Favorite wool and other natural textile active wear

I'm a weirdo and I'm on a mission to slowly replace all of my synthetic active wear with natural alternative as they wear out over the next few years.  I'm studying environmental science and the microplastics we outdoor recreators are leaving behind is not nothing.  Looking at you R1 Air and Melanzana. And don't get me started on Goretex and the ubiquity of PFAs even in the most remote corners of nature.  

My midlayer and sun hoody are just about due for a replacement and I'm looking for a wool alternatives- Icebreaker, Paka, Minus33, etc.  Who's been using wool base and mid layers and has stuff they swear by?

Wool based mid layers are hard to find, most of them are faced with a nylon or polyester, so your best bet there would be a classic wooly jumper. 

There was a fantastic product bought to market by woolmark called Optim wool, which was fantastic stuff but very little out there is made from it. If you are desperate for waterproofs it may be the best option to just make it your self using ventile. 

Its worth being pragmatic about this, waterproofs get washed a few times a year so have limited potential to shed large amounts of micro plastics, this also applies to tightly woven wind shells. Base layers and fleeces on the other hand get washed more. 

I did my undergrad final major project on this topic, manufactures are out there making some great fabric and it's really only a matter of time until we see a bit of a green wave in the sector. The technology, science, and price is all there ready for commercialisation, it might just be a matter of it needing a fashion trend (or social trend) pushing for wider adoption. 

 Not cheap but Voormi's merino wool blend holds up far better than all the others I've tried.  I own several pieces from them and they're all awesome.

Shane Davis wrote:

 Not cheap but Voormi's merino wool blend holds up far better than all the others I've tried.  I own several pieces from them and they're all awesome.

Checking this out now.  

Thanks for the info Seb.  Would be interested to read your findings from a deep dive into this topic.

Forgot to add- bonus points if its a gear from a B Corp (Paka Cotopaxi, Pataguccui, etc) or even better, not for profit.

I have a lot of wool base layers.  So far Smartwool has been the best in terms of durability, comfort and price.  Their mid-weight stuff is amazingling warm and versatile.  I have a BD wool t-shirt that's nice.  

If you shop carefully, you can find wool shirts in thrift stores for not much, and they look great (sadly, ubran hipsters have figured this out).  I have a serious collection of vintage Pendletons.  The biggest problem is that they don't wear out.  Wool dress pants actually work amazingling well, and can easily replace softshell pants at a tiny fraction of the price.  Plus, they don't melt around the campfire.

cool goal. What is your plan for rain gear? Waxed canvas would be a pretty big sacrifice

+1 for Voormi.

Terrific wool based fabrics that last longer than other wool I've worn.  

Ortovox makes some great merino and merino blend layers. 

I've been using an all-Smartwool base layer for years, from socks to cap.  It's really durable, comfortable, and doesn't smell (I spent four months in the Arctic with only seven shower opportunities.  Merino was key to not dying of the smell).  Mid-layer, I use a wool sweater my daughter knitted. Hat and mittens the same.  For pants, like another responded, all-wool suit pants from the thrift store are awesome.  Waterproof layers still need to be synthetic, I think.  I made a long Polyester waterproof coat for sailing, and have a PVC-coated hat and rubber boots.  IDK if there's any natural stuff that's as waterproof, but I'd love to be an early adopter if there is.

Nice thing about wool, with Merino glove liners and wool mittens, a little water soaking through doesn't chill you like with other fabrics.  That's really nice on a boat in cold water.

Andy Shoemaker wrote:

Thanks for the info Seb.  Would be interested to read your findings from a deep dive into this topic.

Email me and I can give you some recommendations and have a better discussion regarding your specific needs. 

 The biggest issue you'll find is simply durability. Wool has a reputation for being heavy and drying slowly but it's not strictly true. Natural fibres are weak and of short staple fibre length, this leads to thicker yarns, thicker fabric, and you guessed it, slower dry times(and adequate durability). I did some testing of some fairly lightweight wool fabric that dried fantastically fast, it could never be brought to the outdoor market (inteneded use was as a shirt) however because it was crazy fragile. 

All the wool fabric samples I tested showed very rapid wear and quickly failed while the synthetics I tested alongside them showed absolutely no wear at all with testing being cut short as it would have taken days to get any notable wear. 

Lands end cashmere sweaters when they're on sale. Hand wash only, but warm, light, natural, and relatively cheap. 

 Iv heard the Inuits used seal fur for boots and gloves. 

Check out Paka Hoodies

Made in Peru. I've done business with them, they are legit. These wool garments will shrink in hot water (of course).

They also came to market with a wool puffy jacket. I have not tried this garment, personally. I probably won't. The shrinking thing bums me out, re wool. 

Paka Puffer

Professor Watermelon wrote:

I have a lot of wool base layers.  So far Smartwool has been the best in terms of durability, comfort and price.  Their mid-weight stuff is amazingling warm and versatile.  I have a BD wool t-shirt that's nice. 

I have been using smartwool for years. Lately, it seems the production has changed in some way, the underwear, socks, and thinner baselayers that I have bought hardly last a year of occasional use before holes wear in the crotch, heel, toe, etc. Very disappointing for how much they retail. I have been trying to find a good alternative that won't break the bank. Although I still like their Intraknit wool gear.

