Why does smaller Merino weigh more?

Fatter sheep!
Of course!

However … the diameter of the fibers has nothing to do with the weight of the fabric. You can make a nice sheer see-through silk nightie with the same diameter silk fibers as used in silk suit material. The same applies to wool.

17.5 micron is reasonably fine – it should not be very itchy. But note that the fabric will be much weaker than a similar-weight synthetic fiber material.

Cheers

Roger, thanks. i'm still confused. In the 2 choices I gave, do you expect the Outback to weigh less than the Nelson(150 g/m2 v. 165 g/m2)? Do you expect the Outback to last longer (18.5 micron v. 17.5 micron)? If your answer is yes to both, it's probably ironic that more is charged for the Nelson due to smaller Micron size (which makes it more comfortable being the only advantage). The cost difference is significant ($85 v. $115 US).

Hi Roleigh

Delayed reply – I was in the mountains with grandchildren.

> do you expect the Outback to weigh less than the Nelson(150 g/m2 v. 165 g/m2)?
No idea at all. It would depend very much on the construction of the two garments, the zips, etc.

> Do you expect the Outback to last longer (18.5 micron v. 17.5 micron)?
This is very hard to answer. It depends on very fine details of the spinning and weaving of the two fabrics. But I would not expect either to last as long as synthetics.

> more is charged for the Nelson due to smaller Micron size
Yes, this would be so. But you should see how much is charged for REALLY fine merino wool!

Sorry I can't help more, but I think 90% of the answers lie with marketing rather than technical details.