Greatest Wool Operating Attire of 2024 – iRunFar

As runners, we hardly ever keep away from uncomfortable situations, so we will need to have good clothes. For many people, it means having the perfect wool operating attire in our closets. Because the saying goes, “There’s no unhealthy climate, solely unhealthy clothes.” One materials that may be counted on to maintain you comfy from moist to dry, chilly to sizzling, and all the pieces in between is wool. Whereas wool is commonly thought of for cold-weather consolation, it’s way more versatile than simply getting used for a comfy sweater. Corporations make all kinds of operating clothes from wool, together with shirts, shorts, socks, neck gaiters, hats, and gloves.

We took an array of wool operating gadgets in numerous climate situations, from warmth to rain to snow to chilly mornings, to check their heat, breathability, sturdiness, and luxury. Our testing came about from the deserts of Utah to the mountains of Colorado to the house of merino wool in New Zealand to search out as many environmental situations as doable.

This information shares our favourite wool gadgets to maintain you shifting in the perfect and worst situations Mom Nature can create. You possibly can learn extra about why iRunFar workforce members select wool, our testing methodology, and regularly requested questions on wool under.

Greatest Wool Operating Attire

Previously referred to as the Merino 150 Base Layer, the Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer is a flexible layer that many on the iRunFar workforce have thought of the perfect merino wool base layer for operating for years. This light-weight long-sleeve shirt works nice as a standalone shirt, over a short-sleeve shirt for added heat, or as a layering piece on chilly days. The fabric is 88% merino wool fiber wrapped round a nylon core to extend sturdiness whereas sustaining its softness and temperature- and moisture-regulating properties.

This prime is out there as a crew neck and quarter-zip, the latter of which was a prime choose in our greatest cold-weather operating gear information. With a number of colours obtainable, having a number of of those long-sleeve shirts in your closet is simple. They have been a favourite prime for our testers’ chilly runs, informal put on, and journey. We discovered it performs exceptionally properly on chilly and moist days as a layer underneath a vest or rain jacket to take care of dryness and heat with out overheating. It has additionally remained stink-free on some lengthy operating and mountaineering days.

Try our in-depth Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer Lengthy Sleeve evaluation.

Store the Males’s Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer Lengthy SleeveStore the Ladies’s Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer Lengthy Sleeve

The Smartwool Basic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew, previously referred to as the Merino 250 Base Layer, is a 100% merino wool long-sleeve shirt designed to maintain you toasty heat in chilly situations. Accessible in a crew neck and quarter-zip, this thermal merino base layer is designed for a slim match for next-to-body heat and ease of motion. The flatlock seams and shoulder panels cut back strain factors underneath a pack and forestall chafing.

This layer will not be for individuals who run sizzling — it’s considerably hotter than the Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer we reviewed above. For many who want the added heat, this versatile piece will be worn as an outer layer by itself or underneath a jacket or shell in moist or snowy climate. This base layer can also be nice as a journey or tenting shirt in chilly climate as it’s good and gentle and resists odor, although we suggest sizing up for extra informal put on.

Store the Males’s Smartwool Basic Thermal Merino Base Layer CrewStore the Ladies’s Smartwool Basic Thermal Merino Base Layer

The Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick Sleeve T-Shirt stood out from different wool-blend shirts on account of its match minimize and extremely skinny materials that saved us cool throughout sizzling runs. The shirt is produced from two wool knits, with a entrance mesh panel to extend air flow and breathability. In a number of the colorways, this mesh panel is a unique colour from the remainder of the shirt, including some model to it. The remainder of the shirt is produced from the model’s Cool-Lite cloth, which we’ve discovered to be one of many thinnest wool-blend choices on the market. Manufactured from 60% Lyocell and 40% merino wool, it’s an excellent mix for benefiting from all the benefits of wool whereas nonetheless staying stretchy and sturdy. We examined this shir on loads of overgrown trails and have but to search out a difficulty with its sturdiness. The offset shoulder seams will help to cut back friction should you’re sporting a pack.

As with most wool merchandise, we might put on this shirt a number of instances with out it choosing up a stink, and it dried rapidly after fast rinses in creeks.

