WoolWeenies Club

[forestbiker]

A whole thread dedicated to lovers of merino wool???

I wear nothing but merino wool for hiking. My favorite piece of gear is an Ibex merino wool t-shirt.

So, go forth and preach the gospel of merino wool. Mother Nature got it right when she put the merino sheep on the earth.

[bmccasland]

Found out LS is horribly allergic to sheep's wool, but not allergic to other wools. So if I was going to be nice, and buy her something, any suggestions?

She is not athletic - other than chasing a toddler and 2nd grader around.

Let me be more specific - can you send me to some web sites, please?

[GLC1968]

Sorry, Beth - I'm not familiar with non-sheep's wool companies! Hopefully someone else here will have some ideas.


I have a question for everyone else who own's the Ibex Shak full zip. Anyone have problems with holes? I own 5 of these and so far, only my black one is falling apart. It probably gets slightly more wear than the others (but not THAT much more because it also shows dog hair more than the others!). In fact, I tend to treat my black one with a little more care since I wear it to work and try to keep it 'professional' looking. It's never seen a dryer and I probably wash it less often than the other colors. I just noticed that it's got a hole in one elbow and a few signs of unravelling in a few other spots. Could I have a poorly constructed one? It's not my oldest shak either as I bought all the others first because they were on sale. The black one is the only one I paid full price for, actually!

Should I contact Ibex or is this just the nature of wool and I need to suck it up (and learn to darn )?

[Biciclista]

gee, call them! you sound like you've spent enough $$ on their stuff to deserve a little customer care!

[Grog]

The elbows on my Shak and Bouclé are both quite worn, and I will get them patched up by a seamstress. My Ultimate Guide Sweater is also very worn at the elbows. Honestly, I won't call customer service about it. I've worn the things A LOT. They're really good wool, but they're still wool, not kevlar...

On the other hand, I've had an Ibex Tarrah showing premature holes, and it was replaced by them at no fee.

[redrhodie]

I'd call Ibex. It doesn't sound like normal wear.

[GLC1968]

Update on the shak issue!

I emailed Ibex and they immediately responded and asked to see a photo. I sent a couple today and they told me that they'd put a brand new one in the mail to me! Yay!

Normally I know when I'm hard on my clothing (like the pair of double thick Carhart jeans I wear for farm chores every day that are falling apart at the crotch!), but this just seemed abnormal since it's my newest Shak and the one I treat with the most care. I'm very pleased with their response!

Since I don't have to send this one back, I'll probably try patching it and designating it as 'farm work' attire (since it's no longer work appropriate).

[Catrin]

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodPA_36533.html

This looks good to me for a winter base layer - has anyone any experience with their wool base layers? I know that there is a lot of support for Ibex here, but the price is nice

[Crankin]

I wore wool socks for 3 days and my Shak one night, as well as a short sleeved wool top for hiking and mountain biking last week. I noticed after wearing the top one day, I felt itchy the next day when I tried wearing another one. I hope this doesn't start again, as I was having some pretty annoying allergy stuff going on with wool at the end of the winter. I decided to wear a regular wicking top, so I didn't end up ruining my vacation. I also wonder if the 2 heavy wool blankets I was sleeping with increased my sensitivity.
I have invested in so much wool for the winter, that I will be devastated if I can't wear it. Although, my Shaks don't bother me, as long as there's a long sleeved shirt under them.

[PamNY]

Catrin, I have Patagonia wool bottoms which are fine.

[lph]

[QUOTE=Crankin;530650] I also wonder if the 2 heavy wool blankets I was sleeping with increased my sensitivity.
I have invested in so much wool for the winter, that I will be devastated if I can't wear it. QUOTE]

Crankin, I wear wool more out of necessity than comfort, and I have some of the thinnest, finest wool money can buy. It's super when you need wool's qualities, but after a few days skiing or camping wearing wool 24/7 I am very happy to get home and put pure cotton next to my skin. But I haven't grown more sensitive over time or anything, I just don't wear it all day.

[bmccasland]

I see more wool and less linen in my future Or I'm going to freeze after living in southern latitudes for several years. Was 80 (and muggy) when I walked out the door this morning.

I'm sure y'all will be more than willing to help me out with shopping advice

[mariposa]

Anyone know what the *lightest weight* Ibex t-shirt is?

I have an ancient Ibex t-shirt, *so* very light (even lighter than my Icebreaker 140 weight). But it's ripped to shreds. Time to replace!

Mariposa

[Crankin]

I have two Ibex t-shirts that are 17.5 microns (I think that is the correct terminology). Anything more than that on my skin itches me. I wear them hiking or doing errand riding. Sometimes they bother me, but I go them on sale at 50% off, so they are worth it.

[OakLeaf]

I think the lightest they make now is 150 g/m²

Fiber diameter is different from fabric weight - they make a couple of different weight cloths from the 17.5u thread.

Maybe they make something lighter that I'm not finding - maybe they used to - or maybe your old T was worn to a lighter weight!