WoolWeenies Club

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Originally Posted by RTW

You want my weight? That's classified information!

Um. 5'3" and 130 lbs. I have no idea what my bust size is. In general, I'm MP or size 8P in most shirts, but S in Patagonia jackets (and 6P in Ann Taylor's jackets, sometimes 8P at J. Crew).

I'd be wearing it as a midlayer in late fall/winter or as an outer layer in spring through fall, just the way I wear my Conquest Hoodie. I've been known to wear the Conquest over garments as thick as a thin wool (of course!) sweater or even a twinset, and under my winter coat. It's snug and fitted but doesn't look too tight. I think the Carrie is a little thicker than the Conquest (320), being boucle, but am not so sure about the Shak.

ETA: Oh, and forgot to mention, I have an Ibex Cirque and take a small in that.

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Well knowing all this I would advise you to order a small AND a medium in both the shak and the Carrie, and send back the ones you don't want.
I'm a little taller and 20 lbs heavier than you, and I take either the med or large in both- depending on if i want to wear them as an outer layer over things. I actually have a medium half zip shak that fits perfectly and I wear a large full zip shak over that, like a sweater set.
The Carrie is soft but is more jacket-like, due to the terrycloth-like wool material and the hood and the cut. The full zip shak can actually look great as either an outer cardigan or under stuff...it's a bit more sleek and form fitting than the Carrie, so it can be worn under things better without any bunching. Carrie has more practical pockets.

Thanks so much for the advice Lisa! Well, it turns out REI is sold out of the Shaks in medium, so I just ordered one in small and will see how it works. I'm still vacillating on the Carrie however — you know, it's just hard to justify spending more to get another cardigan when I've already got one hoodie that I love, and the Shak may meet my needs better anyway. Besides, haven't I sworn off new wool purchases repeatedly over the last year? I've got a deep drawerful of wool (mostly Icebreaker, some Ibex and Patagonia), and there's no way I could wear it all unless global warming gets reversed really soon.

Based on my experience, the Shak is a bit more fitting than the Carrie. Based on your size I wouldn't be surprised if you were a M in Shak and S in Carrie.

I'm a true S in the Shak and I can't find a Carrie that fits me well. (I'm 5'4" and a bit under 120 lbs, with pretty much no bust.) I wear the Shak (or the Boucle...) on top of another layer and I can even fit two form-fitting layers underneat if it's really needed (like a sleeveless top and a tight t-shirt with or without long sleeves).

RTW - I would tend to agree with Grog's assesment of your sizing, but if you like things to fit somewhat closer to the body, the small shak might be just right.

I have two full zip shaks and two carrie hoodies. All 4 of them are mediums and they all fit well for what they are. The Carrie is slightly roomier, but it's not exactly a full size bigger. I tend to wear it layered over all kinds of things and often as a outerwear jacket. The shaks are more sleek in style (as Lisa mentioned). I wear those usually over thin baselayers and then will often wear my Pingo jacket over them (where the Pingo doesn't fit as well over my Carrie hoodies).

I do have one other shak in a small (bought it a few years ago when I was smaller) and I can still wear it if my base layer is very thin or sleeveless. For reference, I'm your height - but I outweigh you by a LOT (though, to be fair, most of my weight is in my lower half). Everything I own from Ibex is a medium or a small (way more mediums than smalls).

Oh, and I want to add that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my carrie hoodies. I have another one in my cart at Ibex right now just waiting for my next payday! They are warm, cozy, good looking...they don't shrink with washing and drying and when I throw the hood up when I'm out doing chores in the rain or cold, I am 100% completely comfortable. The boucle fabric does seem to hold dog hair more than the smoother shak material, but I also think it wears extremely well. One of my carrie hoodies gets a ton of use and has been machine washed a bunch of times...and it still looks brand new. My green shak, which has had similiar wear is obviously not as 'crisp' looking as it used to be.

Ibex 405 warning!

I don't know if anyone else has the full zip 405 from Ibex...but if you do, don't wash it!!!

I finally washed my red one for the first time last week and it totally shrunk! I washed it in cold in the machine, and then laid (layed?) it flat to dry. When I went to hang it up next to my blue 405, it was at least 2 or 3 sizes smaller. I can't wear it anymore. :mad: It sucks, because I really, really liked the red one the best, too.

