Craghoppers Gets Merino For Winter

There's a new contender in the merino wool baselayer market and maybe not one you'd expect - Craghoppers has a whole range of men's and women's merino in a range of styles for this winter.

Craghoppers is using '70s' graded merino wool. The '70s' bit is a measure of wool fineness and means, roughly speaking, pretty fine. That's important because it's the fineness of merino wool fibres that means they aren't scratchy like conventional wool, which is far coarser.

Merino's also capable of absorbing significantly more moisture than synthetic baselayer fabrics, while still remaining comfortable against the skin and has natural anti-odour properties that make it a good choice for multi-day use - when trekking for example.

The Crag's merino range includes a women's vee-neck, striped, long-sleeved crew-neck tops for both men and women and plain crews. The most practical and interesting variant though is the Men's Merino Zip-Neck, a classic mid-weight technical baselayer with a collar and zip.

We've already got one here for test and it looks and feels like it'll make a good winter baselayer. If you were expecting super cheap prices though, think again; the Merino Zip-Neck retails at £55 and the Crew Neck versions are £50 apiece. Then again, you're getting a premium fabric and we've seen it signifcantly cheaper on the web.

You can see the new merino stuff along with the rest of the Craghoppers range under 'fleece and down' at www.craghoppers.com or using the online catalogue option, you'll find the merino on pages 26 and 27.