WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Thanks Lisa and Knotted for all that great info. Well the roaster boxers and energy tight are next on my list, but I will wait for them to go on sale. Lisa, you live near Boston, any stores in Boston/Cambridge I might check out for Ibex sales in February? (Lisa, did you know I also bought my titanium Isis at Harris Cyclery, they were the only shop that had one left in my size so I purchased it there on a trip to the cape).

Cool!
I know nothing of Ibex outlets near Boston, because i live 2 1/2 hour drive west of Boston, in NY, near the western border of MA. We drove a lot when we got our Rivendells at Harris. My Rambouillet was in stock there too, in my size! I remember seeing Terry bikes there. Did you get your bike there from Elton?

Each day is a surprise. Like today, my shak was still wet on my drying rack from its first wash so I put my Kate on under a cotton ribbed henley, and found that I was amazingly warm even without another layer. How can something so THIN, give me so much warmth? The clerk in the store was so wrong, no wonder they ended up unsold and on the 50% off winter clearance rack. I bought the 2 black smalls they had, didn't buy the lime greens cuz wasn't sure that color would go with my clothes, but I am oh so tempted to go back for them..... But restraint, I already have the mid-weight ribbed crew on the way.

Remember, most clerks haven't spent even one tenth of the time you have in researching wool. They don't know nothin', but they are paid to sound like they do. You will really like the ribbie when you get it.

But do you guys wear these wool bases under that kind of jersey? Also does anyone cycle in the energy tight? Do you need to size up if you want to put it over a cycling short w chamois? Is it warmer than say a shebeest or terry cycling tight (I have what terry calls the cool weather not cold weather tights). I do find my legs feel cold in them when the temp. drops below 40, which is probably why I don't ride in the 30s. If I ride I can put my goretex pants over them, but not really fond of riding in a pant.

Let's see.... Yes I wear merino thin base layers under anything I want, and often under bright yellow polyester jerseys cause I like being seen in traffic on my bike. Makes the poly jersy seem 3x as warm.
As to the energy tight -which is much like my approach tight- I wear these thick wool tights all the time....sleeping, walking, supermarket, biking, whatever. Since wool does breathe, on the bike the wind factor might mean you need an additional layer. If it's really cold I might wear my Shebeest chamois tights with my Ibex Approach tights over them. Or, I might wear my Ibex tights and then a padded short OVER them. (i enjoy the dork factor). The Ibex wool tights are VERY stretchy and will go on nicely over whatever other tights or shorts you want- no need to order a size up to layer them.
In the dead of winter I often go out for the day or go walking 5 miles in 20 degreesF wearing either:
My approach wool tights with an UnderArmor tight or a fleece tight on top of them...
or,
My UnderArmor tights or a fleece tight with the Ibex wool tights on top of them.
Either combo would be fine for cold biking down to about 30- you can use either of your winter chamois biking tights combined with the Ibex tight, and you probably wouldn't need the Goretex pants then. The tights let you move better.
I can go snowshoeing in the Ibex tights with a biking rain pants over them to keep the snow off.
It's all pretty versatile.

Exciting wool event today!:
DH took me to a sporting apparel store in MA (west coast!) that I heard has a lot of Ibex now. Indeed they did have quite a selection of Ibex, and it was weird to suddenly see many items that I have thus far only seen online and in photos. Everything was "alive"! =8-O
I got to try on all kinds of things that I've often wondered about or hesitated about, like....
They had the shaks in all 4 colors (i have only the black and brown), and I tried on the WarmGreen and the ThistleHeather ones. Though they looked fine on me, I decided I wasn't that much in love with either color and will make do with my black and brown ones until I can see what next autumn's shak colors are like.
I saw the Kates there! They are wonderful, and very soft. I loved that soft smoky lavender color, and the black....but they didn't flatter my figure much at all, like the shaks do. They emphasized my modest excesses around the waist and hips, they would have looked great if I was 15 pounds lighter. So I passed on those too.
I have enough in the way of nice jacket and vest and sweaters, so I really didn't much look at those things. DH was patiently meandering about and I didn't feel too rushed.
The one thing that caught my eye was the Carrie hoodie, which looked good on me too and I liked the weight and material. So I think I'll wind up getting one of those.
The best thing was that I came away feeling pretty happy about the things that I already have. I felt I had made some good choices considering I had to choose from things without seeing them in person in a store beforehand. So that was nice.

[Crankin]

Lisa, where was that store? In Gt. Barrington?
I haven't seen Ibex in ANY store in the Boston area. I've looked at E. Mtn. Sports, REI, and a local "outdoor store." I thought they only sold their stuff on line.

Robyn

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Robyn,
It's "The Arcadian Shop" in Lenox, MA:
http://www.arcadian.com/

Apparently they have sold small amounts of Ibex items for a long time, but now they have a whole section of Ibex for men and women. My friend was there when the Ibex reps were putting the finishing touches on the "Ibex mini-shop". If you go, be aware that there are a few Ibex items sort of hidden in their cycling area as well to check out- like El Fitto knickers and Ibex wool cycling jerseys.

[Crankin]

OMG! I can't believe I have never been to this store. We've been going to the Berkshires for cycling trips for the past 4 years, in addition to a few skiing and cultural excursions there.
I may have to take a field trip there SOON. Maybe we can meet for lunch in the cafe....

Robyn

[KnottedYet]

I have strayed... I just ordered this: http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...feat=502282-tn

It's cute, it's cheap. The one I ordered (black) has hot pink trim-bits. I imagine it will look lovely with a pair of faded jeans.

BTW, LL Bean has some nice merino shirts on sale for $30. T-necks, LS crews, and t-shirts. http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Search&feat=sr

[Velobambina]

Knott--Those T-shirts are nice. Very soft, look nice. I have a couple of them, but they sold out of my size really fast so I had to go w/a small instead of the better-fitting xtra small.

I LOVE LLbean

[emily_in_nc]

BTW, LL Bean has some nice merino shirts on sale for $30. T-necks, LS crews, and t-shirts. http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...Search&feat=sr

Thanks Knott!

I order a lot from LL Bean as I have their credit card so get free shipping and fairly many Bean bucks since I use the credit card for buying all our boat gear recently, which really adds up. I hadn't seen these tops, but after reading your post just ordered one of the long-sleeved merinos in the teal color, which will go nicely under two wool cardigans I own for the coldest January days, and by itself for warmer days.

I can't afford Ibex at the moment (too much stuff on our "to buy for the boat" list), but LL Bean always has good deals. I had $20 in Bean bucks (plus free shipping), so the merino top is only costing me $9.95. That's a deal I can't resist!

Emily

[Blueberry]

I have a short sleeved and long sleeved version of the merino that just arrived. They're really soft (softer than the smartwool next to skin layer I have on), and could be worn for anything from biking to under a suit

(I got some really nice cashmere too)

CA