Our feminine testers appreciated the match of this shirt. Whereas many different shirt choices have a extra boxy minimize, this one was extra form-fitting with out being tight. It’s a superb choice for a base layer, because it’s straightforward so as to add extra layers on prime for extra heat. With solely black and vibrant pink colorways for girls, we might have appreciated extra colour choices.

Store the Males’s Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick-Sleeve T-ShirtStore the Ladies’s Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick-Sleeve T-Shirt

Wool aficionados will love the gentle and comfy wool liner of the Ibex Springbok Quick. It’s not simply the liner that made us fall in love with these shorts; the entire bundle of a classy minimize, a 3.5-inch inseam, and breathable materials set it aside from different choices. These rapidly turned one among our tester’s favourite shorts, and never simply within the wool class.

The wool liner is product of a mix of merino wool and Tencel and is extremely gentle towards the pores and skin. Tencel is derived from eucalyptus and, when blended with wool and wrapped round a nylon core, creates a stretchy and sturdy materials. We had no points with chafing, even after hours of operating in sizzling and humid situations. True to wool, these shorts received rather a lot much less smelly than their non-wool counterparts. The minimize is comparatively tight for a loose-fitting pair of shorts, and whereas Ibex recommends sizing up for a looser match, we discovered them to suit comparatively true to measurement.

The shorts have a small inside pocket, nevertheless it doesn’t have a zipper and is sufficiently small that we wouldn’t essentially belief it with an merchandise we actually didn’t need to lose, like a set of keys.

Store the Males’s Ibex Springbok QuickStore the Ladies’s Ibex Springbok Quick

Whereas heavier than almost some other bra we’ve examined and gradual to dry, the Smartwool Intraknit Racerback Bra has sufficient going for it to make it the bra we usually flip to for both cold-weather or multiday outings and one that always is on the prime of the pile for extra regular runs as properly. The fabric is little doubt thick and covers numerous the higher physique, nevertheless it gives a excessive degree of help, and we haven’t had any points with chafing. This bra runs heat, so it’s not a superb choice for decent climate runs except you propose on operating with out a shirt.

The racerback model distributes weight evenly round your again, and the straps don’t dig into your shoulders in any respect. Whereas Smartwool markets this bra for low-impact actions, we discovered it gives sufficient help for operating, even after a number of days of steady put on. Our tester took it on a number of week-long fastpacking journeys and didn’t expertise any vital stretch over that interval. The bra comes with detachable cups so you may alter the extent of help offered. There’s additionally a small again pocket that may very well be used to retailer small gadgets like a key or a gel, nevertheless it’s too small for a lot else.

This bra is product of a number of supplies, together with Tencel, nylon, and merino wool. Whereas the Tencel theoretically quickens drying time, this bra took for much longer to dry than almost some other piece of our operating wardrobe. It’s additionally extremely heavy when moist. Whereas the drying time is a mark towards this bra, the damp wool didn’t really feel chilly towards our pores and skin. Due to the thickness and heat of this bra, we named it our best choice in our greatest cold-weather operating gear information.

Smartwool recommends sizing up with this bra should you’re on the fence between sizes.

Store the Smartwool Intraknit Racerback Bra

The Darn Powerful Stride Micro Crew Extremely-Light-weight Sock is a fan favourite on account of its low-bulk seamless match. We discovered them to be the perfect wool operating socks on account of their merino wool mix materials that retains ft dry, comfy, and blister-free mile after mile. Mild arch help eliminates bunching and shifting as you progress. These operating socks are bolstered on the heel and sides to enhance sturdiness for long-lasting consolation. With a six-inch cuff, this sock can defend your ankles from trailside vegetation and rocks.

Darn Powerful is a family-owned firm you may be ok with procuring with. Their merino wool is 100% Accountable Wool Normal licensed, and all Darn Powerful socks are made within the USA of their mill in Vermont. If any sturdiness issues come up, Darn Powerful socks are assured for all times — merely return the socks in query, and they’ll change them underneath guarantee.

Try our greatest operating socks article for a few of our favourite operating socks.

