Hey Pack Hacker Community! Tom - the founder here. How do you care for your Merino? Know of any Merino degrading-too-quickly horror stories? Gotta watch out for those bugs that love chomping on Merino! 😉
3 Questions: 1). When storing your merino clothing at home, is it the same as storing it while traveling (inside a plastic bag with a cedar block in it)? 2). For outdoor snow activities, wearing two merino wool socks (double layer on your feet) would be better than wearing just one pair? 3). For outdoor snow activities, what type of shoe/boot would you recommend? Thanks in advance! 🥰
FYI, neither cedar chips nor lavender sachets deter bugs. Kristine Kelly has a whole video on clothes moths that goes into this. Also, the moth larvae, silverfish, and other insects that eat wool don't live on the wool itself, they survive and are attracted to sweat and other bodily fluids. Clothes moths rarely eat clean wool. The best way to deter bugs is to keep your clothing clean.
A friend of mine did a backpack tour around the world. Among other things he took 4 merino shirts with him, and those are the only items of clothing he still has from that trip. He got rid of the majority of clothing items he picked up along the way. Back at home he put the shirts and socks in the freezer for two weeks to get rid of any "blind passengers" that might have hitched a ride, then washed them, and the shirts are still going strong.
I did the same and I've found merino wool shirts to be fragile, after a while, the backpack straps will wear down the material on the shoulders and cause holes
Hey! I've looked a bit through dr bronner's soap website, Castille soap has a ph of around 9. So it's more on the alkaline side. Maybe add a bit of citric acid? 🤔 EDIT: nevermind, apparently, doing so would cause the unsaponification of the soap (source : Lisa Bronner)😒
Cool video series ! I find a lot of overlaps between hiking trends & review and the digital nomad lifestyle. Icebreaker tech t lite comes to mind for both cases and I'm going to try it!
@jouwen lee: Wool and Prince has a sort of unnatural sheen to their button downs and are a little baggy. If you’re on the fluffy side and don’t mind sheen, then by all means try them out. My new favorite is Libertad Apparel button down shirts. They look like normal dress shirts and are cut slimmer if you’re not into the frumpy look. I’ve found they resist wrinkles much better as well. They only make merino dress shirts so they may be able to focus more effort into a better shirt. They’re both about the same price.
Hey Cutebw, we pack our merino clothes with cedar blocks that we've found works really well with keeping the critters away. (We do recommend though that you check with the country you wish to travel to in order to make sure treated wood is OK for you to bring along.) Hope this helps! - Rebecca
So dish soap is preferrable to regular multi-purpose laundry detergent, is that correct? Any other product that one will definitely find in any supermarket around the world you recommend?
Hey esuus - we recommend checking out our Merino Wool Guide here, which is full of care information and different soap suggestions packhacker.com/guide/merino-wool-travel-clothing/#care - hope this helps! Let us know if you have any more questions. 😊👍 - Rebecca
@@PackHacker Sorry, but there's no additional info on "available everywhere" products like dish soap, nor is there any info on whether dish soap is better than laundry detergent. That was a waste of time.
Hey esuus - the products mentioned in the guide are the best options for use with Merino wool because they're specifically designed for this fabric. If you can't get your hands on any of these Merino soaps, then look for a pH neutral soap instead. As long as the laundry detergent is not too strong and is dissolved before using, this will also work, but it's not as good for your garments as something like the Granger's Merino Wash will be. There's no specific dish soap that we've been able to find around the world, but as long as it has a neutral pH, it should work well. One reason why dish soap is preferable over laundry detergent is that you don't have to worry able dissolving the powder before washing (there's more info about this in our guide). Hope this helps! - Rebecca
Hey Ali_ReBORN - thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, we also recommend checking out the Scrubba Wash Bag ruclips.net/video/834LBMRqhuc/видео.html&lc=UgxkvPl6mNukgNi26jN4AaABAg - let us know what you think! 😊👍 - Rebecca
I’ve been using the stuff for about 20 years, every sort of piece you can imagine. Life is short. I recommend a simple approach: wash cold with typical laundry soap; we use eco ones and gentle mainstream ones. Just never a gnarly soap. I wash this stuff with other fabrics, same soap. High spin cycle. This is on a front loader; thankfully too-loaders are rare now. I dry on extra low heat, which is just a bit warm. Done. Seriously, there’s no need to do a bunch of special care moves. For moths, it’s only an issue when storing stuff for months at a time, like if you take off for the summer or something. I only had infestations when away for 4months at a time. Wash and freeze ketone stuff you buy used before using it. That’s it, rock and roll, no stress!
