Alpaca vs. PolarTec vs. Merino

[Jolly Green Giant]

Looking for you pointy-headed folks who can offer pros and cons about these different materials in terms of function (warmth, breathability, wicking, durability) and weight.

 

Thanks.  Go.

[George W]

I picked up an alpaca hoodie and beanie at PCT trail days.

So far it has been too warm to wear it much, it’s probaly a little warmer than I expected. Im not sure I could wear it hiking if it was over 50F. What I can say is that it’s slightly itchy, not terrible, but noticeable if you’re sitting around. It breaths well if you are walking, you can feel a cooling breeze through it rapidly. I haven’t worn it while doing anything strenuous though.

This itch supposedly goes away the more you wear it, or maybe you just get used to it.

I do something a bit different than most people when I try out a new piece of clothing or shoes that I plan to use for multi day trips. I will wear the item for several days straight, eat, sleep, mow the lawn, shop, whatever, just like on the trail.

I want to see what it feels like to live in it 24/7 prior to getting to the trail head.

Some stuff gets stinky quickly, the alpaca hoodie didn’t, it was fine after three days. The UA sun hoodie I just wore was starting to smell on day one, it was about the same at the end of the week.

There should be a BPL test on this hoodie coming soon, at least I know one has been acquired for testing.

[Andrew]

I have a PolarTech Alpha mid layer (Rab Flash) that I rather like. It’s not wind resistant, so I need to wear a wind jacket at times. But it’s warm and provides excellent breathability. I haven’t found it to be as fragile as some describe, but I could see it’s durability waning if consistently worn as the sole layer under a pack. It’s not super light at 10 oz but it’s usually the only insulation I bring until late fall/winter when my puffy comes along.

[Dustin V]

Andrew, does the Alpha snag easily, in your experience? Also, do you end up wearing it with or without a shell most often?

[Andrew]

I haven’t found snagging to be an issue, but I’m generally not bushwhacking with it. It’s very soft to the touch but not overly delicate. I wear it early mornings until I warm up and shed a layer. And then I like to wear it around camp and sometimes as an additional sleep layer. I have a Helium wind jacket that I’ll put over it if it’s blowing or misting out, but I don’t find I need the double layer that frequently for 3 season use. PolarTech 100 is more durable and cheaper if you’re concerned about snags, just not as breathable as the Alpha.

[Tipi Walter]

To me the question really revolves around Capilene (fleece) Vs Merino.  (Alpaca is a fringe item).  Merino is heavy, capilene is not.  Take your pick.  Plus, I’m an enthusiastic proponent of using silk baselayers tops and leggings esp for sleeping pajamas.

Current setup is silk baselayer on torso with poly t-shirt over silk when moving on cold mornings.  Then a smartwool merino over this combo and covered by a Patagonia thermal capilene hoody.  (with turtle fur fleece hat if needed). (the hoody sleeves have nifty thumb loops which act as half-gloves).

In the old days I went the Icebreaker merino tops for warmth but they’re just too dang heavy.

For cold I put an old vintage North Face down vest over the hoody—a vest that has been re-filled with excessive high quality goose down.

[Christopher S]

I did a ton of research on this – the short summary is that Alpaca blows away Merino in pretty much everything. It aborbs MUCH less water by weight (merino is about 30%) but still not as good as 100% polyester (down to about 2%). I vaguely remember Alpaca being somewhere around 7-10%. I also did tests at home with my Armes of the Andes alpaca t-shirt and it dried much quicker than a similar merino T shirt (squeezing it gently also ended up with something that was dry ish to the touch vs merino which was still pretty soppy). Smell resistance is also very good. And it is definitely higher CLO per the weight than merino as well. I could not find any specific info on how other natural fibers compared but certain types of Yak are also generally super to Merino but I have not been able to test very accurately vs Alpaca as the one Yak garment I have is quite a bit thicker.

Alpaca also does not have any Lanolin for the people with a Lanolin allergy. I have been experimenting washing in lanolin on both synthetic garments (polyester fleece) and Alpaca and it seems to add an actual decent amount of water resistance (dont expect any miracles here) and smell resistance. I have a lightweight fleece ballcap that now feels slightly smooth to the touch and seems to be resisting odor better than when it was without the lanolin.

[Marcus]

Chris or anyone – the great BPL Steven Seeber will thermally test any garment you send him. Would anyone with some alpaca get be willing to send him a garment to test? We should start a paypal fund for steven to test things. I have $1 a month to see independent highly scientific testing of outdoor garments :)

[Christopher S]

I would be interested in that – will have to reach out to him. Could send (assuming I get it back of course) an Alpaca thin longsleeve T-shirt and a Yak wool polo (bit thicker) from Kora

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