Store the Ladies’s Darn Powerful Stride Micro Crew Extremely-Light-weight SockStore the Males’s Darn Powerful Stride Micro Crew Extremely-Light-weight Sock

The Smartwool Athlete Version Run Crew Socks are frivolously cushioned merino wool-blend socks that basically stand as much as the distances and terrain path runners topic them to. The design combines areas of additional sturdiness and cushion with mesh zones to boost breathability, maintaining ft dry and comfortable. The upper crew-length cuff protects ankles and decrease legs from sticks, rocks, and different path particles that will in any other case go away us scraped and scratched.

They have been featured because the runner-up in our greatest operating socks information, and our workforce discovered them to carry out properly in a wide range of climate and terrain situations. As one tester mentioned, their ft felt “cradled and comfy” by these socks. These socks are available in a wide range of enjoyable designs that change recurrently.

Store the Ladies’s Smartwool Athlete Version Run Crew SocksStore the Males’s Smartwool Athlete Version Run Crew Socks

The identify Buff has turn into almost synonymous with neck gaiters, so it’s no shock our favourite neck gaiter is from the corporate that has saved many a runner’s neck heat for years. The Buff Merino Light-weight Neckwear is gentle, wind resistant, semi-seamless, and 100% merino wool.

This mild but toasty layer is breathable and dries rapidly, utilizing wool’s capacity to take care of heat and assist with temperature regulation even when damp. You too can use this neck gaiter as a hat, headband, face cowl, and ear hotter.

Store the Buff Merino Light-weight Neckwear

The REI Co-op Merino Wool Liner Gloves 2.0 are an awesome light-weight pair of gloves for cold however not chilly runs. They’re extra unfastened becoming than many different choices, making them straightforward to get on and off. A little bit of spandex underneath the wrist retains the heat in, and the gloves safe on the hand. We liked them as a standalone layer for cool mornings and as a liner glove underneath a water-proof mitt for colder situations. They’re made of fifty% merino wool and 50% recycled polyester, so they preserve all the optimistic qualities of wool whereas nonetheless being stretchy and sturdy. Throughout testing, these gloves got here alongside on loads of runs that concerned scrambling, and so they’ve held as much as repeated contact with sharp rock.

To assist maintain monitor of your gloves, a small clip will maintain them collectively when not worn, and a small loop makes them straightforward to connect to a pack. Whereas no gloves have really impressed us with their touch-screen compatibility, these are comparatively purposeful. We might get most cellphone features to work with out taking them off.

These gloves are comparatively skinny, so that you’ll need one other layer to placed on prime of them when temperatures actually dive.

REI Co-op Merino Wool Liner Gloves 2.0

The Smartwool Energetic Beanie, previously referred to as the Merino Sport 150 Beanie, is a modern, light-weight beanie that gives further heat and safety on chilly runs with out being itchy or cumbersome. The beanie’s mixture of merino wool and polyester gives the temperature and moisture administration of wool with some stretch and quick drying instances.

You possibly can simply put on this beanie underneath a helmet, and it’s straightforward to hold in a pack or pocket as a just-in-case layer. The Smartwool Energetic Beanie was additionally a prime choose in our greatest chilly climate operating gear information.

Store the Smartwool Energetic Beanie

If you’d like visor safety, light-weight heat, and a built-in ear band, the Buff Pack Merino Fleece Cap is for you! One other choose in our greatest chilly climate operating gear information, this hat has a singular design that checks many packing containers for chilly climate operating. Say goodbye to an ear band or beanie piled on prime of your brimmed hat — this hat does all of it and stuffs away in your pocket once you don’t want it.

This light-weight, packable operating hat has a baseball hat-style brim with a merino wool cap to mix face and eye safety from the solar with breathable heat. The earband will be pulled down for added heat and protection in colder situations.

Store the Buff Pack Merino Fleece Cap

Why the iRunFar Crew Chooses Wool for Operating

Advantages of Wool Attire for Operating

Wool is a massively common materials for operating clothes. It’s identified for having excellent temperature- and moisture-regulating capabilities with its distinctive capacity to move moisture out of your pores and skin as a vapor as an alternative of permitting it to show into droplets. As well as, merino wool has a number of different options that make it a best choice amongst efficiency materials. Merino wool is inherently odor-resistant, making it an ideal selection for multiday adventures, fastpacking, journey, or simply skipping a laundry day right here and there. We discovered that we might put on the Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick Sleeve T-Shirt seemingly indefinitely with out it choosing up a scent. Additionally it is an awesome layering materials, with many firms making gadgets of various weights to accommodate a variety of temperature situations. Wool additionally has the good thing about being heat when moist. Whereas cotton and different supplies can result in a harmful scenario in the event that they get moist when it’s chilly out, wool will proceed to offer insulation even should you’ve sweat closely or gotten caught out in a storm with out a rain jacket.

