Merino wool vs dryer
 

Hello, we are probably many to appreciate the washers and especially dryers during trips early spring or late fall. It's even more true when we ride a whole day in the rain.

Question: what are you doing with your Merino wool clothes ??? This wool, praised by critics, has a big flaw as much as me: it can not go into the dryer. Really not practical in cycling tourism. To such an extent that I wonder if I will use it! Do you develop tips for drying this type of clothing?

François
Rimouski
Québec

Well for me one of the big advantages of Merino wool is that it doesn’t require laundering as much as synthetics. I find that Merino base layers are much more resistant to getting stinky and I can get quite a number of days out of them before I have to wash.

It’s true that I’ll have to hang them up to dry, but they’ll normally dry overnight and I’ve always been able to manage to find a suitable place to do that.

But the only Merino items I’ll bring will be socks and base layers.

+ 1 to that
R&J

I try to use SmartWool, which is mostly dryer-safe. My base layer doesn't get much use, but it often goes with me whether I need it or not, and when the trip's over, all my clothes take a trip through the washer and dryer, and so far everything's held up fine. My Smartwool hat gets used through all the cold weather on my commute, and, as a result, it can get pretty sweaty at times, so I send it through the wash probably once a month or so during cooler weather. So far it's held up fine.

Agree with the others. Not having to use a dryer is a huge benefit.

Why not use a dryer? I use Devold Breeze all week and wash and put it in the dryer 2 times a week, no problem at all! Dont no about Icebreaker, but Devold is famous for the quality her in Norway.
https://www.devold.com/en-GB/

I sometimes put my merino wool items into a dryer, but pull them out before they are super-dry. For me I usually wash my merino wool items after 10 wear-days. I've never had any issues.

Are your wool items 50% nylon?

100% merino wool shrinks in the dryer, every brand. I thought I could dry my Icebreaker shirt half way in the dryer. I wore it a couple if times to see if it would stretch. I gave it to a skinny short girl, about half my weight.

78% wool socks can go in the dryer. Unless you enjoy giving away $80 shirts, keep them out of the dryer.


Do wear wool shirts on your bike tour. Do not wash them on a rainy day. The heat of your body will dry them as you cycle.

Try silk, it works, 1,000,000 chinese can not be wrong.

And yet ... my oldest merino wool top has been in more dryers than I can count, and still looks as good as when I got it back in 2004.

Go figure.

I wear Icebreaker (100% merino). I wash them cold-water-only and dry them using medium-low-heat in dryer AND pull them before they are super-dry. Shrinkage has not been an issue.

Yes I've also done the dry-on-body thing and it works...but prefer using a dryer on a wash day, while on tour.

Silk doesn't have the same anti-stink & warmth-when-wet attributes as wool --> not a substitute IMO.

Shrinkage!

I've tossed my 100% wool stuff in a dryer without harm. I always use the lowest heat setting available.

That said, unless you are in a cool damp environment, they should dry pretty quick without. The stuff that is 50/50 wool/synthetic I don't even bother with a dryer, it generally comes out of the spin cycle almost dry as is.

I normally dry all of my bike clothes on the line, or drape them inside to dry.


I've got one lightweight merino jersey (Ibex) that's stretched significantly from hanging. I was sufficiently desperate to try a dryer this last wash. Now I need to find the thing to see if it fits any better! (My other Ibex jerseys, all heavier, have not exhibited this problem.)

For some unknown reason, my wife mistook a merino wool sweater of mine for one of her non-wool tops and put it through the wash and dry. Now it fits like a tight base layer with short arms.

None of my clothes ever go in the drier, wool or otherwise. I'm currently on a long bike tour with several 100% Merino items and have not had any problem with finding a place to hang my stuff to dry after hand washing it.

Interesting topic. I did not know that about Merino. Granted I've only ever used the 75-78% wool socks. I wear them year round, pretty much around the clock as well...rarely do I not have Merino wool socks on. When on a bike trip I have always washed and dried them at the laundrymat and never thought a thing about it, and as some have said haven't had a bit of a problem. If I ever were to buy anything more pure Merino I'll have to remember this post.

Thanks!!!

Same here. I have a couple of Merino wool long sleeve tops. I dry them in our dryer along with most of my cycling clothes most of which are various synthetic materials that probably would not fare well if exposed to high dryer heat. I do them all on low heat (delicate on our dryer) either increase the tumble time or select the moisture sensor setting.

Laundromat dryers can be a bit expensive but do heavier wool items dry overnight in a chilly damp tent? OTOH if wool requires less frequent washing I suppose one can do the wash on a drier day. Anyway, the clothing care label tells if dryer is OK. I remember some sweater labels told to dry clean or hand wash & dry on a rack w/net.

Another merino lover here. I wear a merino t-shirt all of the time on tour. If it's cool out, I just put another shirt over it. It saves me having to wash the other shirt often, and I think I usually wash the merino about once per week. I dry it in the dryer if using a laundromat(I also hand wash it in campground sinks about half the time). Mine says it's dryer safe, though. Otherwise I hang it in the tent and it's either dry or mostly dry by morning, and finishes drying quickly once I put it on. Honestly, if I were just going based on smell, I don't even know how long I could wear it between washes. I don't know that it's ever started to smell. It's crazy. I've tried synthetics and they smell terribly after one day if I get warm. I'll basically take anything over synthetic.

I would recommend planetx(European bike website) as a good place to get cheap merino if you're trying it out for the first time. I would highly recommend avoiding Minus33 brand. I was a bit upset when I spent $70 on a shirt and it started developing several small holes after, probably, 5-10 wearings. Those quickly became large holes. I probably spent $10 per use on that stupid shirt before it was garbage.

Fair question that I don't know the answer to. I've been really lucky with great weather for pretty much my entire trip.

I mostly use synthetics, but some of my socks are wool. I always bring a clothesline but if I only have a few items I just hang them on whatever is handy.

Heh, maybe the brand name refers to user ratings not temperature? :lol: Some other folks mention merino durability problems, perhaps it's just the grade of wool used. My SmartWool socks seem to have held up pretty well.

I can second this. I've bought a few Merino things from Planet X and they've always been great value. Inexpensive and durable has been experience.

lol Unfortunately they have good reviews on Amazon. I actually did go back and look at them again after the shirt started falling apart, and notice basically all reviews are written upon receiving the shirt. No long term reviews. As for the durability issues, I could see that, but this was different. I've had other brands of merino. This is the first thing I've ever had that just started falling apart from normal, light use. I never even went camping or anything in the shirt. Just wearing as a day-to-day shirt.

This is my big issue with Amazon's product ratings. Most people write them when they first receive the product, and I think people are less likely to go back and change their review after using the product and discovering any issues.