@@ChlorophyllCrusher thanks that’s what I’ve been doing, except I air dry on a drying rack. My base layers from meriwool have been holding up fine I’ve washed them like 7 times so far. I was probably overthinking it
Man im so dissapointed. U know how u and others say that merino wool regulates body temp and drys u? Well 4 a year iv been craving merino cas of wat ppl said and i bought a 70$ shirt from wool and prince expecting to feel those things ppl rave about and it turned out this whole time it was a scam. How sad so much money down the drain. I feel hot in merino wool and even wen ii sweat its still hot. If anyone is watching dont buy merino wool
Hey Loosee Monnn - Tom here. Sorry to hear it's not working out for you. Wool and Prince has a great return policy if that's a route you choose to take. What's the GSM of your shirt? Some brands offer a lower GSM, which equates to a thinner & more breathable shirt. For what it's worth, I wear Merino daily and really dig it! - Tom
I've purchased Wool & Prince for my husband & my dad & they Love them. You can't tell people not to buy just because it doesn't work for u. It hurt my head reading that.🤕 Spell check.
@@DB-xo6xh welp buy som 4 yoself and ull see that ull feel very hot despite false advertisment saying it regulated ur body temp..... plus i wouldnt be suprised if they said they loved it just so u would annoy them any further
hello I have purchased some Lush soap to clean our merino wool while travelling. Is it best to soap up a sink full of water with the bar soap before putting the merino wool items in ?
Hey Pack Hacker Community! Tom - the founder here. How do you care for your Merino? Know of any Merino degrading-too-quickly horror stories? Gotta watch out for those bugs that love chomping on Merino! 😉
3 Questions:
1). When storing your merino clothing at home, is it the same as storing it while traveling (inside a plastic bag with a cedar block in it)?
2). For outdoor snow activities, wearing two merino wool socks (double layer on your feet) would be better than wearing just one pair?
3). For outdoor snow activities, what type of shoe/boot would you recommend?
Thanks in advance! 🥰
FYI, neither cedar chips nor lavender sachets deter bugs. Kristine Kelly has a whole video on clothes moths that goes into this. Also, the moth larvae, silverfish, and other insects that eat wool don't live on the wool itself, they survive and are attracted to sweat and other bodily fluids. Clothes moths rarely eat clean wool. The best way to deter bugs is to keep your clothing clean.
I've used Eucalan for years for all my wool sweater and hand knit socks. It is simple to care for wool garments.
Really liked this series. Learned a lot about Merino Wool!
Glad you're finding it helpful KeepinIt350!
A friend of mine did a backpack tour around the world. Among other things he took 4 merino shirts with him, and those are the only items of clothing he still has from that trip. He got rid of the majority of clothing items he picked up along the way. Back at home he put the shirts and socks in the freezer for two weeks to get rid of any "blind passengers" that might have hitched a ride, then washed them, and the shirts are still going strong.
He put them in the freezer?
You mean he didn't wash it once in months of traveling?
What brand was he wearing btw
I did the same and I've found merino wool shirts to be fragile, after a while, the backpack straps will wear down the material on the shoulders and cause holes
@@sayuas4293 of course that'd happen
I avoid wearing them while backpacking
Hey! I've looked a bit through dr bronner's soap website, Castille soap has a ph of around 9. So it's more on the alkaline side. Maybe add a bit of citric acid? 🤔
EDIT: nevermind, apparently, doing so would cause the unsaponification of the soap (source : Lisa Bronner)😒
Thanks for warning us!
Cool video series ! I find a lot of overlaps between hiking trends & review and the digital nomad lifestyle. Icebreaker tech t lite comes to mind for both cases and I'm going to try it!
Indeed Takahashi! We're all about low maintenance clothing on the road.
- Tom
Absolutely. Both hikers and Onebaggers love Merino wool, Osprey packs, Darn Tough socks, PackTowls, etc.
No rise in clean water after the soapy soak?
Brilliant!
👍😊👍
- Rebecca
Hi. What was the name of that wood thing you put in the packing cube?
Here ya go Mike! packha.kr/rx0w
- Tom
Nice. I am getting more into Merino wool clothing. What’s the preferred brand for button down shirt? Wool & Prince?
@jouwen lee: Wool and Prince has a sort of unnatural sheen to their button downs and are a little baggy. If you’re on the fluffy side and don’t mind sheen, then by all means try them out. My new favorite is Libertad Apparel button down shirts. They look like normal dress shirts and are cut slimmer if you’re not into the frumpy look. I’ve found they resist wrinkles much better as well. They only make merino dress shirts so they may be able to focus more effort into a better shirt. They’re both about the same price.
NOMAP thanks for the information.
We haven't covered a ton of Merino button downs but have had great luck with Wool & Prince in durability, cut, and fit.
