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Input wanted - wool outerwear- thinking of making the move this year

Quandary

Out on the slopes
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Mar 27, 2020
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Colorado & Wisconsin
I recently bought the Black Diamond Boundary Line insulated jacket. BD is making this product line with wool liners in strategic places, shell is BD.dry soft shell. The jacket is very nice. First insulated jacket I have had in many years. The wool liner put me over the top. My son just picked up an Ortovox wool lined (50% off and still over $300!).
 

fatbob

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Nov 12, 2015
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Hmm - a lot of these offerings start to feel like the bearded hipster of the outdoor world - you can almost hear the fixie wheel getting pedalled. I'm certainly not sold on wool outerwear alone given I like to recreate in mixed climates. Ventile cotton has been used effectively as an outerwear solution and I can see a lot can still be said for wool as a breathable but insulating liner. For me outerwear as shell only with a hybrid belay jacket - neither full puffy nor softshell works pretty well.
 

Wasatchman

over the hill
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Nov 9, 2017
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Wasatch and NZ
Hmm - a lot of these offerings start to feel like the bearded hipster of the outdoor world - you can almost hear the fixie wheel getting pedalled. I'm certainly not sold on wool outerwear alone given I like to recreate in mixed climates. Ventile cotton has been used effectively as an outerwear solution and I can see a lot can still be said for wool as a breathable but insulating liner. For me outerwear as shell only with a hybrid belay jacket - neither full puffy nor softshell works pretty well.
Wool does seem to have a bit of a hipster thing going for it at the moment. I think merino wool is great for certain uses. Socks obviously. But base layers, etc. Love the wool t-shirts as well.

Gotta hype up that NZ merino wool given I am a resident of the country.

Try that merino wool if you haven't, it might change your life!!! It sure changed mine (okay, kind of).
 
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x10003q

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Nov 19, 2015
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NYC Metro
During the 1980s in VT and upstate NY, it was common to see people skiing in heavy wool pants. I skied in a pair LLBean Maine Guide pants.

20200701_173041 wool pants.jpg


I usually had some heavy long johns on under the pants. They were warmer than jeans:ogbiggrin:. You could ski them in any cold weather short of a blizzard. I still have them and they still fit. I also have a newer pair from LLBean. The material is not as heavy as my old pair.
20200701_170748.jpg
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
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Oct 8, 2017
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New Zealand
NZ = sheep country....skiers in woollen outerwear = 0. Just too wet here. Max waterproof hardshells here all the way.

Merino base layers, mid layers, socks, beanies, neck warmers, glove liners, insulation, in fact everything you can think of other than outer layers, yep (my single favourite item - Icebreaker underwear). High end merino is so ubiquitous here the hipster-fixie crowd have had to move on to other things.
 

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