Wool clothes is a superb choice for each warm- and cold-weather operating. Within the warmth, wool will rapidly wick moisture away out of your pores and skin and funky your physique because the moisture evaporates. Within the chilly, wool gives a excessive degree of insulation. Wool clothes can are available in varied thicknesses and is a superb choice for including and subtracting layers as a run effort or the ambient temperature modifications. Our favourite wool bra, the Smartwool Intraknit Racerback Bra, is right for cold-weather operating.

Moisture-Wicking Properties of Wool

Merino clothes works its magic by trapping air to offer insulation whereas transporting moisture away out of your pores and skin, maintaining your physique at a steady temperature. Not like artificial fibers that wick giant moisture droplets away out of your physique, merino wool is porous and permits moisture vapor from sweat to flee earlier than it turns into liquid droplets, eliminating the moist, clammy, soaked-in-sweat feeling throughout and after a run. Wool can take in a 3rd of its weight in moisture, eradicating it out of your pores and skin and permitting it to evaporate earlier than the fabric will even begin to really feel damp. The light-weight materials of the Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer will maintain you heat and comfy even should you begin to sweat via it.

Advances in Wool Clothes

Trendy-day wool clothes is nothing just like the thick and itchy sweaters that many affiliate with Ugly Sweater Events and the wool turtlenecks of the previous. Wool operating attire is made virtually completely of merino wool, sourced from merino sheep which can be tailored to stay in each highly regarded and really chilly temperatures. Their fibers are a lot softer and will be made into lighter items of clothes than different varieties of wool. Whereas prior to now, wool has been completely related to cold-weather runs, many firms are making shirts, shirts, sports activities bras, and underwear that may be worn all through an enormous temperature vary, together with in excessive warmth. And for these winter runs when you have to keep heat, trendy wool clothes, just like the Smartwool Basic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew, can even maintain you heat and dry.

Wool Blends

When selecting between the perfect merino wool operating shirts, you have to think about the fabric mix of a bit of attire. Clothes gadgets geared towards heat climate actions will usually mix merino wool with one other materials, resembling Tencel, nylon, or polyester, to make them lighter and dry faster. Most lighter items of wool clothes may have decrease percentages of wool than these designed to be insulating layers. The light-weight Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer, which will be worn comfortably in hotter temperatures, is product of 88% merino wool, whereas the Smartwool Basic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew, which is a a lot hotter layer that we frequently use as an additional layer, is 100% merino wool. The upper the wool share in a mix, the extra insulating the fabric might be.

Wool Sources

Once we discuss wool for athletic efficiency clothes, we’re speaking about merino wool. Merino wool is a fiber grown by merino sheep, that are a rugged breed that developed to face up to excessive temperatures in mountainous terrain. Merino sheep are mostly raised in Australia and New Zealand, the place they’ll stand up to temperatures from 5 to 90 levels Fahrenheit with their heat but light-weight and breathable fleece. This fleece creates a effective, light-weight fiber that’s a lot softer and extra breathable than conventional wool — so that you gained’t really feel like you’re operating round in an itchy turtleneck.

Merino wool is a biodegradable and environmentally pleasant materials. All the businesses featured on this information supply their wool from humanely raised, ethically sourced, non-mulesed sheep — so you may really feel comfy about investing in merchandise which can be good for the setting, good for the animals, and good for you!

Why You Ought to Belief Us

The iRunFar workforce has been operating in several types of clothes for many years. We’ve run in all the pieces from cotton socks to shirts produced from totally artificial supplies, and the fabric many people maintain coming again to is wool. A few of our testers, particularly these susceptible to partaking in multiday fastpacking journeys or lengthy street journeys the place laundry doesn’t get completed recurrently, will flip their noses up at something not product of wool and have assembled operating wardrobes consisting totally of wool or wool-blend items of clothes.

