Take a look at the history and uses of this very special wool and explore just what makes it different.

Rather underrated by today’s technological standards, wool plays a major part in human history. It has been used as clothing for millennia, where primitive humans would clothe themselves in the skins of wild sheep before their domestication. During Roman times, there were the first signs of selective breeding to make a superior fleece, through to the ascendancy of wool during the Middle Ages in Europe where wool, the central block in the medieval economy, had a major surge in quality with different breeds spread around the world.

It was during the 12th century when the foundation flocks of merino sheep were reered in Spain. Recognising something different when compared to other breeds, a monopoly was built around them and the Spanish became so protective of this wool, finer and softer than any before it, that it became a crime punishable by death to export the sheep anywhere beyond the Spanish borders. This law continued all the way until the 18th century when in 1788, the first merino sheep arrived in Australia. Only 70 at first, there are now over 56.6 million merino sheep down under. The largest amount in the world and double Oz’s human population. Merino hassince been perfected for the strength and softness of fibre with the best Merino today coming from Australia and New Zealand.

Champion Merino Ram from 1905.

All wool in general is a fantastic material, we haven’t truly ever managed to replicate all of its features in anything synthetic. It’s a water-resistant fibre that still maintains a lot of warmth even when soaked through. It’s flame retardant, you can sit by the fire and not worry about stray sparks, certainly not the case with synthetic fibres, doomed to melt under an ember’s red hot touch. Its flexibility and durability allow it to withstand great amounts of pressure and use, it’s a very long-lasting material that can be used for years with no issue. You’ll meet shepherds out there who go out every day in ancient wool jumper handed down over many generations, still performing optimally. Due to the fibre’s fatty properties, wool is uniquely water-resistant, and thus dries considerably quicker than many other natural materials such as cotton. Lastly, wool is antimicrobial and does not hold onto body odour nearly as much as synthetic materials do. All of these features are common in all wools, so where does merino differ?

For starters, standard wools are very itchy. To those with sensitive skin, wool can be immensely irritating over long hikes. Merino is a much finer fibre, incredibly soft and much less itchy making it ideal for next-to-skin garments like base layers, socks, and underwear. Thanks to these thinner fibres, it is also quite lightweight and packs tremendous warmth for how little it holds you down. It also, believe it or not in lighter constructions, performs brilliantly in hot weather as well, keeping you cool and dry due to its excellent ability to efficiently wick away moisture. Finally, these finer fibres make it more air permeable than standard wool, it breathes much better and dries much faster.

Fun fact: Due to the antimicrobial properties, astronauts use them under space suits to keep their body odour out for as long as possible for long hauls in outer space.

SOME TOP MERINO BRANDS

Amongst our range of carefully chosen outdoor gear, we have two outstanding ambassadors for Merino Wool, Icebreaker from New Zealand who specialise in technical clothing such as industry-leading base layers, and Smartwool who within our range make some of our best technical trekking socks.

103872B07 QUANTUM-LS-ZIP-HOOD THUNDER MIDNIGHT NVY

ICEBREAKER

This highly sustainable, New Zealand-based garment maker is well renowned for creating some of the very best, technical, merino base layers. Founded by Jeremy Moon at the age of 24, a chance meeting with a merino sheep farmer installed a passion in him for Merino wool-based materials. Icebreaker works tirelessly in its design ethos to bring simplicity, longevity, versatility, purpose, and sustainability into all of its products. It doesn’t stop there; Icebreaker keeps a very strong eye on and ensures that the merinoo sheep farmed for use with their products are treated with utmost respect and safety. This is implemented following a very strict guideline that Icebreaker calls the 5 freedoms. These ensure that the sheep felt just as good making your Icebreaker merino clothing as you will feel wearing it.

They are as follows:

  1. Freedom from hunger and thirst
  2. Freedom from Discomfort
  3. Freedom from injury and disease
  4. Freedom to roam
  5. Freedom from distress

With these key implementations in place as well as the endorsement of countless athletes and outdoor enthusiasts worldwide, we believe that any Icebreaker product is hardbeat when it comes to optimal performance in the outdoors.

You’ll find all purpose baselayers in Icebreaker’s Oasis range with more specialised options specialised for distinct conditions in their Tech range.

SHOP ICEBREAKER

Socks Tinker

SMARTWOOL

If you’re looking for some of the finest outdoor socks money can buy, look no further than Smartwool. They were the first outdoor company to create performance merino wool ski socks – revolutionizing the category and forever changing the way outdoor enthusiasts look at their feet. A brand built on the desire to be comfortable on outdoor adventures. They use a nice, high quality merino woll blended with nylon for durabilty and of course elastance for stretch. Within our range, we carry Smartwool socks to cover everything from Skiing and alpine winter sport to recreational hiking and trail running.

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