[pct-l] Women Specific Resources

[Jim Marco]

Ann Marie,
	It sort of depends. About 10 years ago I got a light merino wool long sleeve shirt to check out cooling. It does indeed work and I used it till last year when it finally died. I tried to pull it on and but my fingers through the fabric. This was an Ibex super-ultralight with a stripe down the back, my "skunk" shirt. I got another, but they don't offer the "skunk" stripe anymore...can't say I'll miss it.

Up to about 80-90F with 80% humidity it works by wicking sweat better than any synthetic. This means that every drop of sweat will evaporate over a larger surface area than just your skin. Cotton does this too, but is much harder to dry. Wool has lanolin in the structure, basically an oil, so the fiber does not pick up as much water. It dries very quickly, I rinse it out in a lake and hang it at night, it was dry enough to wear by morning, even in a rain storm. It dries within a half hour when I stop at camp, just from body heat...drying as fast as my nylon pants.

	However, you cannot just put it on and expect it to be instantly cooler. When dry, it is warm, warmer per thickness than synthetics. It does almost double duty as an insulating layer, but, by slightly warming your skin, it will promote perspiration. After 10 minutes or so, it is cooler to have it on than not. Unlike cotton, where there is a long delay as it dries or wets, merino wool does both rather quickly while you wear it. All wool does this to some degree, the ultralight stuff does it very well. 
	Ultralight is the keynote, thicker will simply add an insulating layer over the wicking layer and take longer to dry.
	For some reason, it does not smell as bad after a week of hiking as a cotton or synthetic shirt. More like a wet dog than people stink. 

There are caveats.
In very high, ie 90-100% humidity, it doesn't help. It relies on wicking and evaporation to work.
In 100F temps while hiking, it gets overloaded. It works to the point of saturation, it can do no more than that. 
But these are sort-of variable, since it works in deserts with no humidity and 110F temps. Use your common sense.

I cannot comment about bras, or, underwear. Just not equipped for it.	
	My thoughts only . . .
		jdm
-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Ann Marie
Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2013 4:56 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Women Specific Resources

Lindsay,

Thanks for posting this interesting and informative link:
http://andrewskurka.com/2013/female-hygiene-guide-tips/
I'm curious how well the merino wool (icebreaker brand) underwear really work, since they are expensive. 

I use synthetic undies (the Jockey brand, Barely there) that dry super quick and go on sale quarterly at JC Penney and other major department stores, so they are easily and more inexpensively replaced when necessary.

The wool brand undies sound hot for the soCal desert, but this link says they are much more comfortable and dry better. True?  Worth the expense for a pair?

Does the same idea work for replacing a synthetic sports bra?

I personally wear black underwear and sports bra, since they can easily double as swimwear (after being washed first before diving into lakes or streams....!!!!  Please carry a little soap, folks!) _______________________________________________
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