Sunday, June 14, 2009

Icebreaker Merino Clothing

Anyone who has bothered to look at my list of camping gear might have noticed the huge amounts of 'Icebreaker 100% Merino' clothing that I plan to buy. I cannot recommend their gear enough.

Icebreaker gear is great for a number of reasons.
1) they look great*,
2) you can wear them cycling/camping for multiple days without washing them** and they just smell like wool,
3) the 150 weight is very breatheable and could comfortably be worn on Australian summer days,
4) the merino wool wicks your sweat away so they never become saturated, even if you are wearing a backpack and cycling hard up mountains,
5) you are directed to wash them in cold water with a small amount of soap! (great if that's all you have)
6) it is merino wool, and doesnt give you the brutal 'wool itch' - though for people who are ultra sensitive they may want to try one on at a camping store first. I hate the wool itch, and while these feel like wool when you first put them on I dont notice it after about 2mins.
7) they are sustainably made, carbon neutral, 100% natural, etc. You can even plug in the 'baa code' and check which sheep 'donated' the wool!

I bought my first icebreaker shirt about 3 weeks ago and have barely taken it off while riding. I have even warn it out, as it is nice and warm, and will definitely be replacing many shirts in my wardrobe with these.

UPDATE: I've just re-read this and I feel the need to disclose that I dont actually work for Icebreaker or know anyone that does! I'm also not the only one that loves these shirts, google them or check out these more thorough reviews.

The cheapest place I have found to purchase them is 'mi woolies'. I have been told by Iomandra on the Surly Google forum that Bivouac have discount icebreaker store - not all sizes/styles are discounted, but I'm sure I'll grab a few bargains if I keep my eyes open - thanks for the tip!

* I read an article in the Australian where a guy documented his round the world business trip on just carry-on luggage, he raved about these shirts and said they often got mistaken for Armani. The article is very wanky but interesting to read.

** At the risk of repulsing people, I have actually done this... I dont think they smelt bad, honestly.

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