microwool for summer hiking

Merino wool? Yes. It makes a good base layer. For spring and fall, anyway. In the heat of summer(>80F,) I prefer a cotton T shirt. It seems to absorb water, hold it and distribute it better than any synthetic. Wool is not quite as good as cotton, but close. It does not soak water into the fibers as well as cotton.

When you first put it on, it can feel slightly warm. This will cause your skin to sweat a little. This will dampen the cloth, and distribute the moisture for evaporation. It will then feel cooler. A similar effect to an old "swamp" cooler. This will cut back your sweating. So, the micro-climate will remain moist, and, you will retain overall moisture. As it gets cooler over the course of a day, it will dry…adding a heat layer. Merino wool is good for both, cold and warm, types of hiking weather. The down side is the cost. A good UL merino wool T shirt can cost around $30-60. They also come in various weights. The lightest is good for late spring, summer, early fall.

Ibex is a good brand. I have one of their long sleeve UL's that has lasted about 5 seasons now. Smartwool Lightweighs are a bit heavier. Not the best for hiking much above 65-70F. The Capalene stuff in light weight isn't real bad, but it dries too quickly to do much good with moisture. Cotton retains permethryn very strongly compared to poly. Wool not as well as cotton. Important in the bug laden ADK's (blackflies, mosquitoes, deerflies, horseflies, ticks, etc.)

I can't recommend cotton any time of the year in my area (SE). I had someone mountain bike with me a couple of years ago that made the mistake of wearing cotton. His body stopped sweating as mentioned above (and subsequently stopped cooling itself), and he quickly started suffering from heat exhaustion. We had to stop off in a shaded area for at least 30 minutes while he cooled down.

I wouldn't recommend most wool for greater than 60 degrees or so. The BPL stuff is an exception, and I've used it comfortably to around 75, but I'm not sure I'd push it much higher.

It sounds like you're saying synthetic may be the only choice? I only wear cotton around camp in the summer, as it feels great to get off the synthetics.
Thanks

I really like my icebreaker gt velocity ss crewe 150 wt (non-zip version). I run in the gt quite a bit and it is holding up very well. It is multi-panel athletic fit and the main back panel and underarm areas are vented/mesh-like. It has a slight drop tail.

I also *had* an icebreaker 140wt long-sleeve. It was very thin, started showing wear at collar quickly. Last week it ripped apart when I was taking it off after a run.

In contrast, the velocity has held up very well after many uses and washes. It also dries pretty quickly for wool.

I wear wool Icebreaker tees all summer in Spain, to the beach, and in the mountains doing intensive activities like hiking. No problem for me.
Cotton kills, I wouldn't recommend it at all for hiking. There's lots of research/ reading about this.
Icebreaker do sleevelees, and t-shirts. I wear a tee during the day, and then a Mondo Zip at night, and if cold, the tee goes on top of that. Multi use. Tee is 150 weight and the Mondo zip is 200 weight.
I hope this helps.
fred

I think it will depend on climate a lot. Patagonia's Wool 1 (or a similar wool/synth) blend might be a good option. I haven't used a blend, yet, so I can't be certain. Note that my usage has been primarily in the SE, where ambient temps are regularly 90-100 in the Summer with near 100% humidity. This past Summer, I spent a few weeks in the Northern Rockies working for BPL. I tried the BPL UL Merino hoody in the field first. Temp wise, it was fine. But, the mosquitoes chewed me up right through it. The second trip, I switched to an REI Sahara shirt. That worked much better for the mosquitoes and was also fine for the temps. The only caveat was the massive amount of white salt streaks I left on it, but such is life. I've used shirts similar to the REI here in the SE, and they don't work well for me.

Those blends may be an option. I also have not tried them. Not sure if they offer the best of each or the worst of each fabric.

I spend most time in either Illinois or Colorado. Obviously, very different summers. In Colorado, I'm generally in dry areas and near/above treeline, so skeeters have been relatively trivial and summer temps are cooler. The Gore range would be the worst spot I go in terms of bugs and I use a mountain hard wear canyon long-sleeve there.

