Anyone have experience with Yak Wool?

I have one Tibetan yak wool hand-knitted hat. By sheep wool standards, I would say that it is fairly coarse. Another similar wool is from Alaskan musk oxen.

–B.G.–

Coarse eh, so you didn't "confuse its luxurious hand feel with cashmere"?

I have 2 pairs of socks and the silly (on me) hat made with yak wool. They are indeed very warm but do not really know how it compares to Merino because I do not have the Merino equivalent.
The wool I have is very rough and reminds me very much of the stuff my grandma used to knit. (untreated wool)
Feels very strong and works when wet.
My cashmere jumper on the other hand is softer than the merino/possumdown type.
Franco

Cashmere is considered to be one of the warmest wools out there, but it's too pricey for alot of gear makers to use.

Honestly I find regular lambs wool to be alot warmer than Merino, but it doesn't seem to have the same wicking properties as the merino.

I think the main reason merino is so prevalent is the itch factor(coupled with the better cost over cashmere), which has never been an issue with any wool for me, I find the wool feel comforting.

I take a pair of heavy weight worsted wool socks with me for my winter sleep socks.. Toasty!

I got a really cheap yak wool sweater over the winter. The feel was soft, akin to merino sweaters. It feels fairly warm as well. The problem is the sweater pills really easily, it's far worse than any other sweater I've had. I don't know if that's due to the wool itself or simply shoddy construction. At some point I might try Khunu.com for their stuff, but I don't need anything now.

I can say Yak wool is warmer than marino, as a I have number of marino sweaters, and one yak wool one. Also surprisingly soft. I actually have the Chimera from Khunu and highly recommend it. It isn't their heaviest sweater though, so if your looking for the warmest you might also try the Old Monk or other versions.

I've got a pair of yak wool socks that I use for sleeping, and I pack them in the shoulder straps of my GG Gorilla. They're very thick and dense, and maintain a fair degree of loft even under pressure.

I was just thinking earlier this morning that I need to find my old yak wool hat as well. Among other things, it saw service in the Himalayas for eight continuous weeks, in all manner of situations; with balaclavas, hoods; used up into probably the 40s, and down as low as -25; through rain, snow, a driving week-long blizzard, slept in, climbed in, and it was great and remarkably flexible across a very wide range of temps and humidity.

I have a Khunu "Old Monk" sweater-awesome! It's warm, soft, & comfortable-not bulky, excellent quality. This one is the heaviest weight & more for casual wear, the Chimera might be better for active wear since its lighter.

Hey thanks for the input everyone. Robert D mentioned pilling on his sweater. Do you guys that had stuff from Khunu have any comments on this? …. pilling everywhere or just on the most friction prone parts, or none at all?

No probs @ all with pilling on my Khunu sweater-highly recommended. If you follow the care instructions, it will last a loooooooooooooooong time.

Mark, thanks for the follow up. I guess it was just poor construction on mine. In this case, I got what I paid for: it cost $20