Cheap Merino ?

[quietone]

This any use to folks ?

http://www.on-one.co.uk/c/q/clothing/clothes/merino?sort=disc-desc

just ordered

On-One Heavyweight Angora Wool Micro Fleece Bonded Hooded Jacket Black Large On-One Heavyweight Angora Wool Micro Fleece Bonded Hooded Jacket Black Large
CLOOHWAWHJ-BLK-L
1 @ £19.99
£19.99
On-One Merino Core Element Long Sleeve With Zip 200g Black Large On-One Merino Core Element Long Sleeve With Zip 200g Black Large
CLOOMCELS-BLK-L
1 @ £19.99

Seems like a good deal to me, though not had or know of anyone that has had on-one stuff? Worth a punt I think.

 

[GGTBod]

Thanks for sharing, 70 quid spent i hadn't planned to spend on a sunday morning but 320gsm merino base layers for 30 quid each are not to be sniffed at, on-one thicky merino socks are a bargain too so hoyed in a few pairs of them an all, cheers here's to a toasty winter on and off the wheels

 

[bushwacker bob]

Good shout, thank you.

 

[EdS]

No indication of the wool count. Could be quiet coarse wool.

Cheap merino isn't normally of the really top staples. For baselayer you ate looking for 18 - 20ug (Grade 80s if you prefer). Below thst is too and tears easily above that is too coarse to get the full benefit ( pretty much like very fine standard wool except less scales).

 

[MarkinLondon]

Is merino a soft wool? I'm always confused about wool... it can be so soft or so scratchy.

 

[TroubledTalent]

Scratchy wool tends to be mixed with other fibers. Merino is heavenly, and if you're prone to fungal warfare in sweaty areas you cant beat it.

Thanks for this link! I agree with GGTBod, This was an expensive morning >_<

 

[Toddy]

EdS right about the wool.
Scratchy is really the result of the quality of the individual wool used.

Scottish blackface for instance, it makes brilliant carpets, but it's a most uncomfortable jumper

Modern merinos, at the most basic level, are not the high end fibres of the highest quality; still make good clothing though. There are still superb merino wools available though

Three things make for high quality; the fineness of the fibres and the amount of crimp on them, and the amount of kemp in the fleece. Kemp is the straight, more hair like fibres that help shed the rain.

Merino were bred in Turkey and central Spain; they have almost no kemp in good fleeces.


M

 

[quietone]

Thanks for sharing, 70 quid spent i hadn't planned to spend on a sunday morning but 320gsm merino base layers for 30 quid each are not to be sniffed at, on-one thicky merino socks are a bargain too so hoyed in a few pairs of them an all, cheers here's to a toasty winter on and off the wheels

oops... sorry about the unforeseen Sunday spend, but glad you got a bargain too.

 

[quietone]

oh, while we're on the merino wagon, I totally forgot I ordered these from sportspursuit, from Devold. Boxers, and headover
I've received the boxers, very very nice. Wish I'd ordered more. Not sure if they have any left now. Only extra large left.
http://www.sportpursuit.com/catalog/product/view/id/521907

Apologies in advance of the inevitable spending.

http://www.sportpursuit.com/hiking?...eeve_Tshirts,Short_Sleeve_Tshirts&gender=Mens

 

[big_swede]

No indication of the wool count. Could be quiet coarse wool.

Cheap merino isn't normally of the really top staples. For baselayer you ate looking for 18 - 20ug (Grade 80s if you prefer). Below thst is too and tears easily above that is too coarse to get the full benefit ( pretty much like very fine standard wool except less scales).

Hahaha, wool count on a knit? Seriously?

It isn't just about quality it's about also ecology and ethics. If you buy a merino shirt at this price you will not only get the lowest end of quality, you will also get wool from animals muled and pumped with antibiotics (which effects all of us), the garment will probably be made by a contractor with no or virtualy no code of conduct regarding environment and work force. But hey, you got a cheap jumper. Great!

Also, in the OP the word angora was mentioned, why not have a look on youtube on how the get angora in china. Not for the sensitive.

