The benefits of wearing merino wool during summer | Racers Edge | Wanaka
Most Kiwis have heard about the benefits of wearing merino wool base layers during the colder months. It’s a winter wardrobe essential for those of us skiing, snowboarding and going on winter hikes. What people don’t normally associate with this type of wool is it’s cooling properties, which are perfect for the hot summer months.
Merino wool comes from an ancient breed of sheep which populates New Zealand’s rugged Southern Alpine ranges to this day. Known as one of the toughest breeds, the Merino sheep can survive the blistering 30-degree heat of summer and the freezing -10 winters experienced here in New Zealand’s mountain ranges. For this reason, merino wool ends up being a super comfortable, natural material to wear both during winter and summer.
Tested by nature in the field (literally), merino passes with flying colours at keeping us, and our sheep, cool in the summer. “How does it do that ” I hear you ask. Well merino wool is incredibly lightweight because of how fine the material is. These lightweight fibers draw away moisture from your skin so it’s free to evaporate into the air, helping your body with the cooling process that we all love to hate: sweating. Merino wool blends can take on 35% of their body weight in water before they start to feel wet, which is a pretty high capacity for people who aren’t living on a mountain face day in, day out like the sheep are. Merino is considered a “technically active fiber” which means that it’s responsive to temperature. It’s like having an air conditioning system built into your clothing, the merino will cool you down if you need it so you’ll always be running at optimum temperature. Since merino fiber also absorbs odours molecules it will keep you smelling fresh hike after hike this summer.
The moral of the story is, if it’s good enough for the Merino sheep, it’s good enough for us. Shop Racers Edge merino wool products here.