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If you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to try merino wool shirts. Check to make sure you get just the 100% wool models, most brands have pure and blends.

by ericd 5y ago

tillcarlos 5y ago
Same experience here. Bought a couple for 60 usd each at amazon. Way more comfortable and keep fresh longer than synthetic/cotton t-shirts.
- ericd 5y ago
  Yeah, completely counterintuitive if your mental association growing up is with super hot sweaters.
  - danw1979 5y ago
    Exactly this. Every man made fibre makes me sweat buckets. I don’t sweat at all in merino.
darawk 5y ago
Any brand recommendations?
- ericd 5y ago
  I’m currently trying Duckworth, I’ve been liking them. They’re a bit of a novelty in that the entire shirt is made sheep to shirt in the US. Only a couple of their lines are pure wool, though, so read carefully. The fabric seems a bit heavier/less soft than others, but they’ve been holding up better so far. Maybe related? Icebreaker seems like the biggest brand in merino, and their shirts are pretty good, very light and breathable, but a bit fragile (my jeans buttons seem to be forming holes in them somehow, all in the same spot). Big fan of their long underwear, too, makes a huge difference in the winter. Woolly shirts are super soft, probably the most comfortable, and not too expensive, but even more fragile than icebreaker IME. Still looking for the perfect shirt, but I’ve liked the ones I’ve had from all of these.
- bjustin 5y ago
  Outlier makes expensive but very nice wool tshirts. I have accumulated a fair number over the years and only see issues with the ones that are over seven years old.
  - ericd 5y ago
    This one? https://outlier.nyc/products/ultrafine-merino-cut-one-t-shirt https://outlier.nyc/products/ultrafine-merino-cut-one-t-shir... Definitely pricey, but looks promising.
- danw1979 5y ago
  John Lewis own brand pure merino in the UK.
cco 5y ago
I tried five different brands, from $40 to $120; only one was decently comfortable (most were itchy, stretched weirdly and were uncomfortable) and the extra burden of washing and maintenance, not to mention cost, made them a non-starter. For $5 a shirt, Gildan 100% cotton v-neck t-shirts allow you to buy a couple dozen and rotate through them for years. That's where I'm currently at, I wanted to love wool, but I just didn't. I've had it on my list to give linen a shot.
- ericd 5y ago
  Interesting, I haven’t found any of them to be itchy, but maybe some are more sensitive to it them than others. Do you remember which you tried? I like the linen shirts I’ve tried for hot weather, but haven’t tried many yet. Luca Faloni makes nice linen dress shirts.
  - cco 5y ago
    Outlier was by far the most comfortable, but $120 per shirt and fairly fragile. Woolly, Icebreaker, Minus33, and I forget the other brand. These were all very bad, I kept the Icebreaker for a couple wears, but everything else I immediately returned.

If you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to try merino wool shirts. Check to make sure you get just the 100% wool models, most brands have pure and blends.

by ericd 5y ago

If you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to try merino wool shirts. Check to make sure you get just the 100% wool models, most brands have pure and blends.

tillcarlos 5y ago

Same experience here. Bought a couple for 60 usd each at amazon. Way more comfortable and keep fresh longer than synthetic/cotton t-shirts.

ericd 5y ago
Yeah, completely counterintuitive if your mental association growing up is with super hot sweaters.
- danw1979 5y ago
  Exactly this. Every man made fibre makes me sweat buckets. I don’t sweat at all in merino.

darawk 5y ago

Any brand recommendations?

ericd 5y ago
I’m currently trying Duckworth, I’ve been liking them. They’re a bit of a novelty in that the entire shirt is made sheep to shirt in the US. Only a couple of their lines are pure wool, though, so read carefully. The fabric seems a bit heavier/less soft than others, but they’ve been holding up better so far. Maybe related? Icebreaker seems like the biggest brand in merino, and their shirts are pretty good, very light and breathable, but a bit fragile (my jeans buttons seem to be forming holes in them somehow, all in the same spot). Big fan of their long underwear, too, makes a huge difference in the winter. Woolly shirts are super soft, probably the most comfortable, and not too expensive, but even more fragile than icebreaker IME. Still looking for the perfect shirt, but I’ve liked the ones I’ve had from all of these.
bjustin 5y ago
Outlier makes expensive but very nice wool tshirts. I have accumulated a fair number over the years and only see issues with the ones that are over seven years old.
- ericd 5y ago
  This one? https://outlier.nyc/products/ultrafine-merino-cut-one-t-shirt https://outlier.nyc/products/ultrafine-merino-cut-one-t-shir... Definitely pricey, but looks promising.
danw1979 5y ago
John Lewis own brand pure merino in the UK.

cco 5y ago

I tried five different brands, from $40 to $120; only one was decently comfortable (most were itchy, stretched weirdly and were uncomfortable) and the extra burden of washing and maintenance, not to mention cost, made them a non-starter. For $5 a shirt, Gildan 100% cotton v-neck t-shirts allow you to buy a couple dozen and rotate through them for years. That's where I'm currently at, I wanted to love wool, but I just didn't. I've had it on my list to give linen a shot.

ericd 5y ago
Interesting, I haven’t found any of them to be itchy, but maybe some are more sensitive to it them than others. Do you remember which you tried? I like the linen shirts I’ve tried for hot weather, but haven’t tried many yet. Luca Faloni makes nice linen dress shirts.
- cco 5y ago
  Outlier was by far the most comfortable, but $120 per shirt and fairly fragile. Woolly, Icebreaker, Minus33, and I forget the other brand. These were all very bad, I kept the Icebreaker for a couple wears, but everything else I immediately returned.