Merino wool, your experiences...

This is me, too. I can stand wool in my socks, but everything else is synthetic. I love the idea of wool, and wish I could wear it, but alas it's not to be. I've tried several items, but it's just terribly uncomfortable. Just the thought of wearing wool longjohns makes my skin start to crawl ... And while not a redhead, I am pretty fair-skinned, so maybe that's it.

over the years, i have used and torn merino wool boxer shorts, short and long sleeve tops, and bottoms from a number of places. Patagonia, Icebreaker, Smartwool, Ibex. i no longer do merino boxer shorts because they so easily shred in so little time, relatively speaking. I think you accurately pegged the pros and cons. I live in the mid-atlantic, steamy summers, so i tend to use wool in the spring/fall/winter. or perhaps it's that years of washings, even if you hang the garments to dry, saps the wool of some of its best qualities eventually. years-old merino t's tend to lose a little elasticity and can start to retain odor.

current short sleeve shirt likes: a 200 weight short sleeved t from icebreaker, 100% merino. comfortable, on the warmer side. lightweight Patagonia merino/capilene blends are very light, stretchy, very nice. an Ibex short sleeved OD heather t, 150 weight, 100% merino, the best-feeling of the bunch but also the most overpriced. for long sleeves, i like 2 ibex shirts. one is an ibex 220 long sleeve zip t shirt, which is stretchy and has a bit of a ribbed pattern. on the warm side, but great fit and feel. the other is an ibex nomad hoody - full front zip, tight hood, narrow fit. the merino is milled up and quite thick, it's almost like an athletic fit sweater. extremely warm, a mid-layer.

No, I haven't tried the newer Patagonia merinos.  I have a few from the previous generation that I think are 100% merino, with no shoulder seams, which sounds like a good idea but not sure whether they actually last longer.  I've never had a baselayer "fail".  I also have an ancient Patagonia merino long-sleeved top that I *love* (tags aren't legible anymore, so can't identify it anymore than that it's a Patagonia); it's sort of beat-up now but still does the job; it's my go-to warm weather sleepwear.  We (as a family) have a lot of Patagonia stuff and I think they're really well-made.  I like the company.  My son has had many soft-shells over the years (outgrows them well before they wear out) and all his baselayers are Capilenes (loves them.)  I have an R1 and a Nano Puff that's almost as ancient as the merino.  The Torrentshell is my every day rain jacket.

Icebreaker stuff doesn't fit me.  I need to be thinner or taller... or both.  Beautiful fabrics though, as are Ibex, IMO.  But I think they're generally over-priced; I used to buy them for my mother as gifts and she lived in them.

I do have blends from First Ascent (Eddie Bauer) that are mid-weight.  I've had them for a while -- I don't think they make them anymore (?) -- and wear the bottoms often, probably because they really fit comfortably.  I guess I have more of the Eddie Bauer body-type than Icebreaker... which isn't exactly flattering. :/

So, that was a LONG way of saying, for me, fit and comfort matter a lot more than durability.  I worry less about durability by never paying full price.  I have owned some funky colors though...

I wear wool Pendleton shirts every day, year round at work, and most of the time at home.  I have an enormous number of them, an almost pathological quantity.