WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

All right, I admit it, I wore my new Ibex Woolie all day yesterday...we went to REI in our matching green Woolies to get our Ibex Pingo Jackets. I was surprised to see how light these jackets are...do they really keep you warm? They are super comfortable, and we can't wait to try them on the bike.

Thanks for all of the great info on Ibex!

Lisa

Next on the long slippery slope you need to experience the Ibex Shak ....here are some on sale, both men's and womens....:
http://www.udans.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=619!IBEX

[Dianyla]

I dare not count mine, but it way over that.

Oh, yeah, Lisa has me beat by a mile!

Ummmmm....

I sense a POLL coming on! Except... some of us would have to keep changing our answers!

[GLC1968]

I just got my shipment of Ibex and found another reason to love them. I've discovered (at least for the stuff I've ordered so far) that I am a perfect medium in their clothing! Both tops and bottoms, everything fit perfectly!! That almost NEVER happens to me!

I've also done a bit of an unintentional side by side comparison of Ibex and Icebreaker. The two items I wear on the weekends most often are an Ibex l/s crew shirt (not sure of the style name) and an Icebreaker zip neck light weight sweater. The shirt gets about twice the wear of the sweater (this is the south, you know!) and yet it looks brand spankin' new. The Icebreaker sweater is all pilled down the inside of the arms and the side of the body.

Now that I have so many more Ibex items, I won't have to wear the hell out of any one piece and they should all last much longer. See...that's a good reason to purchase more, now isn't it?

[mimitabby]

Ummmmm....

I sense a POLL coming on! Except... some of us would have to keep changing our answers!

you mean like SHOW ME your IBEX???

[KnottedYet]

Ibex Returns?

Called Ibex and told them my tale of woe about my incredible shrinking/pilling switchback. They said to send it in, and depending on the damage when they look at it they'll decide if I can return/exchange it or not.

If they won't take it back, I guess I'll have to put it up for grabs here on Woolweenies. Hopefully they will take it back, cuz both the emails I had with them and the woman I talked to today said they had a problem with the fabric on the switchbacks.

sigh.

GLC - I share your joy over Ibex's sizing. I'm a perfect Large in their tops and bottoms. And the sleeves and legs are long enough! Bliss!

[Natasha]

GLC1968
I noticed the same thing about Ibex and Icebreaker pieces. The Ibex seems much better made and holds up better. Most of the Ibex is made in the US while the Icebreaker is made overseas. I have a few full zip Shaks and I wear them all the time. They never seem to get smelly or dirty, so don't need washing very often. They are very durable also. The norgie crew and zepher are other great Ibex pieces.
My next purchase may be a pair of el fito knickers for biking. What is the experience of those who have them? Thanks for the input.

[KnottedYet]

Natasha - I have a pair of the El Fitos, they must be about 2 years old now. I love them! Even after a couple years of pretty hard use (and washing after every use) they still look just as good as they did when they were new. No pilling, no thinning.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=27055

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ibex Pico is now on sale from $95 to $65:
http://www.ibexwear.com/shop/Product...uct=Pico-Zip-T

I too like that most of Ibex's things are made in USA from New Zealand merino.

I have Ibex lightwt woolie base layer top and also Smartwool lightwt base layer top. I've been wearing both for months, washed both quite a few times.
They both seem the same weight. The Ibex ones have raglan shoulder seams and long cuffs, whereas the SW sleeves have regular shoulder seams and a simple hem at the ends of the sleeves.

The SW ones have had two little holes where my fingers actually went right through the fabric when pulling them on (i've repaired them). Plus the SW ones have a problem with the hem stitching unraveling here and there. The Ibex base layers have not had either problem so far.
Still, they are small annoyances and I still like my Smartwool things a lot for other reasons.

[GLC1968]

"Steep & Deep" winter sale at Nau! http://www.nau.com

50% off most of their stuff...

I'm still waiting on the s/s merino tee I ordered last week, but I'm tempted to try one of the long sleeve versions now that they are so much more affordable!

[Triskeliongirl]

www.udans.com has a bunch of Ibex stuff on sale, including Shaks (my favorite piece).
Merry Christmas to everyone.

Thanks for the tip (and all the great recs on this piece as well as the sizing info. from all)! I just ordered my first IBEX sweater, the shak in gray on sale. I ordered it to go with some black and dark gray wool pants I just got, and I especially want to use it for a feb. trip to the northeast, as well as when a cold front hits us here in south texas. Based on what you guys said about sizing, I ordered the small, hope it works out!

