It is no secret that we are big fans of Merino wool base layers. But the kind of thin fine-knit Merino shirts and apparel which are great for all-year usage are unfortunately also very prone to durability issues in the form of small holes. These holes can be caused by anything from friction, for example…
If you often wear rain jacket, rain pants or other waterproof clothes, you probably noticed that the performance of these garments decreases with time. While your new rain jacket kept you dry for hours, it can’t withstand more than half of an hour of rain after half a year of intensive use. That’s most often…
If you are buying new sports clothes such as a hiking shirt or underwear, it is very likely that you will stumble upon the feature called flatlock seams. Clothing brands typically explain that flatlock seams eliminate chafing and increase the durability of the garment. But is this really true? In the last couple of years,…
High quality hiking base layers are these days made either of polyester or Merino wool and online you will find a lot of information about these two materials, especially pros and cons. Polyester is labeled as quick-drying, durable, light and cheap while Merino wool is considered breathable, pleasant to the touch and extremely moisture-wicking. Many…
If you are buying a new rain jacket or any other waterproof garment, you may have come across terms like hydrostatic head and MVTR (Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate). While clothing brands and online shops are usually great at listing the values of these two parameters for their products, they rarely explain what MVTR and hydrostatic…
A jacket keeps you warm in cold weather by trapping body-warmed air within its fibers. Insulated jackets typically use either down or synthetic insulation. While both insulations can provide good warmth, they do differ in weather resistance, drying time, durability, price and more. In the following we will explain what the differences between down and…
Polyester is the most widely used material for sportswear. However, Merino wool is due to its multiple benefits also becoming increasingly popular for sports apparel. Therefore, many outdoor enthusiasts and athletes are in doubt which material to choose. It’s indeed hard to say which one is better because both materials have advantages and disadvantages. For…
Garments for hiking are often labeled as quick-drying. But what are the benefits of quick-drying clothing?. In the following I’ll explain why you should wear quick-drying clothes for hiking and factors that influence the drying time of different garments. Because the drying time of garments depends on the materials out of which they are made,…
Durability is often considered as the Achilles heel of Merino wool products. Nevertheless, Merino wool clothing is becoming increasingly popular among hikers, trekkers, mountaineers and other outdoor enthusiasts as it offers superb breathability and odor-control (Merino wool is naturally antimicrobial). Furthermore, it is also very comfortable to the touch and doesn’t cause any itching. Due…
Hiking is the quintessential outdoor activity and even if the sun does not shine brightly from a clear blue sky, the majority of its harmful UV-radiation will still reach through the cloud cover. Besides weather conditions and cloud cover, UV-radiation levels are influenced by sun height (depends on time of day and season), latitude, ground…
