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Post by cweston on Mar 6, 2021 14:42:55 GMT -8
Icebreaker Tech-lite T-shirt
If you had told me at, well, any point in my life that I would own a $75 t-shirt that can't go in the dryer, I would have simply laughed. But good gawd, it's a fantastic T-shirt. (I got one of last year's colors--curry--from Moosejaw for $55.)
I own a couple Icebreaker bottoms, but all the merino tops I've owned have been less expensive pieces. This really is a spectacular tech t-shirt: fits close but not the shrink-wrap fit of most baselayers, the color is beautiful, and it's every bit as comfortable as cotton. This is a 150-weight fabric that is 87% merino and 13% nylon. (I'm not interested in blends that are more like 50% or 60% merino.) We'll see if it turns out to be warmer than my synthetic tech tees. I don't think it will.
What I especially love about merino is the wide range of thermal regulation, and the anti-stink properties. Both are very useful for BPing, of course, but I also really like wearing a light merino layer as an undershirt in cooler weather in regular life.
I'd seriously buy 3-4 more of these if money were no object.
A few days ago, I was wearing an REI synthetic tech tee under a button-up shirt, as I did desk work for 8 hours or so. (I had showered that morning.) I then took the over-shirt off and went for a 3-ish mile hike in roughly 60 degree weather. When I got home, the shirt stunk in the armpits. From walking 3 miles in 60-degree weather! That's why, in an ideal world, I'd replace all my synthetic tech tees with Icebreaker Tech-Lites.
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rangewalker
Trail Wise!
Agitate, organize and educate.
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Post by rangewalker on Mar 6, 2021 15:55:27 GMT -8
Welcome to the club of , I'd never! My I'd never was plus $100 pants. But I am. With all the action and trails days you are approaching the semi-pro leagues and your swag is going to have to keep up. I am talking durability and comfort.
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Post by hikerjer on Mar 6, 2021 16:29:14 GMT -8
Call me stubborn, cheap and stuck in my ways,
“But, I’d never”. Maybe.
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Post by bluefish on Mar 6, 2021 16:33:24 GMT -8
A slight diversion, but my 35 year old Johnson Wool pants are starting to get awfully holy. I use to ice climb in them, they've been on numerous winter trips on shoes, skis, and worn under waders. I worked in them if I knew I wasn't going to be too trashy about it, and I used them for my commercial snowblowing business this winter. If next winter I'm still active I will drive up to N. Vt. and shell out $260 + tax for a new pair. Wool is a miracle of nature and has been my friend my whole life.
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gabby
Trail Wise!
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Post by gabby on Mar 6, 2021 17:35:31 GMT -8
And here I am, still buying those 3-for-$5 tees at the Walgreens.
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Post by trinity on Mar 6, 2021 18:03:41 GMT -8
I've been wearing Tech-lites for over a decade now, and I love them. But they have one major drawback, at least around here--insect damage. I'm pretty sure it's carpet beetles, but all of my merino clothing winds up full of holes eventually. I have taken to storing my Tech-lites in Ziploc bags, we'll see if that helps. I have held on to my baselayers that are chewed full of holes, because it doesn't affect their performance all that much, but I don't care to wear t-shirts once they get too chewed up. I think they typically last 5-6 years before having to be retired, which is not that great, considering the cost.
BTW, if you haven't bought capilene recently, it has come quite a ways, both in comfort and stink resistance. I recently bought a Capilene Cool Trail Shirt, and I love it. Also, one of my current go-to fishing shirts is a Tropic Comfort Hoodie, one of the best pieces of clothing I own. I wore it for 6 days straight on a trip to the Boundary Waters this past summer, and the stink never got too bad.
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Post by cweston on Mar 6, 2021 18:23:35 GMT -8
Interesting...my older merino tops do have a few small holes here and there, but I’ve always assumed it was wear, not insects. I may try the ziplock thing with my Icebreaker pieces—for what they cost, one certainly wants them to last.
I haven’t bought any Capilene in years, but I have always liked the pieces I had.
