Merino vs Polypro thermals
With my set of merino thermals hanging off me (no elbows, no knees, no butt, shoulders down to threads) it has become time to get a new set, or two.
Begs the question, Merino or Polypro? I understand both have their strengths and weaknesses.
What do people recommend and why?
51 comments
I know its a kind of velvet substitute but I have never actually made the effort to identify one over the other in real life.
Matthew, how to do you handle the fur on Peaches? I find the fur on Apricots to be quite bad but I normally can pick them up and even attempt to eat them without much trouble (Get the shivers when the fur touches the inside of my mouth). But I struggle to even touch a peach let along try to take a bite out of one. I love Nectarines because they are the furless cousin of Peaches and Apricots.
I never tried to eat Banana skin, I suspect it would be very bitter.
Are you mad?.... Banana skin.
I've heard the stringy bits from inside a banana skin make a kind of drug when dried out. Don't know about the truth of it.
I have heard of people who can eat a lemon without flinching.
yep, i love lemons!... although i might flinch a little initially
She's from Christchurch too. I think lgwaddel must be right, it has something to do with Christchurch. Maybe there aren't enough vitamins in their diet down there.
I remember hearing about Kevin Spacey's banana highs after filming K-Pax.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081209080045AAbVsd3
On the Merino - Polypro thing...
I find I'm so well regulated, happy, dry, warm, in:
a wicking fairydown tee, merino longsleeve, windbloc jumper, parker... with a beanie thermostat
THAT, when I get home, shower, put on a pair of jeans and cotton t-shirt and jacket that I become really, properly uncomforatable - too hot too cold. Nothing's right.
I'm spoilt by outdoorswear and refuse to become that guy in Stoney Creek baggy pants at the supermarket.
I wear my outdoor clothing everywhere, most of the outdoor manufacturers are now targeting the street market anyway. I probably only own 2-3 clothing items I regularly wear which was not purchased from a outdoors shop.
I threw fashion out the window years ago. What a ridiculous industry. If we wanted to minimise our impact or imprint on the world we would abolish that industry quick smart.
The point is when you think more about the performance of your clothing and how to make it serve you, its the fabric and how it is woven that will count most.
Imagine the difficulty i face talking to the average queenslander about thermals for example.
No-one really wants to think about it. They just assume they make you warm like its the thermal that does the warming.
All the clothing i wear, even in a warmer climate, is thermal in nature. That is it's mostly wool or synthetic and it keeps you dry.
The moments when the moisture becomes excessive such as during exercise other methods have to be applied.
The moisture will work with gravity and drop through the fabric as well as bead initally on the outside of the fabric from wicking. This can be collected by a sports towel thus maintaining the dryest possible state.
On a 40 degree day with high humidity in South East Queensland while climbing Mt Barney for example, i could wring out up to 2 litres of sweat. Whenever pausing for a break, you can be completely dry before starting off again whilst others are shivering in cotton from pausing too long.
Same sports towel has many other applications. Ridding your tent of most of the moisture in the morning rather than carrying that extra litre in the tent. Drying your clothing (socks) faster after washing or river crossings.
Downside is the need to frequently wash them or they smell. When you get home apply hot soapy water and rinse often.
Not to be mistaken for the travel towels.
Thank you aardvark for that post and also your earlier one in this same thread. Most informative, you know a lot about clothing.
I laugh at how fashion has crept into the outdoor world. I guess it has good reason, I suspect that 90% of the outdoor clothing sold is never worn far away from the city anyway.
A few years ago we had a rep from MacPac speak to our tramping club. When someone asked a question about the high prices at the time, the rep was quite unapologetic and said that they were in the fashion market and advocated that we should buy outdoor clothing as street wear and only take it into the outdoors when it gets old, or out of fashion I guess.
Back in the old days all we used to wear in the ourdoors was our old clothes. I remember I used to wear my old school uniform v-necked jersey next to my skin when tramping for a long time. That has to be very prickly compared to merino. In those days we had a club chant that we used to say as we tramped on cold wet days "Wet wool's warm, Wet wool's warm", as though we needed to say it to believe it. It may have been warm but once it was wet, it was wet for the rest of the trip.
One of the great things about the outdoors is that you can dress up a little bit crazy and have a bit of individuality. I still see people in gaudy coloured striped long johns and funny hats. That's just great. It'd be a pitty if fashion demanded that we all wore colour coordinated threads in the outdoors.
One good thing about fashion though.. I was in an outdoor shop once and they had some particulaly cheap clohes in a rack. I asked if they were seconds or anything. The assistant replied "No, just last year's colours". No problem to me.
Yes, seeing people in gaudy coloured striped long johns is what I love best about tramping! No-one cares a hoot about what anyone else is wearing or looking like and you can enjoy the company of people who just love doing what you love doing.
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Started by | Clusterpod |
On | 20 June 2009 |
Replies | 50 |
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