Odor Prevention

I'm with you on this one James. I love everything about RailRiders shirts except that I cant' stand to be near myself when wearing them (or any other similar synthetic shirt). They are wonderfully light shirts when not exerting oneself. They are the last synthetic shirt I tried before resigning myself to the fact that I will hike in only wool shirts, period.

Backpacking Light Merino UL is an alternative if you don't want stinking synthetics. I ventured into the world of stink and returned a believer in wool.

Odor Rule: wool on, funk off.

George, i agree with you 100%. so far i've purchased all 3 (long sleeve,short sleeve, and long johns) merino wool from bpl. the best investment ever..they may take slightly longer to dry out on the trail than synthetic but you don't seem to have to launder quite as much.

During some random conversation on a trip in Texas, a man said that treating his clothing with Febreeze helped control his odors for a few days. I haven't tried it, but it might be worth a shot. I'd imagine results would vary from person to person.

James,

You can find colloidal silver in 30 ppm in most health food stores… but don't drink it per the directions. Spray it on the inside of your RR shirt as an interim fix.

Silver derives its broad spectrum antimicrobial activity from the ability of silver ions. An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more valence electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. It binds irreversibly to a variety of nucleophilic groups commonly available in cells of bacteria, viruses, yeast, fungi and protozoa. Binding to cellular components disrupts the normal reproduction and growth cycle resulting in death of the cell.

Merino wool is another option. There are a number of aspects of the physical and chemical structure of Merino that make it naturally more resistant to odors than other textiles, especially synthetics.

Moisture Transport – While sweat itself has no odor, if it remains on the skin in time bacteria develop and create unpleasant body odors. Merino reduces the opportunity for odors to generate because it is more efficient than other textiles at absorbing sweat and evaporating it into the air.

No Microbial attraction – Studies have shown that bacteria are more attracted to the smooth, positively charged surface of a synthetic fiber than the scaly surface of a Merino fiber which carries no charge.

Moisture Absorption – The Merino has a much greater capacity than other fibers to absorb moisture. In fact, it can absorb 35% of its own weight in liquid. The moisture is bound within the structure, and so is not available to microbes, which are unable to penetrate the scaly surface of the fiber.

Glass Transition – In water and conditions of high humidity, Merino passes through what is termed a glass transition at which point it dramatically increases its rate of absorption and dispersion.

Trapping Odors – The rate of diffusion of small and large molecules into the fiber increases and it is able to absorb odors faster. When the temperature drops, and the fiber once again falls below the glass transition, the odors are trapped within the structure even if the moisture evaporates. Later, during laundering, the garment again passes through the glass transition point and the odors are carried out of the structure by the water. Synthetics are not able to benefit from this same effect because they do not pass through glass transition during normal wear.

In summary, it appears to me as though Merino wool clearly outperforms standard synthetics for preventing bacterial growth, silver ion technology outperforms Merino wool, and the combination may provide odor beating nirvana. NanoHorizons Inc., a leader in the creation of nanoscale performance additives for the textile and medical industries, has been acknowledged by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI ) as producing an effective antimicrobial for wool and other natural fibers. After extensive testing, it has been determined that NanoHorizons' SmartSilver Certified Antimicrobial Performance permanently guards wool fabrics against microbes that cause odor.

I strongly suspect that those UL backpackers that have invested in plain Merino wool garments will say that it is the best odor beating alternative. Australian Wool Innovation is a non-profit organization working on behalf of over 35,000 wool growers in the areas of research and development, product innovation, and marketing… they think they have come up with a “better mouse trap”.

Michael, George, Victoria, Richard and other Woolites,
Is the BPL UL Merino burley enough to withstand the abrasion of pack straps and hip belts, or are you using the merino as a base layer under a synthetic? In July and August, I’d like to only wear one layer! Currently I wear the BPL Merino UL as my sleeping clothes to protect my quilt. Yes Richard, I was thinking about something like silver ions, but I wouldn’t have thought to look at a health food store. Thanks.
Jim

james, with my gossemar pack, i decided not to wear it alone as the shoulder straps rubbing probably would wear the wool down and make holes. maybe your straps don't have the wicking material like mine, then i would say use it as top layer.

James, I wear merino wool shirts by Montbell year round for backpacking. The only thing I have noticed in them is they get some pills around the waistbelt. Not bad, but noticeable. I have been switching out my synthetics for wool. I wear them as an outer shirt in the summer and cooler weather, then underneath a windshirt after that in colder temps.

