Testing a New Wool Sweater

By the way, Voormi's VP of Development is Doug Lumb. He spent 43 years at Polartec developing synthetic fleece.

I'd be curious to see how you find it for repelling light mists and for sweat build up when it's worn under a shell. Also the temperature ranges that you find it comfortable in.

If you can show a picture of it with the hood zipped up and how it moves with your head that would be great too.

WEll, it's awesome-looking, that's for sure!

I would like to know if the water repellent outer layer causes it to be less breatheable than it should be.

Thanks Max!

Are those zippered hand pockets on a wool sweater?

Andrew, it's a zippered hand-warmerpouch. I ordered one when they first came out this winter and it has lived up to the hype.
Max, as long as you are posting pictures, turn it inside-out and show the details.
Size Large weighs in at 576 gm.

"…what are YOU looking for in a review of such a weird product?"

Here is what I am looking for:

1. Durability.
Spare no opportunity to wear the elbows off, and tell us (or share photos of) how did they fare.

2. Stability after washing.
Wash the darn thing twice a day, and run it through the dryer as per manufacturer's recommendation, and report back if this caused wear, loss of shape, permanent stretching or shrinkage, other dimensional changes, seams giving up the ghost, etc.

Thanks, Max!

I'll beat it up as much as I can. Feels pretty tough; this isn't Smartwool.

I'll see about washing it a bunch of times, too.

I just realized how expensive this is. Holy potatoes! $229 for a cold weather base seems unreasonable. Even if it is "heavy duty" for a wool sweater. It's like if an Ibex Hooded Indie had a baby with an overpriced softshell.

Thanks for asking for what we would like to know about the sweater.

What I like about merino is the lack of stink but as much as I love my Icebreakers I am leery about their long-term durability. I've considered merino blends that add some strength but have shied away from a synthetic blend due to the reputation of a stink factor. Mind you, I am mostly a weekend camper with minimal hiking so I haven't really put synthetics to the test as I'm relatively new to the hobby and picked up some Tech T's straight away.

Have fun!

–6th0

Many of the Merino synthetic blends are predominately Merino & ime have pretty good odor control. Some of them use treated synthetic that reduces odor some for the synthetic anyways.

Rab MeCo is pretty good and falls into that latter category.

What i would be interested in seeing, is something like a wicking Polygiene treated polyester, say around 60% to around 40% Merino. Something for those very dry, cold days with wind, where you don't want super fast evaporation, but not uber slow drying of all Merino.

My experience is that even a lower percentage of Merino, like 30% can help noticeably with odor, though obviously more is better in that regard.

I didn't pause on the price. So far, it's been as water repellant as my best softshell, feels thick and durable with the reinforced and really tightly woven outer face, and it's thick and substantial.

It's not a softshell for this reason; I can't layer any more than a base comfortably underneath it, and I'm very athletic. When I put a fleece under it, I feel stuffed. In that sense, it's a base/midlayer. Yes, it's comfortable next to skin for me.

I would pay $229 for this kind of product without pausing, seems on par with Arcteryx, Patagonia, Rab, etc.

Keep in mind, when buying goods that are sourced and manufactured in the United States, you can expect a slightly higher price. A premium I am always happy to pay.