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Originally Posted by GLC1968

Ibex 405 warning!
I don't know if anyone else has the full zip 405 from Ibex...but if you do, don't wash it!!!
I finally washed my red one for the first time last week and it totally shrunk! I washed it in cold in the machine, and then laid (layed?) it flat to dry. When I went to hang it up next to my blue 405, it was at least 2 or 3 sizes smaller. I can't wear it anymore. :mad: It sucks, because I really, really liked the red one the best, too.

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Wow, thanks for that warning!- I have the red full zip 405 as well, and I really love it and wear it a LOT. Haven't washed it yet (doesn't need it) but now I will dry clean it when it finally gets grubby. It fits me perfectly but wouldn't if it shrank at all. so THANKS! I'm bummed for you about yours. :( It says right on the label machine wash gentle cold, lay flat to dry. So maybe you could get a refund or a credit if you call Ibex?

I too love my Carrie hoodie (in that great intense emerald moss green color that everyone comments on when I wear it)- it's really comfy and casual and practical.

Wow, thanks for all the sizing advice! Yeah, the Shak will probably be too small, but I don't really have a choice, so I'll see how it is when it arrives. Nice having an REI nearby...

One unforeseen consequence: Now you make me want to get the Carrie after all, after I'd gone to so much trouble to talk myself out of it. Not only that, because I can't decide which color is best, I could well wind up ordering two.

Or four, if I go with the suggestion of ordering two sizes to try them on.

You're all evil influences, you know that?

P.S. GLC1968 — you saw the REI sale on Carries, right? Only a few colors, but you can't beat half-price. Still kicking myself about missing the sale Natasha mentioned...

RTW, it may not be too small, although it just may depend on how you want to layer it.

All my ibex is small, and I am usually a 4 on the bottom and a 6 on the top. The fit of the shak as others have said is sleek, which is what I like about it. I ordered it in both s and m and returned the m. It is true that the m would layer over more or heavier layers, but then the arms would be too long, and the armpits hang too low, etc. So, I don't really use it as on outer layer, but as a sleek mid layer. It layers nicely over a medium weight base layer. If I want more, I add a patagonia down sweater (small layers over it just fine) and/or my arc-tyrex goretex shell. Mostly I wear it with just the gore tex shell when I go outside.

wow, we should buy suits together, I'm usually a 6 on the bottom and a 4 on top. :rolleyes:

I got two Ibex Zepher T's when TE was having the sale, but they're really too long for my 5'3" frame. Are their other things shorter?

RTW - I did see the sale. And I'm placing my order today! I totally want the dark cranberry color and they still have it in my size...YAY!!

Lisa - 405 update: it actually shrank in length more than it did in width, oddly enough. I think that once I lose my extra weight, it'll still work for a summer/warmer weather jacket (it's basically cropped now...and it won't layer over the things I used to wear it with...hence the 'summer' thought). I am going to contact Ibex - but since I bought it from backcountry.com, I don't know if they'll do anything to help me out. If they can't, I'll keep it - UGH...I wish I'd washed the blue one first...the red was my favorite!!

Oh, and I had to mention that my x-mas gift from my H finally arrived over the weekend (stupid bad weather) and he bought me a collection of 'woolies'! They are beautiful in the dark cranberry!! I got the bottoms, zip top and a striped crew top...I can't wait to wear them!

Cathrine, backcountry.com has a very liberal return policy, even for worn items. I am sure they would take it back if you are not happy.

Has anyone tried any of the Sugoi wallaroo tops? I've been eyeing the 1/2 zip top, but wondered if any had bought one.

I just started my wool adventure- bought an Icebreaker base layer and loved it, ordered one with a half zip, and waiting for delivery. So now that I am hooked on the wonder of wool I am looking for a bra so I don't have cold and clammy boobs. I am small- an A cup so don't need a ton of support.

I see the Ibex one on TE- How thin is the fabric on the cup? Has anyone tried the I/O Biocompatible? It's only $29 bucks- more in my price range.

I got the Ibex bra during the Thanksgiving sale, just wore it today in fact. :) The fabric is the same density throughout (cups and straps), but I don't know what to compare it to. Considerably thinner than the Ibex Zepher T's, maybe just a touch heavier than my microweight SmartWool. It's more supportive than I thought it would be, but it wouldn't be enough for anything high impact. Certainly plenty supportive for hiking, cycling on bumpy roads, etc.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

It's more supportive than I thought it would be, but it wouldn't be enough for anything high impact. Certainly plenty supportive for hiking, cycling on bumpy roads, etc.

