Patagonia’s new Merino Air

I picked up two pair of the new Merino Air baselayer pants. Have not had a chance to put them to use, but I did try them on and they are soft against the skin and very comfortable. No itchiness whatsoever. I plan on wearing these with ExOfficio underneath them. But that does not seem to penalize the overall fit in the waist at all. Sorry I can't provide feedback on warmth when worn in the field. Eric

bumparooni

I keep looking at the merino air hoody (which in my opinion should have a long zipper dammit!) and thinking that a 50:50 blend of Capilene and merino could be a real winner.  I adore my Merino 1 tops as base layers because of the roughly 65:35 blend (merino to Capilene), thinking 50:50 might be better yet

That fabric doesn’t look like it would take a sewn in zipper too well.

I’ve used my merino air hoody quite a bit at this point, and I’m definitely a fan. It doesn’t dry quite as quickly as cap thermal weight, but I think it feels a little more comfortable when wet. I also like the stretch and feel of the fabric. The turtleneck/hood is also pretty amazing, fitting closely around the neck and pulls up easily to cover the face. It would be great with a deep zip, but I also like the simplicity of the current design. The excellent breathability (prob better than cap thermal) does mitigate the need for it some. Generally, I’m finding the temp range pretty similar to my MEC T2, although the zip gives the MEC a little more versatility, I think I prefer the feel and the hood of the merino air enough to make it my choice for most winter days.

Thanks. Looks like it would make a nice base layer for higher output winter activities.  Probably make a nice midlayer for less output activities. Just have to find a sale :)

Better hurry!  A Patagonia rep told me they will not produce merino garments for Fall 2016 due to the PETA footage filmed at their wool supplier.

http://www.thecleanestline.com/2015/08/patagonia-to-cease-purchasing-wool-from-ovis-21.html

geez they slaughter sheep to eat- the horror!

maybe the peta’s will refuse to buy the wool products and the price will be lowered, one can hope

I’m not totally against using animal products, and i view death differently than most, but i am very much against needless inhumane treatment of animals, and that video clearly showed people treating the animals with very little respect or regard.  Apparently they are nothing but objects to use and abuse as we feel like?

There ARE better ways to both raise, shear and slaughter them, and until we force companies to adopt better and more compassionate ways, by monetary and/or social pressure, they will continue allowing very inhumane treatment of animals.

I’m glad Patagonia is taking a stand, even if unpopular. Perhaps they will look to the American Alpaca industry instead? I’ve met and/or have known some local Alpaca ranchers, and the ones i knew, treated them very well (more like pets than just livestock).  Plus, they don’t need treatments like mulesing, crutching, etc and Alpacas cause less environmental damage. And since they are in the US, it’s easier to check on them then in places like Argentina.

if more people feel the way you do, then I certainly have a chance at scoring one at a reasonable price- make sure you write Patagonia- heck I think I will for that matter :)

I think this was a case of Patagonia caving to the vegans. Which, good for them, it was a consumer movement that worked, I guess. However:

My experience is that PETA are unreasonable fanatics so I’m inclined to not favor them. Likewise, I don’t understand their objections to castration (but they support spaying and neutering!) and docking. These are all good for the sheep. So, mulesing certainly sounds bad and PETA doesn’t like it, yet the SPCA endorses it. Hard to make a call on that one. But as mentioned in the article “PETA does not believe in the use of animals for any human purpose.” So, to me PETA’s opinions on any animal issue are a non-entity. A null. You can’t reason with fanatics. They don’t actually think about an issue- it’s just dogma to them. For the same reason I also wouldn’t be surprised if the video was a cherry-picked collection of best hits, per se.

PETA was clearly preaching to their own vegetarian base in that video- a lot of it was “OMG injured sheep were killed and eaten!!!” I’m not vegetarian let alone vegan, so I dismiss that too. Mike could be a bit more sensitive, perhaps, but at base I agree with him. What else are you going to do with injured stock, realistically? Not to mention that criticizing a poor third world stockman because he can’t afford modern cutting-edge shearing technology is a bit low.

All of that being said, yes, there is no reason to be cruel. (I’m the one who gave Justin that thumbs-up.) This is one reason I’d rather hunt than eat something raised in a stockyard, though I haven’t been able to in decades. So the only thing in that video that seemed excessive to me was the guy punching the sheep he was shearing and the guy kicking one out of the shed rather violently- which was in the US and not, I think, an Orvis 21 operation- it was in the “eating meat is evil” segment.

