Wool in the summer? It sounds counterintuitive, but ask any Icebreaker devotee and they’ll be quick to teach you the ways of the wool—New Zealand merino, to be exact. These are no ordinary sheep—the New Zealand merinos dwell in the Southern Alps, where temperatures can plummet to -20°C in the winter and soar to 35°C in the summer. Their fleece is therefore built accordingly—insulating in winter, yet lightweight and breathable in summer. Merino wool is also luxuriously soft. At an incredible 17- to 19-microns wide, the fibres are so fine that they do not irritate the skin.
With their athletic line firmly established, Icebreaker has been building their lifestyle collection. To many travellers’ delight, their pieces air dry quickly, bounce back into shape without ironing, and remain static free. And perhaps, the clincher: Icebreaker merino remains odor resistant for days, even weeks, at a time. “Cotton is made from plants. Plants get thirsty, and that’s why your cotton t-shirt remains damp when you sweat,” explains Réjean Roussy, store manager at the Icebreaker Touch Lab on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver. Wool, on the other hand, keeps you cool and dry by wicking moisture away from the skin to be evaporated.
And if you’re still in heat but not yet convinced, well, at least take comfort in knowing wool is the least flammable of fibres.