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For Spring 2009, Ibex is making 2 new versions of the wool bra that are more "constructed" than the existing version (which will also carry forward). The newer versions are for higher impact activities. The samples looked quite nice when we saw them. I think we are expecting delivery in February.

Hope this helps!

Susan

OK, I can now compare my Neve sweaters to the Ibex Shak.

I've got two Neve sweaters--the Larissa and the Annabelle. I wore the Annabelle home for Christmas and got many compliments on how nice it looked. Both of these fit the same. I also got the old version of the Trudy; I love the design, but it is cut much, much smaller than the other two, and I am going to have to send it back. I wear a large and it fits like a smallish medium, I think.

I also got a black Shak full-zip on sale at REI. I'm wearing it today for the first time.

The Neve sweaters are a looser knit than the Shak, and feel a bit heavier. They're fuzzier due to the looser knit, and much dressier looking than the Shak. The Shak is very comfortable, but I think the pocket zipper makes it look pretty casual.

Size-wise, the Shak in a large is just a bit tighter than the Neves. Weirdly, the full zip Shak in a large fits me the same as the Shak jersey in an XL.

I found the styles of Shaks to fit differently from each other also. I wear medium in the full zips, but found the half-zip to be quite a bit tighter in medium. I ended up with a large in the hooded shak (it is kind of big, but I like it much better than the medium fit). I didn't like the fit of the half zip and returned it.
I have 4 full zip Shaks, and 2 of them fit much tighter than the other 2. This is before being washed.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

I got the Ibex bra during the Thanksgiving sale, just wore it today in fact. :) The fabric is the same density throughout (cups and straps), but I don't know what to compare it to. Considerably thinner than the Ibex Zepher T's, maybe just a touch heavier than my microweight SmartWool. It's more supportive than I thought it would be, but it wouldn't be enough for anything high impact. Certainly plenty supportive for hiking, cycling on bumpy roads, etc.

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I'm an A to A-minus cup and I find the Ibex Balance bra to be plenty supportive for running. I reach for it when it's on the cold side though (so that I don't get bothered by a wet bra). Otherwise I'll go for something a bit more "flattening"... :eek:

Yeah, we're all so different. :) I'm a B-/A+ cup but very bouncy, so for running I want a serious masher bra. In my running bras, my belly will stick out almost as much as my b00bs, and I don't have that much of a belly. :rolleyes:

I can't wait for the new Ibex bras! :D

I am in Portugal, and have a laundering question. I always hand wash and rack dry my ibex. But it is very damp here and I don't have time to get my things dry if I wash them tomorrow and hang them to dry. The tag says machine wash, but dry flat. Have you guys ever tried putting your ibex in a dryer? I don't wanna ruin them (or shrink them), but it would be nice to get everything clean tomorrow before I start a lot of travelling (pieces in question are shak, kate, razzle, zepher and norgie crew).

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Originally Posted by Triskeliongirl

(pieces in question are shak, kate, razzle, zepher and norgie crew).

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I have put all those pieces (except the razzle which i don't have) into a dryer set on LOW heat and then taken them out after 20 or 30 minutes and hung to finish drying overnight. After the brief time in the dryer they have been 'mostly' dry, and after hanging are quite dry in the morning. They haven't shrunk any noticable amount with this gentle treatment. You can always finish them in the air fluff (no heat) dryer setting if the machine has one.

Okay I'll wait for the new Ibex- a little more structure sounds like a good thing. If I buy one of the Biocompatible I will post a review.

Thank you so much Lisa! I am having a great time. Layering my ibex is working out perfectly. Its just hard to launder on the road, but I think drying on low occasionally will be perfectly fine. The only piece I am disappointed in is my alpstar pant. It was already a little loose when I bought it, and then it stretched out a lot after wearing and laundering didn't bring it back in. But, I have other things to wear so I'll be fine.

We have been in Portugal since a few days before christmas visiting family. Tomorrow we head out on the next stage of our adventure, which includes professional visits to Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and Lausanne.

The only bad thing is that I MISS MY BIKE, but its too wet here for it to have made any sense to bring it.

I am in love with the Ibex underpants! I used them on my x country ski trip and they made a big difference as to how warm my azz was. Definitely need more pairs.
Today I wore my hooded Shak skiing, with a Craft base layer and my Go Lite jacket. It was perfectly fine, at 15 degrees with a brisk wind. I found the Smart wool base layer to be the best for winter activities, but when I wore it with the Shak, the whole thing felt itchy. It must have been the combination of the 2 things, because I love the Smart Wool base layers. Need more of those, too!

