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Wool vs Polar Fleece

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 06:35:54 No.442262 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>442305 >>445445 >>447583 >>448683 >>449181

Hey guys, I've heard a lot about these two materials. Wool seems to be what people prefer, I think.
I'm trying to decide between these three -
1: the Swazi Nahanni (polar fleece)
2: Lester River Boreal shirt (100% wool)
3: SWANNDRI bush shirt (100% wool outer, "wool rich" lining)
Any comments / opinions / advice would be awesome

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 07:12:02 No.442275 Report

Quoted By: >>442285

I wear a wool base layer, then polar fleece over it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 07:46:28 No.442285 Report

Quoted By: >>442287

>>442275
What are the benefits of having polar fleece as an outer layer?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 07:49:51 No.442287 Report

Quoted By: >>442294

>>442285
I dunno, that's just what I do. It seems to work well enough in keeping me warm. I did some research a few years back on layering and forgot most of it, but stick with the stuff I got back then.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 07:59:30 No.442294 Report

Quoted By:

>>442287
just doing a quick bit of googling, some people like wool, but a lot choose a synthetic insulation layer, because it's warmer, drys quicker, and it lighter weight than wool. It's up to you what you want to use though. Don't get too technical about this shit.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 08:13:03 No.442305 Report

Quoted By: >>442308 >>442435

>>442262
Kiwi with the Nahanni here. There are arguments to be made either way.

Wool won't smell after weeks of wear and won't melt when exposed to fire. Wool absorbs water and the thicker it is the longer it takes to dry. Unlike cotton (lel) it retains some warmth when wet.

Polar fleece absorbs almost no water when wet and retains most of its insulating properties. I find polar fleece to be more durable, particularly when faced with a washing machine.

So that's basically why I choose the Nahanni and am very happy with it. Can answer questions on that specific garment.

The Lester River Boreal looks good but I've never had the chance to look at one IRL.

My father still owns and uses a Swanndri bush shirt like that pictured that he's had for decades, it smells like a wet dog when wet though. When he got his Swanndri they were still making them in NZ, they've since moved production offshore though, so his may not be an indicator of current quality.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 08:15:15 No.442308 Report

Quoted By:

>>442305
I would fucking love a nahanni, but almost $300 is too much for me. I'm considering sewing one myself.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 14:20:06 No.442412 Report

Quoted By: >>442437 >>442797 >>442803

IMO:
Merino baselayer
Fleece midlayer (as needed)
Puffy (as needed)
Softshell/Hardshell (depending on needs)

As much as wool companies would like you to believe otherwise, I'm pretty sure lofty fleece is warmer/weight than wool, and it certainly dries faster, making it a great midlayer.

Against skin, you arguably want something that dries well, but not tooo well, or you can get too cold too easily from evaporative cooling if you do happen to get wet. Also, I find merino nicer next to skin than plastic (fleece), and it doesn't stink as easily. Usually innawoods stink doesn't matter, but after a week or so even I can't stand the stink of my own synthetic clothes.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 15:49:30 No.442435 Report

Quoted By: >>442797

>>442305
>>442305
What temperature does it keep you warm at? Durability is always a massive plus for me.
Do the adjustable sleeve things get annoying? Does the hood zip come undone by itself?

Great info! Thank you heaps!

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 05 Jan 2015 15:51:27 No.442437 Report

Quoted By:

>>442412
So you think merino is good as a base layer, but as an outer, fleece? It's looking like the Nahanni is the better choice so far.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 06 Jan 2015 04:31:21 No.442797 Report

Quoted By:

>>442412
Agreed

>>442435
It's summer here so I've only had an opportunity to try it in alpine environments with a cold wind blowing. Nothing cold enough that I needed more than a couple of layers and didn't need a hardshell.

The adjustable sleeves are good. I leave the dome closure closed if I'm wearing it to the wrist, or unclip the domes to roll the sleeves up. I haven't had the hood zip come undone by itself and even if it did there is still a dome closure at either end of the zip holding the hood on.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 06 Jan 2015 05:00:21 No.442803 Report

Quoted By:

>>442412
this pretty much seems to be the general consensus.
You still have the people who will insist on wool everything though.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 06 Jan 2015 05:02:41 No.442806 Report

Quoted By: >>442816

why does it look like some sort of medieval tunic?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 06 Jan 2015 05:30:44 No.442816 Report

Quoted By: >>443412

>>442806
So it keeps your arse warm too. Tunics are bloody practical, it's a shame current fashion makes them unacceptable to wear for men.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 07 Jan 2015 01:57:08 No.443412 Report

Quoted By:

>>442816
That's why we wear them innawoods.
Nobody to see you.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 04:03:23 No.445445 Report

Quoted By: >>445446

>>442262
Come on guys, surely someone else has at least one of these products, or has had some experience with both materials.