In Illnois, I'll sweat regardless of what I wear in the summer. Synthetics dry quicker, but the stink factor means I generally relegate them to single-day trips or solo trips when I won't be in-town. The ib velocity has been a good synthetic alternative for me.

I do like a light merino t-shirt for cool to warm weather, but when it get hot, I'll wear either:

1) a loose nylon vented summer shirt. Being loose, it doesn't suffer as much from synthetic stench as close fitting t-shirts do.

or

2) A very light, almost see-thru silk long sleeve shirt. This is the coolest and lightest option. It does block a lot of sun, but doesn't block sun as well as the summer shirt. So I wouldn't wear it at exposed high altitudes with my light skin.
If you have darker skin, it may be all you need for a hot weather top.

Patagonia's lightest merino, merino 1 is pretty good in warm temps- doesn't get overly warm in the mountains, but @ 75 degrees I was fine w/ it (long sleeves), doesn't dry as quickly as capilene- which might be advantageous at times

I've used Cap 1 in temps to 100 (hiking in NM) and while I certainly can't say I would be comfortable in 100 degree weather (sans air conditioned pub :)), I wasn't overly uncomfortable. I might be just lucky but haven't had problems w/ capilene and smell (I think incorporate some kind of anti-microbial material into the apparel)

I have used icebreaker for short sleeve shirts, and long sleeve baselayer (oasys crew). I love the short sleeve shirts. Super comfortable. I like the way they feel and perform around town, at the gym, hiking. They've been very durable too Threw away all of my synthetics. I have found a little variation in fit in some of the same sizes I have bought. It may have been small changes across designs over the years potentially.

I'm not a big fan of the long sleeve shirt I got from icebreaker, only because it just doesn't quite fit my body type right for what I bought. The arms where too long and the torso too tight for me. I just bought a patagonia merino wool 3 and it fit much better and felt just as good. time will tell on its durability.

I wear the Icebreaker 150 wt short sleeve tees all summer in the South. Love 'em.

I really like the Outdoor Research Essence T-shirt, the men's version is the Sequence. A wool/polyester blend with something to block odor. I don't hike well in hot weather, but the Essence was comfortable even in the hottest weather. The blend is the best of both worlds for me, less funk but quicker drying. For 3 season, I pair mine with Smartwool armwarmers, which means that as I warm up I can strip the sleeves off and tuck them in a pocket, without having to fiddle much. Outdoor Research makes a short-sleeved zip-T in the men's, which means you can get better ventilation. My boyfriend loves his.

Diane- just looked up the Sequence- interestingly it's 88% syn and 12% wool, almost the reverse of Patagonia's Merino1 (67% merino/33% syn)- which might be the ticket for warmer weather (but still w/ the funk fighting wool)

I used Patagonia's Merino 1 last summer in hot (90*+) weather, and was very pleased.

I use pat wool 2 in the hottest weather and it works quite well. the synth blend really helps with wicking and the fabric floats above the skin more so than other wools.

I used a wool shirt, off brand, in the sumatran jungle for about 4 months and it worked fine. The heat and humidity there trumps the SE. I think a loghtweight wool shirt is good for just about any temp but wool/synth blend is better.

I don't know how you guys can stand wool above 80F, to me it way too warm and starts to get itchy. The problem I have found with the really thin stuff is that it is not that durable when it is just wool. For me some 50/50 T's are much better at regulating temps, more durable and a lot cheaper. I did try out some of the Patagonia Wool 1/2 T's one time and was able to overcome the synth in it. It took a bit longer but it still happened.

I suffer a bit from eczema, mostly on my back. Merino wool itches less than anything I've ever worn when it's hot and sweaty under the pack.

Everyone has their sensitivities. Poly and nylon can drive me crazy sometimes, if enclosed in a drysuit. So I even wear a merino base layer inside the drysuit on winter kayak trips.

I will admit it's not as durable as other fabrics so I may wear silk and even a lose nylon sun shirt depending on the situation.

I find a thin, light colored short sleeved merino tee to be as cool as a cotton tee.