Small percentage merino blends worth it?

It's hard to generalize here. That said, I've got a review of the Mammut All-Year coming out soon (~15% merino) and can say that with that shirt the merino content did little or nothing to prevent stink.

Most of the blends I'm familiar w/ are more in the 65:35 range, merino to syn- you get a little quicker drying and the fabric is a little sturdier than 100% merino

I sure wouldn't think it would hurt performance any w/ that small amount of merino- unsure how much of an improvement it would be though over 100% syn though

I'm guessing the price is slightly higher than the all syn????

I like the merino-synthetic blend, but I'd want it at least 50% and preferably 60-65% merino. That leaves enough synthetic to make the fabric more durable yet still have the merino wool feel. 15% sounds like an excuse to charge a higher price for something no different than all synthetic!

They do this with socks and sweaters as well. Make it mostly acrylic and throw in 20% wool, and they label it as a "wool" sweater or sock. It's a way to scam people who don't read the labels.

I have often wondered this.

100% merino clothing does wear out much faster than synthetics.
I'd like to find a compromise that is more durable, but less stinky.

I was feeling it was a way to charge a higher price with little performance increase over 100% synthetic.

Steven- look for blends that have somewhere in the 60/40-ish (merino/syn) and I think you'll find a little bit of the best of both worlds

Mike