Through my research it seems like a lot of outdoor "purists" think polar fleece is a gimmick, but that doesn't seem right to me.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 04:05:17 No.445446 Report

Quoted By:

>>445445
we pretty much unanimously agreed that polar fleece was a superior material for warmth, and wool was good for a base layer.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 04:23:30 No.445452 Report

Quoted By: >>445454

The only thing wool you need are wool socks.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 04:24:04 No.445453 Report

Quoted By:

Swanndri owner here. I own one like in the picture, have had a brief amount of experience wearing it, have never been innawoods with it.

It is cumbersome to take it on and off: if you want to be slipping in and out of your outer layer a lot then this could be a problem for you.

It keeps you warm but that which repels water also keeps your sweat inside. If you were hiking with this I imagine you could be quite soaked underneath. After wearing it out for a walk I would be surprised upon taking it off to find out how wet I became.

The wind can creep up underneath it.

There aren't any pockets to put your hands in. I think some of the Swanndri models do have pockets. I read of one guy that had the bottom of his bush shirt cut off and made into a pocket in the front.

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 04:24:29 No.445454 Report

Quoted By: >>445552

>>445452
>not wearing a merino wool sweater
top pleb

Anonymous

Anonymous Sat 10 Jan 2015 09:18:34 No.445552 Report

Quoted By:

>>445454
>not wearing a merino and possum fur blend jersey you got for a dollar in perfect condition at an op shop
Filthy plebian

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 00:27:32 No.447241 Report

Quoted By:

My two cents is that heavy fleece has shit breathability, which is extremely important during high activity in cold conditions. A buildup of moisture in your midlayers wastes heat and will cause bigtime evaporative cooling when you take it off.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO image.jpg, 110KiB, 720x540

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 00:55:53 No.447256 Report

Quoted By: >>447317 >>447570

Pretty sure it's 100% wool or close enough. £65 posted. Made to measure. Coming this week so I'll be testing it at the weekend.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO comfy_nahanni.jpg, 256KiB, 1000x750

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 02:20:21 No.447317 Report

Quoted By: >>447318 >>447570 >>448014 >>448583

>>447256
Noice m8.

Pic related is me wearing the the competition (the picture doesn't show it well but a cold wind was blowing rain horizontally into my face).

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 02:21:55 No.447318 Report

Quoted By: >>447321

>>447317
Are you on the set for Footrot Flats?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 02:27:40 No.447321 Report

Quoted By:

>>447318
lol yes

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 02:30:41 No.447323 Report

Quoted By: >>447325

>2015
>Not wearing Mylar EVERYTHING

Swazi shill

Swazi shill Tue 13 Jan 2015 02:33:11 No.447325 Report

Quoted By:

>>447323
Dupont shill plz go

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 10:39:57 No.447570 Report

Quoted By: >>447577 >>447989

>>447317
How do you like it? Any problems with it so far? Worth the near $300?

>>447256
Da fuq is this?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 11:07:55 No.447577 Report

Quoted By:

>>447570
It's a boreal shirt that only cost £65. Basically a clone. it's less than half the price and supporting an independent manufacturer. Also the guy tailor makes them, so you can have any cut. Search twodogs wool bush shirt.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 11:36:14 No.447580 Report

Quoted By: >>447581

I feel like this would be easy as piss to make. is there anything special about it that I'm not seeing? or is it just basically a 3/4 length shirt with some slits on the side made of nice materials?

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 11:40:03 No.447581 Report

Quoted By:

>>447580
There's an article I spotted somewhere which makes reference to how the guy that created Swanndri got the recipe for waterproofing wool out of some book and tweaked it.
I can't recall if it mentioned the name of the book but even that info is out there for you.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO 31593e.jpg, 224KiB, 980x650

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 11:53:22 No.447583 Report

Quoted By: >>447584 >>447593

>>442262
Wool, wool all the way!

