Benefits of Merino Wool Underwear
Merino wool underwear. To the uninitiated, it sounds like a terrible idea, right? Well, anyone that knows the benefits of quality lightweight merino wool can probably imagine how much of a good idea they are. All the benefits of merino in under dack form? Heck yeah.
This is why a merino wool boxer short and merino wool brief were the next cabs off the rank in our product range. Like with our merino t-shirts, we set out to make the best merino wool underwear.
Here are some of the benefits of merino wool underwear.
Merino Wool Underwear Are Really Breathable
Reality is, the human crotch tends to get sweaty. Wearing tight, non-breathable fabrics down there exasperated the problem. Doing physical activities like hiking, climbing, cycling, skiing, and running exasperates it further. So, when it comes to choosing a good pair of underwear, breathability should be high on the list.
Hence, merino wool underwear. Merino is really breathable. As Woolmark puts it: “[m]erino wool is one of the most breathable fibres. Wool fibres can absorb large quantities of moisture vapour then move it away to evaporate into the air.”
Image Credit: Woolmark
Which brings us to the next benefit…
Merino Wool Underwear Wicks Moisture Really Well
There’s nothing worse than soggy jocks. (Eek, it pained me to type that sentence. I could have probably put it more tastefully but a spade’s a spade.) Merino wicks that moisture away quick smart, meaning you feel more comfortable even in warm conditions.
Another benefit of the moisture wicking qualities of merino is you can wash ‘em and wear ‘em again quickly. Imagine you’re backpacking around Europe next (Northern Hemisphere) summer. You’re travelling light. You don’t want to have to carry a dozen pairs of undies or spend all your time at the laundromat—I remember backpacking around Germany a few years back and struggled to find laundromats or they were yonks away from my hotel. Wash your merino underwear in the basin, pop them on the shower rail, they’re dry in the morning. Can’t say the same about cotton.
If you've been cycling around Paris all day on the Vélib’—best bike share scheme I experienced in Europe—you'll welcome a quick dry material and the ability to spruce up your boxers in the hotel sink, need be.
And, of course, if you get soaked through in that downpour you can reasonably have some dry jocks after drying them in the tent or hut.
Merino Wool Underwear Are Odour Resistant
We hikers are a resilient lot—or are they just a bit grotty? The Overland Track with a couple of pairs of underwear and socks, one t-shirt… that’s pretty standard fare. Merino wool undies will stay fresher, longer. If they need a bit of refreshment, you can always give them a dunk in the stream—or go for a dip yourself with them on.
The Travers Sabine Track in New Zealand. A 5-7-day backcountry hike that takes you into—in my humble—some of the most stunning scenery in the whole of New Zealand. How many pairs of underwear would you normally pack, though? I get away with a couple of pairs of merino underwear.
Merino underwear teamed with a merino t-shirt makes for a fresh-as-a-daisy hiking fit on those long multi-day hikes or long days on the ski slopes.
Merino Wool Underwear Are Soft & Comfy AF
Who doesn’t want to be comfy in their dacks? We have designed our merino wool boxers and briefs to be super comfortable by using a beautiful blend of Australian merino wool, TENCEL™, and nylon and elastane (but not too much of these, to undo the benefits of the natural fibres).
To refer back to the ‘uninitiated’—there is a stigma, I suppose, to wool. Folks had an experience with wool when they were younger—maybe it was that scratchy school jumper—and it’s stuck with them. A wool t-shirt? Sure, maybe. But merino wool underwear? That’s a bridge too far. But it doesn’t need to be. Merino fabric downstairs—just as silky and soft and non-itchy as upstairs on your body.
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That’s our take on the top benefits of merino wool underwear. Why do you opt for merino undies?
Shop Australian made merino boxers and briefs.
