Smartwool shirts: shrinkage?

[Joseph Rothstein]

A question for people who have used Smartwool’s microweight and lightweight shirts: Have you found that there’s noticeable shrinkage after washing?

I ordered a few Smartwool shirts in medium and large. After trying them on, I’d decided that I prefered the medium, although it’s a bit smaller than I like (the large being too big, of course). I was about to cut off the tag when I noticed that it said “This garment has been designed slightly longer to allow for minor shrinkage during initial home laundering.”

If there’s going to be noticeable shrinkage, then I should probably size up to the large. I intend to wash the shirt in cold water and air dry (no heat), so I figure that it’s unlikely to shrink, but at these prices I’d like to play it safe.

[Jeroen Wesselman]

I have a smartwool microweight boxer brief and a lightweight tee. First of all i really love them. Both items are Medium. I wear them daily and wash them frequently. I live in Europe and here we tend to wash our clothing a little hotter than in the US. So far I noticed no significant shrinkage. i don’t use a dryer. The same goes for my Icebreaker wool tops.

Jeroen

[Samuel Winebaum]

I have a Smartwool tee and have noticed no significant shrinkage, even after some trips through the washer at warm settings. While I do usually get a medium I did get a large. As I combine business travel with alot of trail running and want to keep the bag light I have found that the microweight can be used for work and trail multiple days and no one, including me, notices… The odor factor just doesn’t come into play.

I would warn that the microweight is a bit delicate in terms of abrasion piling such as from the sternum strap on a pack but many non slick underlayers are.

[Eric Noble]

I wear Ibex wool polo shirts everyday in the summer. They are washed in cold water and air dried in the dryer. I have not noticed any shrinking. My Smartwool shirts and socks are treated the same way, and also have shown no signs of shrinking. I use the socks every day, year round. I don’t use the tops and bottoms as frequently.

[D G]

I have one of the smartwool microweight long sleeve T’s in size large which was too large for me so I attempted to shrink it. I have washed it in HOT water and dried it in the dryer on the hot cotton setting many times and there has not been hardly any shrinkage of the garment.

Dan

[Ken Helwig]

mine have not shrunk either and I wash them and use the dryer too.

[Russell Swanson]

I’ve washed my jerseyweight Smartwool polo a bunch of times, both machine and by hand, usually in cold water. It’s been in the dryer a few times but hasn’t shrunk at all. Very minor pilling. On the flip side, I accidentally wore a pair of my wife’s Smartwool light hiking socks, size Medium, that I stretched out so much that she cannot wear them.

As a side note, I don’t know how everyone escapes without body odor being retained by Smartwool. It’s not as bad as synthetic garmets but I still wouldn’t wear my shirt out to dinner after a few summer days on the trail.

[Joseph Rothstein]

Thanks for all the posts. It sounds like the Smartwool clothing is, if anything, more shrink-resistant than I would have expected prior to reading the tag. It seems strange that Smartwool puts that shrinkage note on the tag, but maybe some people dry the stuff on high heat and experience a small amount of shrinkage.

[Author]

Posts