Trisk - I don't know if it's too late or not, but I wouldn't put the Kate or the Razzel in the dryer. My Kate shrunk (mostly in length) when dried and my Twizzel (which I think is similar in fabric to the Razzel) shrunk a LOT. In both cases, I tried to do what Lisa suggested (mostly to get off the dog hair!) but I forgot them and they dried the whole way and shrunk. I still wear them, but they aren't as nicely fitting as my other stuff.

I have fully dried one of my shaks, my zepher 1/2 zip and my norgie crew with no shrinkage at all.

I went to dinner last night with a very fashionable friend, and she had on these fantastic boots. In the dim light, I couldn't quite see what they were, so we went into the light, and they were a very tall, plain gray version of these:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/01/04...4foraging.html

I just googled "Russian wool boots" and found this article. I don't know if you wool weenies have discussed them before, but I thought some of you would love to see them!

Thanks GLC, but its too late. The kate and razzle did shrink a little, but they were already a tad loose so they still fit fine. The shaks seem totally unchanged. I really didn't have a choice traveling. I just couldn't get them dry any other way and I really needed to start this leg of my trip with clean clothes.

Well, thanks to (enabler) Triskeliongirl, who clued me in on the REI sale on Ibex full-zip Shaks, I now have my first Ibex garment (Shak in black) on the way. I hope it fits, and I hope I love it as much as everyone else who has one seems to! I'm very excited... :D

Wow Redrhodie, those Valenki boot are cute! Do they have a leather or hard sole? Looks like the Russian answer to Ugg boots! Tokie

I love the valenki!
Some have soles and others are just wool. You can get a pair of "galoshi" for the wool ones.

There are some on ebay, but check the shipping before you bid...some are shipping from Russia, eek!

Here is an animated discussion of the merits of "the valenki"!http://shoeblogs.com/2006/01/11/the-valenki/ Silly : - ) Tokie ( I too can imagine skinny women in droopy gauzy blouses and skirts wearing the Valenki in 68 degree southern california weather! perception of cold is relative.)

My friend wore them with skinny jeans, tucked in. They looked really cute, very tall, almost to her knees. She had the galoshi over them. She said she paid about $75, including shipping from Russia! It looks like they're more than that now. The website she ordered from is gone, apparently.

Emily, I hope you love your Shak. Lisa got me hooked on Ibex at about this time last year. I now have 2 full zip Shaks (black and brown), 2 Shak hoodies in red and black, an Icebreaker full zip black hoodie my husband bought me, an Icebreaker quarter zip top, and some Smart Wool micro weight base layers.
Yesterday I ordered 2 more pair of Ibex boy shorts underwear and another Smart Wool base layer from TE.
Oy, I better be done.... but I am thinking about an Ibex bra for x country skiing.

REI has some stuff on sale!
wool arm warmers! less than 7 dollars

and a sleeveless wool bike jersey (Men's small) for 23 dollars.
a little bird told me.

Oooh!!! Ohhh!!!!

I found Smartwool socks here in Perth & bought myself a pair!!! ooooo!!!

Oh no! My Ibex/Smart Wool order from TE came Wednesday and the boy shorts were the wrong size. They were large and I ordered smalls. I re-ordered in medium, since they were out of the smalls and the smalls I have are a bit snug anyway.
The Smart Wool microweight was fine, though.

I was packing for a trip yesterday and was struggling because of having too many choices.

I found 2 small ibex norgies with tags that I've never worn - one's the green tonic color, the other's orange persimmon... I got them on SAC a few months back. I think they were about $40 each - so if anyone wants them for that + the cost of shipping them to you, let me know.

Just got an email from Ibex.
I am bad.
But, the stuff was 50% off. I ordered 2 Kates, one in the green that Lisa has and one in cranberry.

Help me get over this addiction.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

My Ibex/Smart Wool order from TE came Wednesday and the boy shorts were the wrong size. They were large and I ordered smalls. I re-ordered in medium, since they were out of the smalls and the smalls I have are a bit snug anyway.

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You, a MEDIUM? What would that make me, a XXXL???? :eek: :cool: ;)

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Just got an email from Ibex.
I am bad.
But, the stuff was 50% off. I ordered 2 Kates, one in the green that Lisa has and one in cranberry.
Help me get over this addiction.

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I only have one Kate- a black. (shouldn't you have a black one too?) :D

I am tempted to order another 405 on sale- I wear the one I have like ALL the time now.