Pic kinda related, just bought this wool set, cost an arm and half a leg but I'm pretty sure it was worth it. Can't wait to get /out/ with it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 11:58:42 No.447584 Report

Quoted By: >>447585

>>447583
Wool is objectively inferior as anything but a base layer.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:09:48 No.447585 Report

Quoted By: >>447592

>>447584
Depends on how and where you use it. With all the open fires I play with I wouldn't dare wear any synthetics as an outer layer. For hunting I've yet to find an equally functional fabric that is as quiet, I don't want my clothes to muffle out the sounds around me.

But if you're more of the gas cooker and dome tent type and like your meals in the form of ready-to-eat snack bars then that's another story. For my purposes wool works wonderfully.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:33:52 No.447592 Report

Quoted By:

>>447585
I've heard raw silk is very quiet. I'm not saying it's good by any other measure, I don't know.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:34:33 No.447593 Report

Quoted By: >>447595

>>447583
Is that the Fjällräven Forest Jacket No. 3? If it is, are you hapy with it? Been thinking about getting one for general scandinavian /out/ings.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:39:20 No.447595 Report

Quoted By:

>>447593
Not Fjällräven, this is a new suit from Finnish Varusteleka (the same people that made the big ass Skrama knife):

What really got my panties soaked is the fact that unlike all Fjällräven and other "big names" these aren't made in China. I've developed a soft spot for anything non-chinese/vietnamese/taiwanese/bangladeshian these past years.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:47:24 No.447597 Report

Quoted By: >>447600

https://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/sarma-m15-wool-jacket-deluxe-model/31558

>These are sewn in Estonia, Finlands Mexico
lel

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 12:50:35 No.447600 Report

Quoted By: >>447603

>>447597
>These are sewn in Estonia, Finlands Mexico
It's very true :D
Biggest difference is the estonians are pretty decent people and not sleepy or killing each other all the time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 13 Jan 2015 13:11:21 No.447603 Report

Quoted By:

>>447600
Estonia, all the benefits of Mexico but with none of drug wars or siestas!

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 03:47:56 No.447989 Report

Quoted By:

>>447570
It's great. Incredibly warm and very windproof. Probably too warm for high energy activities unless it's below freezing. I don't wear it while hiking but put it on when I stop (which can be for long periods if I'm taking photos) so I don't get cold. It's really been designed for hunting and I expect it'd be perfect for that.

As for value: I shopped around before buying this. Most stores stock fleece tops that are one third the price but only one third the weight of fleece and don't have hoods or a long cut. Also this is made in a first world country by people earning at least minimum wage ($14.25/hr) which is a practice I don't mind supporting.

tl;dr I am happy with it because it suits my use case.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 04:31:28 No.448014 Report

Quoted By:

>>447317
You look like Link.

That being said, 10/10 would wear.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IMG_20150114_1.png, 1MiB, 847x639

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 06:28:51 No.448074 Report

Quoted By: >>448087

If its really cold weather I use a Arcteryx Atom LT with my homemade wool hoodie my GF made for me from a WW2 blanket over top. If its insanely cold I toss on a down layer between the two.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 06:42:13 No.448087 Report

Quoted By: >>448097

>>448074
You better watch out for the local militia if you're amerifag, brother Hassam-al-Abdi.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IMG_20150114_2.png, 1MiB, 675x1200

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 07:04:18 No.448097 Report

Quoted By: >>448256

>>448087
I go deep innawoods (I live an hour away from town) So I hardly see anyone, and the people I do run into know me from being in the woods so much, and they're mostly drunk and or good people. (we even exchange home grown canned food) But for the most part I have an AK or AR with me plus my EDC and all my friends do the same.

Anonymous

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 18:16:33 No.448256 Report

Quoted By: >>448332

>>448097
>But for the most part I have an AK or AR with me plus my EDC and all my friends do the same.
Pics now! I want to see your talibanized /out/ kit!