Patagonia has a lot of purchasing power and could have used this video to pressure Orvis 21 to do better, which I think would have been the more moral thing than just washing their hands of the issue. Or, maybe that’s what they are in fact doing- maybe they said they’d re-consider Orvis 21 once they cleaned up. I don’t know. I hope so. I hope it’s not just PETA getting their way due to a cherry-picked and meticulously edited bit of cinematography followed by a media blitz.

After having worn it for a while, I have to say that the waist material on the merion air pants is on the flimsy side. I machine wash on delicate cycle and lay these on a drying rack to air dry and the material has warped up a bit. It has also pilled a fair amount too, leading me to believe that the long term longevity of this blend is questionable. Last, it stretches a fair amount, thus also giving the appearance that perhaps it will not retain its shape all that well in the long term either. All of this of course is IMHO.

thanks- maybe it’s the “fluffing” that is done to the fabric as my merino 1 stuff 65:35 (wool:Capilene) holds up amazingly well and very little stretch- you’d think with more Capilene it would be more resilient yet

I absolutely have a problem with the video. Punching and kicking the livestock is not needed. I think they could also be a little more humane and slaughter the animals out of site of the living ones too.

Dean wrote ” Not to mention that criticizing a poor third world stockman because he can’t afford modern cutting-edge shearing technology is a bit low.”

There’s a few nice pickups in the background of the video. I think they could afford better cutters, and there selling to Patagonia, not some discount brand that pays crap for the wool.

This is all coming from someone who shot his first deer 2 months ago. Do it humane and I don’t have a problem. As the king species on this planet I feel we can do better than this.

Thank you for the comments in regards to the Merino Air. I seen this on add at REI the other day and was actually thinking about buying one due to the stench after a few days on the Caps and R’s but after some of the reviews above, Ill probably hold off for the next revision.

I dunno. The part where PETA was complaining about sheep being injured during shearing was supposedly in Argentina. No fancy pickups in the background, there. You’re thinking of the latter “OMG they eat meat!!!” part of the video that makes me very suspicious that it was really just meant to influence other vegans. The video really does swing from Ovis 21 to a more general “evils of meat” theme quite quickly. I can’t tell where that footage was from. You could still be right, though, and the (presumably rich) guy who actually owns the operation might be pinching pennies. The sheep punching was in Australia according to PETA. Frankly, from the video you can’t even really tell if the footage is in fact from Ovis 21 operations- you’re just taking PETA’s word on it. Hopefully Patagonia did some due diligence before they caved. When you watch the video to the very end PETA states their agenda quite clearly: they want to destroy the wool industry and they implore watchers to never buy wool again. Yes, I call that extreme.

And I almost guarantee you that Patagonia does pay crap for wool. Or perhaps stated better, I would be surprised if this weren’t so. Patagonia is more socially responsible than most but that’s what corporations do- they keep overhead low. (Recall that iPhones are made in China.) So those prices are all markup and profit for them.

That said, as I spelled out at great length I absolutely agree with you on humane treatment and slaughter. PETA has done a great deal to expose such abuses so they do serve a purpose and I’ll tolerate them, even if I lend them little credence when they get shrill. As vegans they at least have an internally consistent philosophy and you can have a coherent (if predictable) debate with them. The ones I can’t stand are the non-vegetarians who are anti-hunting because they live in some sort of magical Disneyfied world where Thumper can talk or something. I place great value on rationality.

Apparently this has been re-introduced as Capilene Air. Anyone tried the new version yet? Looks interesting.

50:50 syn/wool blend, sub 7 oz for a hoody- I see one in my future :)

User reports say it’s warmer than the Capilene Thermal, more like a light sweater.  The loose weave is prone to snagging so you don’t want to wear it exposed when on the move.  Sounds like a nice sleep/camp layer or a base layer under a shell that you don’t need the extra ventilation of a zipper or the toughness of fleece.

sounds about right; I’m thinking shoulder/winter season mid-layer

should really breathe well with that slightly loose weave

Patagonia are claiming good wicking action. It seems like this is like a 3D version of fishnet (Brynje, et al.), which are supposed to wick and dry quickly. If so, should we expect it to wick and dry extremely well and quick? Better than a bicomponent knit like Power Dry?

Any experience or opinions?