WoolWeenies Club

[mimitabby]

Lisa, thanks! Just as I was thinking no one had read my post..

Silly girl there are a lot of wool weenies that read every post. Sometimes we just don't respond because we don't know the answer.

[SadieKate]

The only thing I can recommend is the Smatwool zip-T...VERY form fitting, and a nice weight like the zephyr... But too long on you??

Last year I bought REI's lightweight Zip T-neck because the arms and torso were about 2 inches shorter than the Smartwool. Over the summer, I bought the Ibex Zephyr which is closer to the REI in length, maybe even a tad shorter but that could be because it is a more relaxed fit and for possible use as outwear (mine is embroidered with a bike company's logo).

Arms being a little long is OK, torso no. You can only tuck so much down into your bike shorts.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My Zephyr turtleneck is in the wash right now, and won't be dry til tomorrow, but if you want to wait, I can compare the sleeves and torso lengths of it to my SW Turtle-zipT. Both are size medium.

[madscot13]

Last year I bought REI's lightweight Zip T-neck

what did you htink of the rei zip? I have two and love them. I wear them all of the time ( wearin the black one right now. I bought them on sale ( I love a sale!) and that is what started me on wool. I wish they would bring rei wool back and maybe even expand the selection.

[SadieKate]

I love my REI wool zip-T. I think it is very nice and certainly much less expensive than Ibex and Smartwool. They've discontinued it? Must be why I was wandering aimlessly around REI the other day wondering where it was.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

OK Sadie Kate....
I measured and compared my two medium zip turtlenecks today:
One is the Zephyr zipT and the other is the SmartWool zip-T, both size medium, both longsleeve turtlenecks and both have been worn quite a few times and washed about twice in warm (not hot) water with Woolite and dried very slightly on LOW and then laid out to dry the rest of the way.

I found that the Zephyr is about 1/2 inch longer in the torso (from shoulder to bottom), and about 1/2" longer in the sleeve (lined up the cross seam under the arms.)

The SW zip-T is MUCH more form fitting though- has seams that taper the waist in and the sleeves are narrower too- easily fits smoothly under things that would make the zephyr bunch up underneath. The Zephyr is nice when you wear it on top because it's a more relaxed feel.

Hope this helps.

[SadieKate]

Thanks, Lisa. I wonder if Smartwool did some re-design. The ZipT I tried on was oodles longer.

The Zephyr is sure snuggly. I wish they made it in bright, bright, red.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yeah, a HOT TOMATO red!!
...and a juicy MANGO YELLOW!!!!
...and a crisp cool SPRING LETTUCE green!!!

(oops, getting hungry again....)

[margo49]

Re-read the 12 steps!
We're with you in this!
You are not alone, Lisa

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Re-read the 12 steps!
We're with you in this!
You are not alone, Lisa

Confession time.
Lately, I have been ordering some NON WOOL biking clothes.
I've been trying to get some neon screaming yellow/green top layer stuff so that I can be as visible as possible to cars. I'm sort of paranoid about that.
It started with a NightLife jersey from Terry.
I liked that so much that now I want a lightweight neon vest and a neon rain jacket, and I've ordered some to try out.
If I wear at least 2 wool items at any given time though, will I hopefully not be kicked out of the WW Sisterhood?

[mimitabby]

no, of course not, dear, we have your number. we all know that you
will return to wool again and again.

My mother found me a great red-orange 50-50 wool blend second hand,
perfect for work. So I feel better about not finding anything for myself.

[SadieKate]

Yellow wool? Here you go though I have no idea how they fit us girly-types.

If you haven't heard of Kucharik, they are an old and trusted name in bicycle clothing. Sadly, they aren't seen as much but those "in the know" over the years know about them.

http://kucharik.com/

[DebW]

Confession time.
Lately, I have been ordering some NON WOOL biking clothes.
I've been trying to get some neon screaming yellow/green top layer stuff so that I can be as visible as possible to cars. I'm sort of paranoid about that.
It started with a NightLife jersey from Terry.
I liked that so much that now I want a lightweight neon vest and a neon rain jacket, and I've ordered some to try out.
If I wear at least 2 wool items at any given time though, will I hopefully not be kicked out of the WW Sisterhood?

If you have wool as your next-to-skin layer, then you are an official WoolWeenie regardless of what is on the outside. Blazing yellow nylon makes sense as a windproof, waterproof, hi-vis outer layer. The wool is next to your skin where it does the most good at wicking and insulating. WoolWeenies don't have to show off their wool all the time, because WoolWeenies are modest and humble people.

The opposite are people who wear wool on the outside for show and **shudder** cotton **gasp** on the inside. They are just poseurs.

[mimitabby]

If you have wool as your next-to-skin layer, then you are an official WoolWeenie regardless of what is on the outside. Blazing yellow nylon makes sense as a windproof, waterproof, hi-vis outer layer. The wool is next to your skin where it does the most good at wicking and insulating. WoolWeenies don't have to show off their wool all the time, because WoolWeenies are modest and humble people.

The opposite are people who wear wool on the outside for show and **shudder** cotton **gasp** on the inside. They are just poseurs.

Boy, I agree with that!

[Bad JuJu]

I found El Fito knickers on sale for $88 here:
Bike Stop
But before I grab them, I have a couple of questions for the rest of the WW club:
1. Are the El Fitos pretty true to size? I wear a L in Shebeest, so comparing size charts, it looks I should get a L in the El Fitos. Any tips?
2. Has anybody ever dealt with Bike Stop before? Any problems with them?
Thanks--I'm dying to snap up this sweet deal, but trying to be judicious about it.