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO bags.jpg, 331KiB, 941x950

Anonymous Wed 14 Jan 2015 20:42:32 No.448332 Report

Quoted By: >>448586

>>448256
Its not really a durka durka kit. lol.Wool keeps its heating value even when wet, and shemaghs keep the chill off and can be used for making char cloth. I manly use them when the weather is bad or if Im bushcrafting and sleeping in what ever shelter I build.
The messenger bag is my bushcraft kit, The Maxpedition is my kit for my ATVs, The Eberlestock is my main bag since it has a weapons carrier, The North Face pack is my deep winter/extended stay bag, and the duffle bag is a supply system I have incase I have to bug out in vehicles or ATVs to our bug out locations innawoods such as heated school buses, sheds, and our coms towers.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 05:43:12 No.448583 Report

Quoted By: >>448855

>>447317
>short shorts with gaiters
>fucking medieval tunic
top tier fit m7, would wear

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 05:47:13 No.448586 Report

Quoted By: >>448632

>>448332
Hey, I remember you. You posted the same bag picture in some other thread.
Irrelevant, but hey dood

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IMG_20150115_1.png, 2MiB, 675x1200

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 07:12:24 No.448632 Report

Quoted By: >>448634

>>448586
Thats me! Howdy, friend.
>Down jacket plus 5 inches of snow is a no.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 07:20:54 No.448634 Report

Quoted By: >>448644

>>448632
It's fine if you put a shell over it, in which case you'll be super toasty and dry. I have a German surplus Goretex jacket which is normally 1 size too big, but fits perfectly over my down jacket (I ordered the wrong size and can't be bothered selling it).

Is pretty comfy in snow.

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO snowww.jpg, 144KiB, 845x639

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 07:30:00 No.448644 Report

Quoted By: >>448678 >>448679

>>448634
What hurts me about buying a good hard shell is thee sizing. I only use my larger down jackets when it gets into the teens or below, so it seems like a waste of money to have a insanely large hard shell that I would only use once. All my Arcteryx stuff is extra large, but my down stuff is just so thick.
Was thinking about making a winter dedicated wool poncho that could double up as a blanket.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 11:24:48 No.448678 Report

Quoted By: >>448679 >>448850

>>448644
You could just do what I accidentally did and buy a milsurp shell that's 1 size up. Since it's just snow and not rain it should perform fine with a bit of retreating with DWR and keep you warm and dry.

And just for the record I do have a good hardshell now that I can afford not-surplus. But my old flecktarn one performed well for what I paid and kept me dry walking home from my shitty fast food job until I could upgrade my job and jacket. Endrant

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 11:31:16 No.448679 Report

Quoted By: >>448686 >>448850

>>448644
>>448678
Let's move somewhere cold as balls so we can wear our gear all the time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 11:51:12 No.448683 Report

Quoted By:

>>442262
Real men don't wear protection. My lungs are well adapted to handle pneumonia, let the natural selection takes it course.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 12:07:53 No.448686 Report

Quoted By: >>448696

>>448679
Let's make /out/land. I'm sure North Russia could spare the land. Just hunting and hiking all day everyday.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 12:36:44 No.448696 Report

Quoted By:

>>448686
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_People:_A_Year_in_the_Taiga

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO IMG_4349.jpg, 404KiB, 1440x1440

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 20:03:11 No.448850 Report

Quoted By:

>>448678
I may have to check that out. I like milsurp, I just have a odd thing about checking something out in person before buying it. Congrats on the upgrade btw!

>>448679
I would love to find a place thats like fall in the south 24/7 with a bit of snow tossed in. But summer is awful nice here.
>Pic related.

Anonymous

Anonymous Thu 15 Jan 2015 20:09:36 No.448855 Report

Quoted By:

>>448583

Everyone wears shorts and gaiters /out/ in NZ

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 16 Jan 2015 05:04:16 No.449181 Report

Quoted By: >>449188 >>449225

>>442262
Why sped this much on a softshell outer layer?
Is it a gearfag thing about appearance?
I'm sincerely wondering: I've always been a poorfag slavaboo, but this is really baffling to me.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 16 Jan 2015 05:22:43 No.449188 Report

Quoted By: >>449225

>>449181
There are many reasons why people spend this much on one garment:
- Spending so much time /out/ that you wear it really often.
- Wanting something that'll last a long time.
- Not wanting to compromise on quality.
- Wanting something that you can rely on should things go wrong while in the middle of nowhere.
- Wanting something made for your exact use case.
- Having too much money.
- Genuinely being a gearfag.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 16 Jan 2015 07:41:13 No.449225 Report

Quoted By:

>>449188
>>449181

OP here.
For me, it's every one of those reasons..

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