WoolWeenies Club

[KathiCville]

Heads up that a few Ibex items have just been reduced further at STPost: Cirque jacket, Bregenz jacket, full-zip Switchback and their vests. 60% off, today only (October 27)........Cirque and Bregenz are now @$88, less any coupons you might have. I used a Sierra Woman 20% off coupon and got both the Cirque and Bregenz for @$70 each.

[KathiCville]

....I forgot to mention in my post (above) that I settled in last night and read the whole WoolWeenies Club post from start to finish, all 43 pp. Like wool, it's addictive! I learned a lot and laughed even more. Thank you!

One question (that I hope won't get me booted out of here....). I didn't see much about silk as an alternative to wool for folks who can't have wool next to their skin because of the itch factor. I've got a handful of light LS base layer tops from WinterSilks that I love for cool and cold weather. I admit that I haven't tried wool as a base layer. (Egads, did I really confess that?) Have many of you tried silk or silk blends and found any downsides? (Other than price....)

[KnottedYet]

I love silk, too. But I've found I sweat way to much for silk to handle it. (when I'm riding or something... I don't sweat like that all the time!)

I like the stuff WinterSilks makes.

[mimitabby]

Kathi, my husband wears silk under all of his wool stuff.
silk is good, but not near as fun as wool, i guess!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I used to have pure silk base layer tops and long johns. Overall, they felt soft and nice. But the tops used to get smelly under the arms after one wearing, they felt clammy if they got sweaty, and they didn't keep me nearly as warm as merino wool thin base layers.
Wool gives you that lovely layer-of-air insulation that keeps you from feeling damp or sticky, and also wool doesn't get smelly because it does not encourage bacterial growth under your arms (like other fabrics do).

[elk]

1. WHich Cirque jacket do you like/have? There seems to be 2 different ones...I bought the one that appears first...not the "light" looks slimmer.

2. Silk keeps you warm but doesn't "wick". I was just reading about dressing for field trials (yeah, dogs) and the woman who wrote the article owns either backcountry or ST..can't remember...she said to stay away from cotton and silk as they don't dry....wool and synthtics made for cold weather layering work much better.

3. So yeah...what about the next to the skin merino crew I just got from Riv that is a little itchy...will washing help? If not, what do you put under it that doesn't negate it's values?

e

[KathiCville]

I guess I haven't experienced the clammy thing (yet) with my silk base layer pieces. But then, I'm not exactly a speed demon biking or hiking, so I'm probably not kicking up enough sweat to test the soak-and-sop limits of silk.

Now that I've heard this group swoon over the virtues (and vices) of wool, I can hardly wait to get the Ibex pieces I snared on STPost today! Of course, temps have to actually DROP to something resembling AUTUMN before I'll get to test the warmth factor.........

[mimitabby]

gee, Kathi, don' t you have some killer hills where you live? that's where I get hot and sweaty!

[KathiCville]

Yes, indeed, LOADS of killer hills 'round here----very much part of the charm that drew me to this part of Virginia. My cycling fiend boyfriend regularly throws himself up and down the mountains in MTB and road century races, and loves every painful minute of it!.......I've never been strong on hill-climbing of any kind, so have learned just to take it slow, at a comfortable pace. Result? I rarely end up being more than damp even in the hottest weather. I suppose I'm more tortoise than hare! I'm just getting back into riding after a decade off, and am happy to be averaging about 12mph for the moment. Today I did my longest ride yet: 16 miles, in 1hr 20 min! At the end, as the sun was dropping, the temps dropped fast and I was glad I'd put on two layers---'though neither one was wool...yet!........I'm looking forward to doing some mileage on the Blue Ridge Parkway when I get a little stronger. Right now I think I'd just get disheartened by the longgggg climbs. I figure in another month or so I'll be ready to give it a whirl. (Plus the bumper-to-bumper leaf-peeping traffic will be gone.....) That's when my new Ibex goodies will come in handy!

[KnottedYet]

KC - I loooooove your doggie picture!

Elk - I've found washing to help make my non-Ibex woolies more comfy. (my Ibex next-to-skin woolies are soft and delicious from the very start) I use Dr. Bronner's Liquid Castile soap, whatever flavor I have handy.

[SandyLS]

Right now at steepandcheep.com $65.63 Blue or Brown.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I posted this in the forsale/wanted thread, but thought I'd catch you wool weanies too:

Does anyone have any women's medium or large Ibex wool "Shak" tops in their "red pepper" color they'd like to sell? Could be the shak half-zip, full-zip, or shak hoodie.....but it has to be the red (not the orange "persimmon" color).

[Natasha]

Hi Lisa,
You could check at Ibexwear.com. I returned a red pepper shak half-zip in medium about a month ago. Red pepper is a beautiful color, but I decided that I wanted a full zip.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Wow, thanks Natasha-
I just asked the people last week at Ibex if they had any med or large redpepper full or halfzip shaks lying around on the shelf, and they wrote back and said no, they only have the 4 colors now listed for sale. Perhaps I should ask them one more time with a reference to one having been recently returned?

I'm somewhat peeved that the MEN'S shaks come in 6 fabulous colors almost all of which I love. But the women's only come in 4 colors, 3 of which are dark and somber. I doubt the men's would fit me in small, since I suspect the neck and maybe the shoulders would be too big and loose.

[KathiCville]

Lisa......I think you can find the hooded red pepper Shak at www.steepplanet.com. It looks like they have it in stock, S-M-L, at $140, plus free shipping.