Stinky

Regarding the itch, you don't have to give up yet. I got a smartwool microweight long sleeve a couple of weeks ago, and there was a subtle, low level, but certainly annoying itch. I couldn't ignore it, that's for sure.

I went to a local yarn shop that I knew carried different wool washes. I got one that was very minimal on the smell, was wash and hang with no rinse, and most importantly it has lanolin in it.

I soaked the shirt in a mixture twice the recommended concentration for about 2 hours, an occasionally would roll it around in the mixture to hand wash it. When done, I squeezed out the water and hung the shirt to dry.

The next day I wore it all day – no irritation. You may want to try this method.

How long does the process last though, ie how often will I have to do this?

I too tried 100% merino wool but gave it up because of that low-level itch that's just enough to be annoying. Those of you who don't have this problem are blessed that you can take advantage of the wonderful attributes of wool.

As for synthetics — all my tees are 80% synthetic and 20% cotton. Thus blended, they have all the wicking and quick-drying attributes that one would want for a base layer (or the only layer when hiking in warm weather) — and yet, I believe the hydrophilic cotton is what allows for a more thorough clean when put in a wash.

The tees work so well for me that I'll usually bring just one and wear it on my person (I have a set of silk long johns for sleeping use) — and at the end of a 4-5 day summer hike — I can still walk around town and dine in restaurants without anyone noticing anything.

I once arranged to have a friend pick me up at trail head at the end of a 5-day hike. Preparing for the worst of stench, he placed towel on the seat and all. After I jumped in, he commented that I looked like I had just come off a short day hike.

I do find that the capilene stuff doesn't smell *too* bad after a wear or three, but still has nothing near the odor-resistance of wool. I'm finding that for warm-ish activities though I'm grabbing the sythetics more and more as the wool just doesn't dry as fast and the damp feeling of my Mondo 200 is just no fun.

You mean you don't want to pack a mini-spray bottle of febreeze with you? I wonder if bringing a drier sheet and rubbing your clothes with it would have the same affect.

I think Febreze will work as it actually kills odor-producing bacteria — if you don't mind the extra weight.

But a dryer sheet relies on "perfume" — which I think our manly backpacker odor will soon overpower. After all, we've all heard stories about people who spray themselves silly with cologne in lieu of bathing — and how that just doesn't work at all…

I used to use Febreeze as deodorant but y friends thought it was probably not the healthiest thing and got me to stop.

What 80/20 stuff are you using?

I called the local yarn shop and they said they have something called Euculan that would work but she also said that I would have to keep using it every wash and I don't know if that is something I want to do.

Brett:

IMHO, Even though I feel a slight regret that the world of wool is not open to me because of the itch factor — the regret is just a very slight one because of the versatility of synthetics. I am quite happy with its performance — and I certainly appreciate its lighter weight and quicker drying performance as compared to wool.

Maybe give 80/20 synthetic/cotton blend a try?

Yeah, but what is 80/20 out there? I think I have some old Ts from Dicks about 5 years ago that were like 65/35 but they arre close to 200wt fleece in thickness.

The stuff for softening wool should have lanolin in it. It's what is in natural wool that makes it soft, but it gets removed during processing. The other stuff helps too, but you really want lanolin.

Machine washing merino wool isn't the best anyway, they say delicate cycle, cold water, etc. The hand wash is easy. I guess it depends on how much you plan on wearing it.

I have a North Face 60/40 Polyester Coolmax/Cotton polo shirt. Very nice in summer conditions, probably no more/no less stinky than plain cotton. Royal Robbins does similar items.

Search for 10% or more X-static content if you want all synthetic with permanent non-stink. I have a couple shirts of 5% X-static and while they don't stink as much as my other synthetics or plain cotton, they aren't nearly as good as merino.

PS-
Try washing the merino shirt several times. I use a mesh bag and throw it in the washer with the cold load. Run it through with 1/2 dozen or more loads and you may find that it has softened enough, and the short itchy fibers have washed away.

Edited to mention stinky quotient of 60/40 shirt.

IMHO, when we find synthetics/cotton blend that don't stink any more than pure cotton, then we have ourselves a winner!

X-static-treated nylon works well — but for me, I haven't found the need for it — since I can wear 80/20 blend for days and days with no noticeable stink effect.

When traveling however — where one sometimes has to take off one's shoes when visiting temples, homes, etc., I do wear x-static socks. :)

Unfortunately, my favorite brand — Duofold — no longer makes 80/20 tees — but retreated back to making 100% synthetic underwear and long johns. Fortunately (for me) — I bought about a dozen of the last ones from Campmor about a year or two ago — so they'll last me a few more years.