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Post by bluefish on Mar 6, 2021 18:36:03 GMT -8
I've been wearing Tech-lites for over a decade now, and I love them. But they have one major drawback, at least around here--insect damage. I'm pretty sure it's carpet beetles, but all of my merino clothing winds up full of holes eventually. I have taken to storing my Tech-lites in Ziploc bags, we'll see if that helps. I have held on to my baselayers that are chewed full of holes, because it doesn't affect their performance all that much, but I don't care to wear t-shirts once they get too chewed up. I think they typically last 5-6 years before having to be retired, which is not that great, considering the cost. BTW, if you haven't bought capilene recently, it has come quite a ways, both in comfort and stink resistance. I recently bought a Capilene Cool Trail Shirt, and I love it. Also, one of my current go-to fishing shirts is a Tropic Comfort Hoodie, one of the best pieces of clothing I own. I wore it for 6 days straight on a trip to the Boundary Waters this past summer, and the stink never got too bad. Same for me with the dern beetles. I have a Mammut capilene base layer I really like. Of course, they stopped selling them. My merino baselayers are Ibex. I wish they still made them in Vt. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2021 18:41:33 GMT -8
A slight diversion, but my 35 year old Johnson Wool pants are starting to get awfully holy. I use to ice climb in them, they've been on numerous winter trips on shoes, skis, and worn under waders. I worked in them if I knew I wasn't going to be too trashy about it, and I used them for my commercial snowblowing business this winter. If next winter I'm still active I will drive up to N. Vt. and shell out $260 + tax for a new pair. Wool is a miracle of nature and has been my friend my whole life. ever looked into military surplus wool pants? I have several, some for hiking that are all but bullet proof, others for dress - they were originally dress pants anyway. All of them very well made, and not too expensive at all. |
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Post by bluefish on Mar 6, 2021 19:23:17 GMT -8
A slight diversion, but my 35 year old Johnson Wool pants are starting to get awfully holy. I use to ice climb in them, they've been on numerous winter trips on shoes, skis, and worn under waders. I worked in them if I knew I wasn't going to be too trashy about it, and I used them for my commercial snowblowing business this winter. If next winter I'm still active I will drive up to N. Vt. and shell out $260 + tax for a new pair. Wool is a miracle of nature and has been my friend my whole life. ever looked into military surplus wool pants? I have several, some for hiking that are all but bullet proof, others for dress - they were originally dress pants anyway. All of them very well made, and not too expensive at all. The Johnson pants are very thick and will repel snow and keep wind out below zero. Not the same. My friends in the Vt. Guard agree. |
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daveg
Trail Wise!
Michigan
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Post by daveg on Mar 6, 2021 20:22:08 GMT -8
If you had told me at, well, any point in my life that I would own a $75 t-shirt that can't go in the dryer, I would have simply laughed. About 10 years ago, I finally broke down and bought my first merino top as a Christmas present to myself -- an Icebreaker half-zip long sleeve. Got it on sale for $78 IIRC. That spring I took it on its first (a seven day) backpacking trip. Loved it. When I got home, my wife gathered all the clothes I had worn and threw them in the washer -- and then in the dryer. My daughter bought me a Smartwool top to replace it the following Christmas. |
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Mar 6, 2021 20:27:46 GMT -8
When I got home, my wife gathered all the clothes I had worn and threw them in the washer -- and then in the dryer. There are so many stories along those lines ... |
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Post by bluefish on Mar 7, 2021 3:46:22 GMT -8
My wife gave me my merino tops. If I put one in the dryer, I better be in there with it.
I bought my wool pants in a farm store in Dorset, Vt. that had a little bit of everything. I did all my clothes shopping there. You ducked under horse collars when you came in the front door and had to adjust your eyes to dim lighting. Once, shopping for winter underwear, I found a shotgun under the piles of long johns. Carhartts were work clothes and decidedly prole-wear. You had to climb a ladder into the attic to see their line in cardboard boxes artfully placed to cover loose boards. Along with my 35 year old pants, I have some wool shirts from that time. Then again, I lived on top of a mountain that wasn't plowed out until 2-3 days after a storm and regularly worked outside in below zero temps. My wool clothes rarely were washed. You brushed the chips and dust off them just before stomping the snow off of your boots. My wife knitted an amazing merino hooded sweater for me last year. I decidedly wouldn't work in it. Same if I bought some of those 75 dollar tees. They're not a new self-parking car, it's not a new smart refrigerator, but they make you feel good while you wear them.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Mar 7, 2021 8:39:44 GMT -8
Lucky for me I can’t wear wool! Though the Capilene tops are pricey enough. I have a decent collection and won’t be buying any more for some time. I virtually never hike in then—I use button-up style hiking shirts for better ventilation and sun protection (and the collar protects my neck from pack straps, camera straps, etc.). But I will say that the newest synthetic tops definitely feel better than the old ones.
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Mar 7, 2021 9:56:06 GMT -8
I use them for sleepwear but wait until the end of the season to get them at $35. It may have their logo but it’ll be under my winter jacket/summer sleep quilt. They end up getting a little worn out/tatttered at month #11, ... but considering the almost nightly wear ...
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