What about ticks, mosquitos, bed bugs. The bed bugs on clothes got to be washed in hot water and dryer on hot.
Hey Cutebw, we pack our merino clothes with cedar blocks that we've found works really well with keeping the critters away. (We do recommend though that you check with the country you wish to travel to in order to make sure treated wood is OK for you to bring along.) Hope this helps!
- Rebecca
@@PackHacker thank u.
👍👍👍
- Rebecca
Is Merino wool scratchy?
So dish soap is preferrable to regular multi-purpose laundry detergent, is that correct? Any other product that one will definitely find in any supermarket around the world you recommend?
Hey esuus - we recommend checking out our Merino Wool Guide here, which is full of care information and different soap suggestions packhacker.com/guide/merino-wool-travel-clothing/#care - hope this helps! Let us know if you have any more questions. 😊👍
- Rebecca
@@PackHacker Sorry, but there's no additional info on "available everywhere" products like dish soap, nor is there any info on whether dish soap is better than laundry detergent. That was a waste of time.
Hey esuus - the products mentioned in the guide are the best options for use with Merino wool because they're specifically designed for this fabric. If you can't get your hands on any of these Merino soaps, then look for a pH neutral soap instead. As long as the laundry detergent is not too strong and is dissolved before using, this will also work, but it's not as good for your garments as something like the Granger's Merino Wash will be.
There's no specific dish soap that we've been able to find around the world, but as long as it has a neutral pH, it should work well.
One reason why dish soap is preferable over laundry detergent is that you don't have to worry able dissolving the powder before washing (there's more info about this in our guide).
Hope this helps!
- Rebecca
Think I'll just stick to synthetics/ cotton. What a faff
Have fun carrying a big bag of dirty washing around
Why don't you rinse?
Wash your clothes on a bucket, tub or on the shower floor! A sink is not that hygienic!
Hey Ali_ReBORN - thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, we also recommend checking out the Scrubba Wash Bag ruclips.net/video/834LBMRqhuc/видео.html&lc=UgxkvPl6mNukgNi26jN4AaABAg - let us know what you think! 😊👍
- Rebecca
I’m really fucking annoyed trying to figure out how to wash my goddamn baselayers. People make this so complicated and freak out about washing it.
I’ve been using the stuff for about 20 years, every sort of piece you can imagine. Life is short. I recommend a simple approach: wash cold with typical laundry soap; we use eco ones and gentle mainstream ones. Just never a gnarly soap. I wash this stuff with other fabrics, same soap. High spin cycle. This is on a front loader; thankfully too-loaders are rare now. I dry on extra low heat, which is just a bit warm. Done. Seriously, there’s no need to do a bunch of special care moves. For moths, it’s only an issue when storing stuff for months at a time, like if you take off for the summer or something. I only had infestations when away for 4months at a time. Wash and freeze ketone stuff you buy used before using it. That’s it, rock and roll, no stress!
@@ChlorophyllCrusher thanks that’s what I’ve been doing, except I air dry on a drying rack. My base layers from meriwool have been holding up fine I’ve washed them like 7 times so far. I was probably overthinking it
@@asherray4969 perfect! I find there’s a lot of overkill recommendations out there concerning merino. Rock and roll!
Merino wool is not a delicate fibre. It’s many times stronger than cotton.
Man im so dissapointed. U know how u and others say that merino wool regulates body temp and drys u? Well 4 a year iv been craving merino cas of wat ppl said and i bought a 70$ shirt from wool and prince expecting to feel those things ppl rave about and it turned out this whole time it was a scam. How sad so much money down the drain. I feel hot in merino wool and even wen ii sweat its still hot. If anyone is watching dont buy merino wool
Hey Loosee Monnn - Tom here. Sorry to hear it's not working out for you. Wool and Prince has a great return policy if that's a route you choose to take. What's the GSM of your shirt? Some brands offer a lower GSM, which equates to a thinner & more breathable shirt.
For what it's worth, I wear Merino daily and really dig it!
- Tom
I've purchased Wool & Prince for my husband & my dad & they Love them. You can't tell people not to buy just because it doesn't work for u. It hurt my head reading that.🤕 Spell check.
@@DB-xo6xh welp buy som 4 yoself and ull see that ull feel very hot despite false advertisment saying it regulated ur body temp..... plus i wouldnt be suprised if they said they loved it just so u would annoy them any further
hello
I have purchased some Lush soap to clean our merino wool while travelling. Is it best to soap up a sink full of water with the bar soap before putting the merino wool items in ?
So you don’t rinse the soap?
Dawn dish soap is ph neutral and concentrated so a 3oz bottle goes a long way when using a few drops in a sink every few days
I just use baby shampoo to wash merino shirt