I'll google around a bit later this afternoon and I'll post if I find something.

In the meantime, do look for X-static treated synthetics — and also MontBell's synthetic stuff as well. No experience with MontBell but their silver-treated tees look to be the same technology as the silver X-static treatment.

I am also sensitive to wool, but can't help get sucked in to the hype (and the "deals"). I have one shirt from icebreaker (bodyfit 260 I think) that is slightly scratchy; not sure what I think of it yet, but that may be more the tight fit then the feel of the wool. I have a shak from ibex that I love, but it is thick and I like it better with something under it.

But I also have a shirt from ibex in their fanciest wool, the 17.5 stuff. It is noticably and significantly softer that the ibex 18.5 or the icebreaker, really a completely different feel, and not scratchy at all. Ibex has the quT t shirt in 17.5 in the outlet, and if you are willing to pay the price, they have a long sleeve option too. Icebreaker may have finer grades of wool too.

If you are looking for wool, and willing to pay the price, I would not reject the idea of wool until you have tried the very best.

I have had this problem life long (with the itchy wool thing). Even the finest grades caused me strife. I bought a BPL merino top for my son, and ended up keeping it for myself as it was the first wool shirt I ever tried that simply did not cause me any itch. YMMV.

The itchiness kinda comes and goes but I would prefer it not to be there at all. I have already washed the Mondo 3 times so I will try 3 more and see where it gets me.

Montbell XL is too short for me.

Ibex is about the same

Royal Robbins and BPL, I am waiting to hear back from

Brett, sometimes an itchy garment is the result of insufficient rinsing in the wash cycle. If there is ANY detergent residue left in the fabric, it can make your skin itch like crazy. Try setting your washing machine to two rinse cycles and see if that doesn't improve things. Happy trails!

Brett, I think you should give wool 1 a try. I wouldnt be surprised if it turns out itch free. It is the only wool tshirt afaik that uses 16.5 micron wool.

Brett,

No it is not the salt that does it, it is bacteria that excretes the smell in the first place, and grow when trapped in the fabric for days as we hike. That is why just about everyone use at least an anti-microbial treatment of some sort in their fabrics.

I can, and mainly do, use wool with no problem but have always been interested in the “funk factor” and try lots of different brands. The best non-wool I have found so far is the silver tech stuff from Terramar. I have the Body Sensors Elite top and bottoms and a pair of boxer briefs. They work much better, and are much cheaper than my Arc'teryx Rho pieces that cost 3 times as much.

Good luck with the search

Raymond,

In your BGT review of Elites you said, "It did better than most of the silver fabrics I have used. Only one fabric has been better, but I do not have pants made of it, so I can not really compare apples to apples here."

My experience has been that the reduction in funk is proportional to the silver content %. The best I tested was the now discontinued Medalist silk weights with 5% X-Static. What top were you referring to above?

I do have the SEKRI level 1 longsleeve with X-static but I don't know the %.

As for Wool 1 from Patagonia, that would be nice if they made an XXL which they do not and have no plans to ever in the near future.

And the washing machine I use already does two rinse cycles but thanks for the info.

I have some recent Capilene stuff with the Gladiodor but have not put it to the test yet. What are people's experiences with that?

"I do have the SEKRI level 1 longsleeve with X-static but I don't know the %."

So how does it work for you? If it works well, then just continue shopping for X-static garments.

The thing is the SEKRI Level 1 only comes in a long sleeve with the X-static. Other items are hard to find for a person my size. But I did hear back from Royal Robbins and it seems that there XXLs run about 30" long in the torso so I might have some 60/40 options there.

I am going to Utah and Colorado in a week for 10 days so I can test the stuff out there. Unfortunately it didn't get that cold here to really push it on this flat terrain where I live.

Love my wool socks. Love my wool boxer-briefs. Love my wool long underwear. But I hate almost all my wool tops because of the itch. Tried Ibex, SmartWool, and Patagonia. The Pat's. are the best for itch, so I can only tolerate those in cool weather. But it's back to synths for my tops–and they used to become quite stinky (mostly Patagonia silkweight). But I found an interesting solution.

The way I tackle the stink is with Hyd. Peroxide. The over-the-counter stuff in the brown bottle, 3% solution. Spray onto the fabric directly to the problem areas, before exertion (and after, if necessary), and viola! no stink! And it doesn't take much. There doesn't seem to be any damage to the fabric (and I looked closely, as I was concerned). I've been doing this almost a year now, and H2O2 is a staple in my kit now.