Cover image courtesy of Joseph Peters mum
New Zealand is regarded as producing the highest quality merino there is, so it’s no coincidence that First Lite sources it’s merino from New Zealand. PointsSouth being a small New Zealand owned company, is damn proud to be selling our merino, and seeing First Lite supporting our kiwi farmers.
Why Merino?
Most of us who are old enough to have spent years in the outdoors before the advent of Merino wool underlayers associate ‘wool’ with that stinky, itchy, hand-knit sweater that weighed 20 lbs when wet and smelled like your 10 year old Golden Retriever. With the advent of Merino wool garments, all of that has changed. Merino wool fibers are some of the finest found in nature and produce material so soft, durable and naturally odor resistant that they surpass synthetics in nearly every way. Despite the advances of science and the creation of soft fleece and plush cynchilla, nothing beats the feel of Merino wool. Unlike synthetics which stink when they’re dirty with sweat, wool doesn’t stink even after you’ve sweated in it for days. Not only does this mean it needs to be washed far less than your other garments, it means not getting as easily “winded” by game when it matters most. You’ll be happy to know washing your wool is easy (when it needs it) and it can be dried in the dryer as well. Wearing First Lite’s Merino wool base layers will feel like you’re wearing your softest cotton T-shirt.
HOW DOES IT KNOW?
Sheep have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years and are able to live in the freezing high alpine slopes of Siberia as well as the blistering heat of the Australian outback. Their wool coats both shelter them from the cold and protect them from the heat. Merino wool base layers do the same against our skin--they regulate body heat much better than any synthetic fabric can and will keep you comfortable in a wider range of temperatures. When it is warm, the wool transports moisture and warm air away from the skin and disperses it into the air. When it is cold, the wool traps the warm air and keeps it close to the skin.
NO SMELL
“They can hear you twice, see you once, but if they smell you, they’re gone.” Every hunter knows the importance of minimizing human odor and there’s no fabric better at keeping B.O. to a minimum than wool. Wool absorbs 30% of its weight in moisture which then passes through the material and is released into the air instead of remaining on the skin. Transporting the moisture away from the skin and completely through the fabric is the main reason wool is so successful at controlling odor. Nylon absorbs only 4.5% and polyester a measly .4%. With these synthetic fabrics, moisture remains on the skin and the fabric creating bacteria on the skin's surface. The result is odor.
NO SHINE
Wool absorbs light and has no UV reflection.
NO SOUND
Wool doesn’t flap in the wind, doesn’t shear when you walk or crackle when it’s cold. Wool in motion creates no sound.
Keeping cool on a stinking hot summers day with no shade to be found
Image courtesy of Joseph Peter’s mum
Image courtesy of Joseph Peter’s mum
