Wool, warm when wet?

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John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
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rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
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south wales
erm ... I do wear wool tops, trousers and hats up the hills ....

Then you will get wet through John quicker than in modern gear if your out in exposed conditions. Don't see a lot of wet weather walkers in wool tops and trousers unless under something like a Goretex shell. I admire your loyalty to wool, and I still like it. If I was able to hill walk I'd look at wool base layers but the rest of me would be in some nice plastic gucci kit...and dry;)
 

MikeLA

Full Member
May 17, 2011
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Northumberland

johnnythefox

Full Member
Mar 11, 2011
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England
wool is warm when wet

its less durable and needs to be kept clean

thats why its often mixed with synthetics to make it stronger

i new that anyway

but its also in that norwegian army link posted in the other clothing thread.
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,996
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........and yet I find that wool mixed with nylon or similar wears away on the grid of the artificial fibres.
While pure wool, washed and worn, shapes to the individual and felts into itself.

Problem is that much of the mixed stuff is using carp wool :(

Good wool's not the cheap option unfortunately.

cheers,
Toddy
 

Adze

Native
Oct 9, 2009
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Cumbria
www.adamhughes.net
Good wool, barathea, melton, real tweeds and the like, are better than any of the fake fleeces............costs a fortune right enough (shouldn't but these are considered 'quality', 'high end', products these days) but good, properly spun and woven wool will withstand scorching, hedges, thorns, sea water, sweat, smoke, and still be warm, sound, look good, and it'll last for years.......unlike delaminating goretex's, triple ceramics, and UV stabilized plastics and woven from recycled milk bottles and coloured with petrochemicasl wick-aways that snag, rip, tear, wear done in no time at all.........that funnily enough cost a fortune, because they're a 'shiny' recommended in 'technical' reviews :rolleyes:

I'm not agin modern fabrics, but I think people often need to be more aware of the properties of fabrics and how to use them to best advantage.

cheers,
M

Doesn't have to cost the proverbial Toddy, but it certainly does if you buy new. I bought a beautiful tweed hunting jacket, circa 1975, from this fella:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/STYLE-SERVICE

...for the princely sum of £32 including shipping. It's by Dunn & Co. and is one of the most comfortable jackets I've ever worn, is warm, sheds water unless it's a downpour and the measurements given were extremely accurate.

New? I've no idea what it would have cost, but significantly more than I paid for it.

Usual disclaimer re connections other than as a very satisfied customer apply.

Cheers!
 

Graveworm

Life Member
Sep 2, 2011
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0
London UK
Wool cheap or expensive is not as good an insulator by weight or volume wet or dry than the best synthetics it’s an empirical fact; to argue otherwise is as pointless as saying steel is as dense as aluminum. It is also not so quick to dry or as good at wicking, no reputable manufacturers of wool clothing actually claim otherwise their comparisons are always to nylon or cotton. As for the pongy argument again its comparing apples with oranges cheap synthetics get smelly good quality ones with silver etc can stand up just as well and still come out about the same price as merino etc.
Wool wins out on being far more fire resistant.
Despite that in most chily conditions I will be found in Merino base layers. There are many reasons to prefer it just not that it's the best performer pound for pound. We don't get proper cold in the UK and I like the way they feel, in harsher climes I am a bit of a wimp and my base layers go synthetic too. (Of course down is still a victory for Nature over tech when dry)
 
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Adze

Native
Oct 9, 2009
1,874
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Cumbria
www.adamhughes.net
Wool wins out on being far more fire resistant.
Not to mention sustainability... we're not growing oil anything like as quick as sheep grow wool
biggrin.png
Some tweeds make for a brilliant way to blend into the background in low light conditions.
 

johnnythefox

Full Member
Mar 11, 2011
1,015
4
England
asked and answered as the Americans say :)

Wool​
For many years, wool has been known for the excellent insulating properties of itsnatural fibre (animal fibre), even when wet. The many different ways of producingwool also allow it to be used in a great diversity of garments. In recent years, theNorwegian Armed Forces has used wool for insulation and protection, especially forthe extremities.In military clothing, wool is used in socks, M/93 woollen mittens, M/93 fingergloves, hunting caps, balaclavas, woollen pullovers and wool terry cloth underwear.Wool is capable of repelling water drops and absorbing water vapour. Wool is alsovery dirt resistant. The reason for this is the fibre’s frizzy shape and its surface withlayers of shell. These shells contain natural Lanolin that repels dirt. The wool’sexcellent insulating properties are due to its frizzy shape, insofar as the surfacecreates a lot of tiny air pockets and each individual wool fibre can contain up to 80%air. The frizzy surface means that wool does not feel particularly damp against thebody when it is wet because only a small part of each fibre comes into contact withthe skin.​
 

bilmo-p5

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 5, 2010
8,168
9
west yorkshire
Must be ready for new gemms ...

For many years, wool has been known for the excellent insulating properties of itsnatural fibre (animal fibre), even when wet. The many different ways of producingwool also allow it to be used in a great diversity of garments. In recent years, theNorwegian Armed Forces has used wool for insulation and protection, especially forthe extremities.In military clothing, wool is used in socks, M/93 woollen mittens, M/93 fingergloves, hunting caps, balaclavas, woollen pullovers and wool terry cloth underwear.Wool is capable of repelling water drops and absorbing water vapour. Wool is alsovery dirt resistant. The reason for this is the fibre’s frizzy shape and its surface withlayers of shell. These shells contain natural Lanolin that repels dirt. The wool’sexcellent insulating properties are due to its frizzy shape, insofar as the surfacecreates a lot of tiny air pockets and each individual wool fibre can contain up to 80%air. The frizzy surface means that wool does not feel particularly damp against thebody when it is wet because only a small part of each fibre comes into contact withthe skin.
 

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