have a (what I thought would be a) very nice long sleeve top that just sits in my drawer taunting me 
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Hi,
I would like to know, is the merino-wool used ethical in terms of violent mulesing-procedure done to sheeps in New Zealand?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulesing
Br,
Marianne Juntunen, Finland
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I would like to know, is the merino-wool used ethical in terms of violent mulesing-procedure done to sheeps in New Zealand?
More prevalent in Australia, no? I believe the Kiwis are phasing out the practise, something that seems to be happening rather slowly in Oz.
Your best bet is to ask Rab themselves; it is notable that they don't seem to be saying much about their Merino sources on their website whereas a whole load of highstreet and outdoorsy manufacturers seem to be going out of their way to express their ethical credentials.
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 Just came across this discussion. Know it's old but a few points.
1. Mulesing - if the wool fibre is sourced from Zque it will come from non-mulesed sheep.
2. It's the coarseness of fibre that causes itch, whether it's merino or a synthetic (see Roos comment)
3. If the merino top you bought itches - ask yourself how much you paid for it. Cheap merino gear is made using cheap merino wool. It won't be the best. Even some of the expensive stuff can still use poor quality wool. The best stuff is expensive.
3. Different people have different sensitivity. True allergy to wool v. rare indeed. Just because you may be very sensitive doesn't mean other people will be. Saw one thread somewhere where someone said they found Howies ok but not ChocFish - even when at that time both companies used exactly same MAPP fabric! How much is "itch" psychological I wonder?
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