 

[MarkinLondon]

So how, then is the good merino distinguished from the poorer quality when shopping online? Price? Brand reputation?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Toddy]

Okay, up front, I'm a fabric snob
I love high quality fabrics, and I accept that I have to pay the price for those high quality fabrics. So does big_swede.
Fabrics have always been expensive, but mechanisation and the global differences between first and third world economies give us in the first the opportunity to buy cheaply.
Thing is, sometimes our bargains mean that both animals and people suffer

How to get through the morass ?
With great difficulty, to be honest.

Not all angora is ripped from the rabbits; angora goats give beautiful fleece and carefully hand reared and combed rabbits do yield very high end fibres without horrendous cruelty.
That said, look at the state eider ducks end up in for the down trade too

Caveat emptor. Buyer beware. If more were aware then the companies that sell us fabrics, etc., wouldn't find it so easy. Then again, they'd just put up the prices, or slide round the rules some other way
They're in business to make money; how you spend your money is up to you.

British wool can be truly superb, and the animal care is among the as good as it gets, but it's comparatively expensive. So fewer folks were buying. That meant that our farmers were getting a pittance even for high quality fleece. To many it was too much bother when they got more for the lambs for meat.

Money's at the root of it all, and how we spend that money rules all of that.

If your budget will stretch then good for you a lot of folks are really watching the pennies and pounds though, and they can still enjoy quality on what they can afford.

The merino mixes from places like Lidl's and Aldi's are surprisingly good. They will do very well indeed for most folks. I have both those and merino tops that cost the better part of £100, and they all work. If I'm really cold, and not likely to get them filthy (archaeology, gardening, etc.,) then the good ones go on if I am likely to get them filthy and sweaty and mucky, then I wear the cheaper ones.
The expensive ones are finer, fit close without lycra, I think they're a bit softer, and I can't machine wash them.

There are companies out there who boast of their green credentials, and they're well worth discovering and even questioning

Maybe we could link to some we like ?

M

 

[Toddy]

Links; please add as you think best

http://www.wildfibres.co.uk/html/other_fibres.html

http://www.greenfibres.com/

http://www.hainsworth.co.uk/apparel/qualities/

http://www.patra.com/?gclid=CM_hlKmRp8ECFYXJtAodU1QAug

http://www.ecofibres.co.uk/catalog/index.php

M

 

[TroubledTalent]

Hahaha, wool count on a knit? Seriously?

It isn't just about quality it's about also ecology and ethics. If you buy a merino shirt at this price you will not only get the lowest end of quality, you will also get wool from animals muled and pumped with antibiotics (which effects all of us), the garment will probably be made by a contractor with no or virtualy no code of conduct regarding environment and work force. But hey, you got a cheap jumper. Great!

Also, in the OP the word angora was mentioned, why not have a look on youtube on how the get angora in china. Not for the sensitive.

Whilst I normally agree with this sentiment, Do bear in mind that these cheap articles are on offer, and their normal prices (around £40) reflect the usual cost of legitimate Merino wool clothing. However much I dislike shutting myself off to free-trade, Very little is not made by china these days, So really you must trust on the ethics of the company holding the brand if it isn't made in the EU.

 

[GGTBod]

I've bought On-one gear (tools, bike parts and technical cycling clothing) many times in the past and it is always of very high quality (my next cycle i buy will be an On-One Fatboy), the merino tops i bought today normally retail for £100 each and i have looked at them many times last winter as i wanted the 320gsm for my mid winter cycling but instead my budget only allowed me to go for the 200gsm at £40 each garment, if i'd had the spare dosh i'd have bought everyone one of those 320gsm tops they had left in my size, anyone out there who is also XL be thankful i wa skint enough to leave you some .

 

[EdS]

Wool count as in the Bradford wool count ( Bradford System / English worsted yarn count system ): the number of 560 yard hanks from a pound of tops.

Basically how fine the wool is. Predates the ability to readily measure microns.

 

[rik_uk3]

Thanks for the heads up, while it may not have a 'bushcraft' label on it I'm pretty sure it will do nicely for the UK.

 

[quietone]

Glad some have seen the heads up for what it is. I couldn't fathom where we would all be if we were to scrutinise the ethics of every single item in our lives.

 

[Dave]

Good call on these. I ordered the 160g long sleeved t shirt, and its very comfotable. So I ordered another.
I ordred a size up.

 

[GGTBod]

I concur my 320gsm merino long sleeve tops came and they are very luxurious and well made, if i had the dosh spare i'd buy a few more