I have a Paka hoodie that I love (The Hoodie) but I wouldn't use it for climbing, I doubt the durability would hold up. Their Sol sun hoodie is only 14% alpaca, mostly tencel fibers, not exactly what you are looking for. Zpacks and Ridge Merino make sun hoodies that are nearly entirely merino, I haven't tried either but the zpacks has a quarter zip, Im a big fan of quarter zips on sun hoodies.

I'd like to also leave this here,

There is little to no toxicology reviews looking at microplastics and their effect on the human body, it's ongoing research and there is a lot of work to be done to achieve any form scientific concensus. Polyester for example is found in all sorts of medical implants specifically because of how inert and biocompatible it is.

 Cotton on the other hand is cellulose, a material that we can't digest but is prone to fibrillation (breaking apart into tiny strands) and dyed with reactive chemicals that readily leech into water and have been grandfathered in with no concern or research on their toxicity.

Furthermore when it comes to micro plastic pollution we still have no great way to measure it, some studies cast nets that weren't fine enough, some studies failed to differentiate from micro plastics and natural fibres. More up to date research shows the majority of microfiber and microparticle pollution is from some sort of cellulose origin. 

I'm definitely not saying microplastics are harmless but it probably doesn't pay to be alarmist especially as your climbing clothes probably aren't much of a point of concern. 

Seems as though otter and beaver are also popular water repellent insulation. Unfortunately due to a micro beaver/ otter populations at the turn of the century it turned out to be not so sustainable. 

Voormi looks like they make some interesting products- thanks to those who recommend I check them out.  They don't really go into detail about the construction of the garment (what threads are used, if there are synthetics blended in, etc).

Thanks Jack for the leads on Zpacks and Ridge Merino, they weren't on my radar.  And thanks Cherokee for the thumbs up on Paka- I have tried to find anyone locally to me that stocks them but they have a pretty small brick and mortar footprint it seems.

Seb- For sure the research on effects of micro and nanoplastics is emerging.  I actually wrote a 20 page research summary of what's currently known about MPs and NPs in the ecosystems of North America for my E.Sci undergrad.  To me it's not alarmist to want to avoid synthetics where no real performance sacrifice is made.  With as many users are there are we are in a death by a thousand cuts scenario.  Just like I try hard to avoid leaving synthetic bail materials in the alpine (for example when I've bailed off a nuts I cut off the plastic around the swage- again I'm a weirdo), I also want to try to avoid leaving countless plastic "pills" as I'm scraping my way through the Cascades.  

I'm not so worried about my hardshell/rain gear being synthetic since they aren't constantly shedding like soft face fabrics do.  

There are a lot of examples of humans widely adopting a material only to learn way down the road that its causing meaningful harm- lead in paint and gasoline, CFCs in aerosols, asbestos like everything, DDT, BPA, radium, phosphoric matches, BVOs in food, PFAs in cookwear, arsenic in pigments, and on and on.

For a real world example, I was gifted a Pata Better Sweater a few years ago and took it into lab to weigh it on a balance my freshman year, and have weighed it every 12 months since and it's lost over 20g since 2019?- presumably all from plastic pills falling off.  I've scattered 20g of tiny bits of plastic everywhere I've worn the thing- though I recently bought a sweater shaver that should at least send most of that to a landfill.  Just doesn't sit well with me either way. 

For those interested in how ubiquitous MP and NPs are- This paper and this one and especially this one are a good starting point to learn about some recent findings.  But like you say Seb- we still don't know a lot about the human physiological impacts (or not) of long term exposure to MPs and NPs.  I'm not only concerned about the risk to me and the people drinking the water where I recreate, I'm just generally concerned about minimizing my footprint.  So as my current synthetics wear out, I'm intersted in replacing them with something that will readily biodegrade. Balanced with fair labor practices, overall lifecycle footprint, and how cool I look to the marmots when I'm crushing 5.8 in their backyard.

What do y'all think or know about Lyocell? I wonder how it fits into the conversation about plastics and sustainability. 

Anyway, I got on a little kick researching wool options recently. Here are a few...

• The Ortovox merino stuff is VERY nice. I think the fabric is a step up from Smartwool and others, at least in terms of comfort. I think they have an R1 style piece that may require the sale of your first born or a 2nd mortgage on your house.
• Salewa! I have a lyocell piece, but they have a line of Tirolwool or something like that. I wish more of their stuff was in the US.
• Fjallraven has some pieces, though they don't look like the most technical options.
• Varusteleka is a brand I'd not heard of
• Don't forget the wool versions of Brynje's mesh base layers. I really want to try one but they're spendy. (I think I'm going to try a Wiggy's first as a more affordable experiment)

Justin P wrote:

What do y'all think or know about Lyocell? I wonder how it fits into the conversation about plastics and sustainability. 

I’ve been wondering the same thing. Patagonia uses it in their boxers, and I’ve even found some lyocell (or some off brand) fabric at Joann that I’ve made a few pairs with now. It’s great at wicking odour and supposedly tree fibre based, but I’ve read mixed reviews on how much natural material ends up in the finished fabric after all the chemical processing. Would love to learn more about it if anyone knows

Tencel and Lyocel are semi synthetic fibres, reconstituted cellulose from varying sources, solvents are used in this process, good manufacturers invest heavily into the safety of their employees, and solvent recovery systems. Bad manufacturers dump the solvent. 

If done well, it has a lower environmental impact than anything else out there. Mind you, non of these fibres quickly biodegrade in the environment. 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7274779/