I've long used a sprinkling of baking soda rubbed into synthetic, e.g., Patagonia capiline, North Face nylon blend pants, etc., to eliminate the odor. I have not tried it on my Railriders Ecomesh shirt, however.

James,

There are other options for keeping your RR shirt odor free or finding an alternative top. I just did a search of the Cabela's Web site for "scent elimination" and they carry 226 different products. I categorize the alternatives as: 1) fragrance free soaps and shampoos for your body; 2) masking fragrances; 3) silver to kill odor causing bacteria in the base layer; 4) other biocide sprays and wash ins to kill odor causing bacteria in the base layer; 5) activated carbon to absorb odors as they pass through the shell layer; and 6) combinations of categories. Their Primos® Silver XP™ Scent Eliminator Spray from category 3 or Primos® Silver XP™ Scent Elimination Laundry Detergent is effectively the same as my earlier health food store sourced recommendation. Their Scent-Lok® Spray Killer Accessory Wash is an example from category 4.

There are also lots of synthetic base layers that use permanent silver ion technology from companies such as Agion Technologies, Millikens’ Visa Endurance / AlphaSan®,, X-Static, Hot Chillys Bio-Silver nylon, O'Mara’s MicroFres® / SoleFresh®, Sinterama’s GuardYarn®, Thomson Research Associates’ UltraFresh® / Silpure® products, and Bioactive® polyester fibers produced by Trevira. Very recently, silver finishing was extended to wool on a commercial scale by Nanohorizon Inc. In this treatment, silver nanoparticles (SmartSilver®) are applied to wool using typical fabric and garment dye systems. The original properties of the wool, including handle and dyeability, remain unchanged after the treatment. Even using the same silver based technology there is great variance in effectiveness base on the % of silver threads in the fabric. As an example, the X-Static fiber manufacturer recommends at least 15% of the fibers be silver ion based for optimal performance. Each clothing manufacturer uses a different combination of fiber %. The Fox River X-Static liner socks are 19% X-Static fibers whereas the Medalist X-Static Silvermax socks are only 2%.

Alternative 4 can be achieved by using quaternary ammonium salts, polyhexamethylene biguanide, triclosan, chitosan, dyes and regenerable N-halamine compounds and peroxyacids. Anti-odor products such as Patagonia’s Gladiodor and Scent-Lok® Spray Killer Accessory Wash fall into this category. These agents are potent in their bactericidal activity. However, their attachment to a textile surface or incorporation within the fiber substantially reduces their activity and limits their availability. Furthermore, the biocide can be gradually lost during the use and washing of the textile. For these reasons, large amounts of these biocides need to be applied to textiles to effectively control bacterial growth and to sustain durability

In summary, for multi-days outings I use a synthetic base layer with a relatively high X-Static thread percentage. It leverages the independent research done by our Armed Services labs comparing all of the above alternatives so I didn’t have to.

Richard,
Thank you very much for the excellent research. Wow. This gives me a lot of options to try. On another note, nice bear picture.

James,

To address your question as to the burlyness required of a wool shirt, I would suggest it depends upon your packweight and the length of your excusions.

For lightweight shirts, we're talking summer, and since you are on this website, your pack is probably pretty lightweight, at least for shorter trips.

I'm a "weekender" as opposed to a "thru-hiker" so that describes me. I wear Icebreaker 140 weight merino tech tee lites. I don't get excessive abrasion on the shoulders or belt area but, I'm very, very careful puttibg on & taking off my pack. These shirts are so thin that I canfeel airpass through them even when there is no breeze!

Peraonally, I wouldn't go any lighter. In fact, I have some 190 weight Icebreaker tech tees to wear if I do have a heavier pack or plan some bushwacking.

nm

G'day
I sweat heaps in summer (unfit) and love merino. I have 4 icebreakers in various weights and so does my wife. While is does have magical properties as far as sweat, odours and moisture wicking I will definitely confirm they are less durable than a cotton tee for example. Because they are so expensive I only wear mine for hiking and the one I wear the most is pilled on the back, under the straps and belt and also there is a few small holes from getting it caught in my waist belt. Don’t get me wrong I love them but don’t expect them to last 5 years like your old cotton tee
Darren

I just buy old loose weave thin merino sweaters from charity shops and chuck 'em away when they are done.
Knitted wool is lighter and has better airspace warmth retention than expensive tightweave gear IMO.