light merino for tropics?

What part of the tropics and what climate?
Cotton works well in tropical climates where you'll never be cold.
The main disadvantage of natural fibers and materials is they're more vulnerable to mold and mildew. If you spend much time in climates like the Amazon, most of your belongings will be moldy. I've hung clothes in direct sun at 100F to dry in the Amazon; they took several days to dry.

north of Iquitos, Peru- definitely warm/humid

Warm/humid?
Ugh.

Cheers

I ended up wearing my 2 Smartwool Lightweight Tees for week in the Cook Island on a stopover coming home from New Zealand.

On the islands I found the Merino a little more clingy and sticky than a cotton tee, but I think it had more to do with the slimmer cut of the shirt than the fabric itself. I didn't find the merino uncomfortable but another woven cotton/polyester button up shirt I had was definitely more airy and cool feeling.

One of the Railriders LS shirts combined with a long, or short, sleeved 150 merino shirt would be a good combo for travelling and trekking.

I live in the SE and it is definately hot and humid. If I have the opportunity to wash shirts or change shirts often, and there is tree cover, I would definately use a very light synthetic. Something like a Golite Wildwood Trail Shortsleeve. It is 3oz.

If you will be in the sun all day, I would use something like a RailRiders Bone Flats shirt. Light, and will feel breezy as it is not fitted.

The only problem with the above two options, would be if you were going to be in the same shirt for a 3-5 day, or longer, period. The stink factor overwhelms the comfort for me at that point, and I would go with merino. It drys slower, but nighttime temps will be so warm it will not matter.

my thought was a light (150) t shirt sometimes on it's own, or combined w/ a light rail riders (or similar-actually looking at the Craghopper Nosilife ones) LS shirt

if Patagonia re-releases their merino 1 (has 40% syn) that might be an option, OR has a light shirt (Sequence) syn/wool mix that's about 15% wool and the rest syn- maybe an option

These are my favorite

http://montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=80&p_id=2307262

They are 8% nylon 92% merino.

They are 130g/m2. They feel great. Only 3.9 oz.

it's going to be 4-5 days out w/ a fair amount of strenuous activity, so I would have to say that odor will be a factor :)

^ I haven't seen those before, didn't think there was anything lighter than 150- that might just work

Nothing works in the hot/humid tropics. That said, lightweight synthetics is the least worst option.

Hope they do! Have fun on your trip. If stink after 5 days bothers you as much as it does me, you need to go merino.

Agreed. Everything will be wet, and most everything will probably smell. That said I hope you enjoy your trip. May I ask when you are going and will you stay in Iquitos?

trip is year out (5/12), just doing my homework :) first and last night will be in Iquitos, the rest is out

if you have any insider tips for Iquitos, I'm certainly all ears

"north of Iquitos, Peru"
Try aguaje ice cream!!!!! Ice cream in Peru is excellent and Iquitos has the best (in the world, IMHO). There are tropical fruits that aren't exported that make great ice cream. If it still exists, Cohen and Daughter has really good ice cream.

Visit Belen in Iquitos if you can, houses on stilts in a section that floods in the rainy season. It was used in the movie Fitzcarraldo because it hadn't changed in centuries.

Treat your clothes with permethrin and bring DEET. Treat all your water or buy bottled drinks. It's recommended to not eat uncooked food or dairy products, but the ice cream and fresh fruits are worth the risk (likelihood) of diarrhea.

I have several of the OR Sequence shirts. Would not recommend them for hot, humid weather. They are a lot heavier than 150 g/m2 wool and take a long time to dry. I was hopeful of the wool/synthetic blend being great… but I mainly use them as gym shirts now.

Andrew

Walter – thanks for the tips! sounds like the ice cream would be worth chancing :)

Andrew- thanks, I'll cross those off my list

How does everyone wear their clothes? I figure that the tighter fitting clothes will absorb, then wick, the moisture to the outer surface of the fabric allowing for faster evaporation.

Haven't used wool, but silk… Expensive, but there is a place for it.

I use both short sleeve and long sleeve IBEX 17.5 micron for summer wear.

Perfect, for me.

Cheers,

Bryan

Travis- my base layers are typically close fitting (not tight/form fitting though)

silk- never thought of that, this outfit has several weights http://www.wintersilks.com/longunderwear/default.aspx?BRANCH=1~ ??

Bryan- would that happen to be in hot/humid weather?

I've got some light merino that has been great for mountain summer wear, just no experience w/ it in hot/humid conditions

I have used the Icebreaker Bodyfit 150 t-shirt in Thailand in January (ie not during the monsoon, but still quite humid). Works great for hikes in the rainforest. But I'd imagine that many synthetic fabrics would work just as well, which makes odor control the main benefit of merino.

I live in Japan and hike around the center of Honshu, which gets very hot and unbearably humid in the summers. If I climb above tree line I always use wool-based clothing, and full-wool, body-hugging works fine. But lower down where it never gets cold in the summer, all-wool and close-fitting clothing gets sopping wet, sticks to the body, and never dries out. Synthetics smell to high heaven and are very hot, even when loose. Cotton works fantastically, but never dries out (which can be a good thing when there's a breeze). I've found that seersucker cotton fabric works the best if you use cotton, because it doesn't stick to the skin. For hot and humid weather walking most Japanese are now changing toward merino wool/ polyester blends like Sportwool, which stay cool due to the wool, but dry out more quickly due to the polyester. Montane put out their Bionic T-shirt (long-sleeve and short sleeve) range. I buy them in a size up so they are loose when I wear them and so don't cling to the skin. They worked the best for me. In hot, humid conditions I don't wear a torso base layer, but only a loose-fitting merino/polyester blend shirt. Nylon, unlike polyester, absorbs water, so doesn't work as well as polyster in the wool blends. Make sure not to wear black, or you'll die!

^ thanks-very good to hear :)

I was hoping Patagonia would bring back their Merino 1 t shirts- thinking that a combo of light merino and syn might be a winning combo, sent an email as I haven't seen any of their Merino 1 stuff for some time

I called patagonia a few weeks ago and they only had two smalls left (which I snatched up). One person told me via email that they'd have the merino line back in august for fall, but over the phone the person said no more merino 1, so I'm not sure what the whole story is. I hope they do continue making them because they are the best thing I've found for warm weather and light enough to wear under anything for the rest of the year.

but I thought I'd share my experience with merino in the tropics.

I spent 3 months wearing primarily a merino wool t-shirt in the Summer in Sumatra (the equator), and sometimes a very lightweight loose-fitted cotton. Cotton stays cooler when its dry. Problem is that it won't stay dry. I've had mixed experiences with merino when its wet. The key is to make sure the little wool fibers lift the shirt off your skin a little bit, so it can continue to breath. Some merino does this better than others. I was happy how my merino shirt worked out. + 1 on lightweight wool/synthetic blends for extreme heat. Patagonia one is great, but Pat 2 is also extremely light. I think pat 2 is lighter than icebreaker 150 or at least it handles heat better IMO. Considering wool/synth blends have the benefits of synth without the weaknesses, I definitely wouldn't go back to synth at least for backpacking. Short summer runs are ok.