Close your eyes and think of a dumb animal.
OK, I'll give two to one odds you just thought of a sheep! After all, how much intellectual prowess does it take to hang around in a field all day eating grass. The poor little critters can't even think for themselves and follow each other around like, um, er, sheep.
Sorry to say this but sheep have been given a bum rap. They are way more intelligent than they get credit for.
Research has shown sheep are very good at recognizing faces and can even figure if a face shown to them is happy or sad (I don't even want to know how they figured that one out). But nowhere is their intelligence greater than in their wool.
Think about it. We've been working on synthetic fabrics for about 100 years or so. Most of our favorites like Malden Mills' Polartec has been around for less than half that time. Sheep on the other hand, have been quietly standing around cold hills working on their face recognition skills and evolving warmer coats for like millions of years. So who's got the upper hand?
Wool is making a major resurgence on the climbing gear scene, helped in large part by the efforts of two companies.
Smartwool and
Icebreaker.
Both have taken merino wool (pictured in the center on top, with traditional wool to the left and synthetic fibre to the right - thanks to Icebreaker) and come up with a way of making it less itchsome and packaging it in cool baselayers, tops and sweaters. I tried my first a year ago and won't go back.
My Icebreaker top wicks pretty well and even when it does wet through in heavy going, does a great job of keeping me warm. Better still it doesn't stink after a couple of days on the hill the way my PowerDry, Helly Hansen and no-name polypro kit does. It's comfy, warm and looks great. What more could I want from a top.
I'm not about to do a huge review here but the debate in climbing circles seems to have moved away from whether merino is better than synthetic to which of the two brands are the best. I've only experienced Icebreaker so far and can vouch for it's quality. The guys over at UK Climbing are going hell-for-leather in
arguing which of the two is best.
Most people have only experienced one or the other and give the one they have glowing reviews, so the odds are you could get away with buying either and being really happy with your purchase.
One opinion I respect is that of Dave Hunter who runs the Rock & Run gear shop. He figures that Smartwool is the best, saying:
We could stock Icbreaker. We don't because Smartwool is superior product.
If Icebreaker have sorted out their seams (ie if they are now flatlock) and their cuffs then they'd be nearly as good. And you'd be better with Icebreaker or Rab merino than a polyester. But Smartwool is better.
For a full review of Smartwool tops check out Dave Hunter's comments. In brief he really likes:
- their ability to deal with perspiration
- the fact that they don't feel clammy when wet
- they don't smell.
The downside is
- their cost
- they aren't suited to people allergic to wool
- they cause static.
Click here for his full smartwool review.
