Merino Tencel 50/50 shirts or other blends. Anyone tried them?

Anyone?

PPL aren’t always helpful ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I have a merino tencel hoody from ice breaker. I haven’t used it as much as I thought I would. I actually think the tencel negates the warm when wet benefits of wool which I appreciate on backpacking trips. I used it a couple times on cool weather runs, and once the shirt got sweaty I felt really chilled. Probably more so than a synthetic. Not sure why that is, but that was my experience. Could be a nice hot weather piece.

None here.  I have two Merino Blend shirts that I use often and really like, but neither uses tencel.

One is a Mountain Hardwear Integral Pro 1/4 zip hoodie.  Merino/PolyPro blend.  No longer produced.  After 5 years of light use it has noticeable pilling.

The other is a two year old Rab Meco 1/4 zip hoodie.  “MeCo” is a Merino/Cocona blend.  I bought if off of Massdrop.  I’m not even sure they’re making the Meco line any longer.  Seems like it was replaced with the “Merino+”, which is a Merino/Polyester blend.

Both of these shirts are around 160 weight.  I’ll wear them as base/solitary layers in the summer and often as a breathable slightly wind resisting layer on top of a Patagonia Capilene in Spring/Fall.

I have “lots” of merino wool tops, some pure, some blends.  I’m not sure if any of  them are a Tencel blend.  From what I understand Tencel is a trade name for Lyocell which is a<b> </b> sustainable rayon-like fabric.  I do have merino/rayon tops though none are 50/50.

I rarely wear them anymore.  They work in general but for a variety of reasons they’ve been gathering dust in my closet.  Certainly the cost is outrageous when weighed against the benefits in my experience.  A few have wear holes in the shoulder areas after limited use.  Some are just too tight for my taste-not due to size but designed as form fitting.  Some have slight bit of itchyness that I find annoying.

My current choice for base layering is the 32 Degrees Cool/32 Degrees Hot brand.  Costco sells them. The 32 Degrees Cool shirts were $6 the last time I bought them.  The 32 Hot long sleeve are currently $8.99.  I just came off a 20 day PCT section hike having worn a 32 short sleeve everyday and most nights.  I’ve used these shirts on previous long hikes and have found no faults. Quick to dry, Very low stink factor.  Great on hot days to dip in a creek and let them dry while hiking to keep cool.

YMMV but for the price they are worth considering.

I recentry tried a 100% tencel shirt from a company called Element Pure. It started to badly pill in less than 2 weeks. Even now after 1 wash it already looks badly beaten although the softness of it can’t be argued. it’s far softer than even the softest merino I’ve tried so that is why I wanted to combine both fabrics and see if there is a company that makes it with merino/tencel/nylon (for durability)

Sorry have not tried them.

I’ve been using RAB merino baselayers for the last 5 years or so and they’re fairly good. They do a 65:35 merino:other stuff ratio and it seems to work well. I’ve found that smartwool and other 100% merino stuff pills horribly. The RAB stuff has never pilled, but does get holes in it from wear faster than synthetic shirts, but I think that is just unavoidable with merino. Also gets eaten occasionally by insects. Have come to accept these downsides though because of warmth, comfort and anti odor benefits.

I find them more itchy than regular merino.

i love the feel of my long sleeve polos from Pata that blend tencel w/ cotton & poly

my skin cannot tolerate much wool above the knee

I like the merino/tencel blends. Icebreaker uses 50 merino, 35 tencel, 15 nylon (ish… they have changed it slightly over the past few years). Smartwool was 50/50, but not sure if they still make it. SW is similar in weight to 100% merino;  IB is thinner and lighter. Both dry faster than pure wool, SW has similar warmth, IB cooler.

Rab meco/merino+ is my favorite wool blend. Durability hasn’t been a problem for me in the 120 weight, but if you are concerned, the 165 stuff is also great (and closer in weight to the standard 150ish pure wool).