[Triskeliongirl]

Its been years since I owned wool. Even though I live in a mild climate when I lost weight I found I got cold a lot more easily, so recently I bought a wool suit, pants and the above sweater. What do you think of those Dryell cleaning products (where you briefly put the items in a large zippered bag in the dryer w a treated sheet). Will the pieces last longer cleaned this way, dry cleaned, or hand washed?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Thanks for the tip (and all the great recs on this piece as well as the sizing info. from all)! I just ordered my first IBEX sweater, the shak in gray on sale. I ordered it to go with some black and dark gray wool pants I just got

I'm not so sure the "Thistle heather" color is actually gray. I think it's more like a grayish purple/eggplant. On my monitor the full zip shak in Thistle looks clearly grayish purple:
http://www.ibexwear.com/shop/Product...=Shak-Full-Zip
Might go well with your grey pieces anyway though.
Anyone have a 'thistle heather" piece and can let us know?

Hope your shak fits well when it arrives!

[Triskeliongirl]

Well, if it isn't perfect I can always send it back, but the pants are a very dark grey, almost a charocoal, so even if its a purple gray I think it will work. While I got it on sale it was still expensive, and at least I didn't have to pay shipping to me, but I will send it back it I am not 100% happy with the color and fit. I am much more into owning a small number of pieces I love than a lot of so-so stuff that I got on sale. Also, when I travel I want to be able to pack a min. of pieces to get a lot of different outfits.

I am nervous about the size, since while on the bottom I am a solid small on top I am between a small and medium. I went with the small since Catherine said she is a perfec M in it, and at the moment I am lighter than her. I do like a slim fit, (will put only one light layer under it), and I do find that I prefer smalls in stretchy fabrics (its my bust that is a tad large rel. to the rest of my body), since they usually have no problem stretching over my boobs. Sometimes smalls run short in the bodice and sleeves, but the reported sleeve measurement looks good on this in small. We'll see.......

But please answer my query on wool care. I am about to put my new pants in the dryer with the Dryerell unless you guys tell me to take them to the dry cleaner.

I'm not so sure the "Thistle heather" color is actually gray. I think it's more like a grayish purple/eggplant. On my monitor the full zip shak in Thistle looks clearly grayish purple:
http://www.ibexwear.com/shop/Product...=Shak-Full-Zip
Might go well with your grey pieces anyway though.
Anyone have a 'thistle heather" piece and can let us know?

Hope your shak fits well when it arrives!

[GLC1968]

Yep, I have the Carrie Hoodie in the thistle heather. It's definitely a greyish purple color. Mine has a charcoal grey stripe and the thistle part is clearly much more purple-y than the stripe. I do think it would go nicely with dark grey or black though. Anything does...those are neutrals!

For washing, I have washed most of my knit Ibex stuff in the washer on gentle (in cold). I make sure not to use fabric softener and I air dry everything. I do use Dryel for wool work wear...particularly jackets or pants that have a lining. It freshens them up nicely and allows you to go much longer between dry cleanings.

I have also found that with the exception of dog hair (a big issue in my life!), my wool items just don't need cleaning as often as other stuff.

[Triskeliongirl]

Thanks Catherine! I do think the purply tint will work well for me. I bought 4 wool pieces on sale at Ann Taylor Loft, one jacket in charcoal gray with 2 pairs of pants in the same fabric/color (i.e. a separates suit), and 2 pairs of pants in black. While I can wear the gray pants with the matching jacket to make a formal suit, I thought the shak would be good for dressing it down a little, but still looking neat, and also to pair with the black pants for I guess what one might call a 'business casual/sporty' look. Or even pair it with jeans for going really sporty.

I hope the small works out, sometimes I order both a small and medium and send one back. Catherine, based on our relative sizes do you think I ordered the right size? I could always phone them if it hasn't shipped yet and add the M to the order. For comparison, the suit I bought was size 4 in the pants and 6 in the jacket (yay for separates!). In the AFTER pic I posted on the 2007 results thread ( post #30 at http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showt...t=20639&page=2)
I am wearing a small in the shebeest tights and jersey. I am more often a small than a medium, but do sometimes have to size up to M, especially in garments with no stretch.