Some gadgets on this information have been in our testers’ wardrobes for years, getting changed repeatedly as shirts and socks get worn out, and a few gadgets have been new to everybody. We took a wide range of wool items out within the deserts and mountains of the American West, the mountains of Oregon, and the numerous and infrequently moist terrain of New Zealand to check them for consolation, sturdiness, breathability, and doubtlessly, most significantly, the stink issue. Many gadgets that made it into this information have been used on a number of multiday outings to watch tips on how to carry out after a number of days of steady put on. One of many greatest attracts of wool clothes is its capacity to keep off smells, and we needed to verify we might put on any gadgets we suggest a number of instances with out them creating a stench.

Often Requested Questions on Wool Attire for Operating

Is wool higher than artificial supplies?

Whereas wool and artificial supplies can do an distinctive job wicking moisture from the pores and skin, wool has the additional advantage of not getting smelly as quick. We’ve all skilled the stench of an artificial shirt after a sizzling run, and wool can maintain the scent to a minimal. Wool attire is a superb choice for street journeys the place you need to have the ability to re-wear the identical shirt a number of instances between laundry classes, lengthy journey days, and fastpacking journeys the place you don’t need to drive your accomplice out of the tent with the scent of your clothes.

Due to the distinctive moisture-wicking properties of wool, it stays dryer than many manmade choices. Due to its materials properties, it removes moisture from the pores and skin as a vapor as an alternative of permitting it to kind into droplets earlier than being depraved away. This inherently retains the fabric dryer, and it’s uncommon to really feel clammy in a wool shirt after a run. Wool is a superb choice for socks due to this as properly. One of the best wool operating socks, just like the Darn Powerful Stride Micro Crew Extremely-Light-weight Sock, can maintain your ft dry and comfy in each the warmth and the chilly. Wool may present insulation, even when it’s moist, which is vital should you’ve sweat via your clothes or run via a rain storm.

Is wool an environmentally pleasant materials?

In some ways, wool is a renewable and environmentally pleasant materials. Because it grows on sheep constantly and will be harvested recurrently, it may be thought of sustainable in some ways because it doesn’t immediately use non-renewable supplies. Nonetheless, elevating sheep on land has environmental impacts, together with environmental degradation and animal waste. Animal rights additionally must be thought of. All of the gadgets on this information are produced from wool that comes from humanely raised, ethically sourced, non-mulesed sheep, so you may be ok with sporting them. A number of gadgets, just like the REI Co-op Merino Wool Liner Gloves 2.0, even have recycled polyester in them.

Is wool operating attire sturdy?

If there’s a main draw back to wool attire, it lies in its sturdiness. Wool tends to be much less sturdy than artificial supplies, together with polyester and nylon and will be susceptible to tears and rips that run.

A number of elements can have an effect on the sturdiness of a bit of attire. Wool clothes can are available in varied weights, and their thickness impacts their sturdiness. The material density of a bit of clothes additionally impacts its sturdiness, with thicker and, thus, hotter merino clothes being considerably extra sturdy than thinner items. To assist with the sturdiness concern, many firms use wool blends as an alternative of pure wool. This will help cut back the possibilities of tears from abrasions or snags on the path. Many of the gear on this information, together with the Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick Sleeve T-Shirt, is product of a wool-blend materials to extend its sturdiness and stretchiness.

To increase the lifespan of wool clothes, it’s necessary to clean them in chilly water and allow them to dry on a line as an alternative of placing them in a dryer. A correctly cared-for piece of wool clothes can final for a very long time and is properly definitely worth the funding.

Is wool clothes good for hot-weather operating?

Due to its distinctive moisture-wicking properties, wool is a superb choice for operating within the warmth. Wool transfers sweat from the pores and skin earlier than it could possibly coalesce into droplets that get your shirt moist. This will help maintain you cool and dry within the warmth. By utilizing wool blends for materials, firms can create extraordinarily skinny clothes that also preserve all the benefits of wool with out being heavy or heat. The Icebreaker ZoneKnit Merino Quick Sleeve T-Shirt is extremely mild and ideal for hot-weather outings.

Is wool clothes good for cold-weather operating?

Wool is likely one of the authentic cold-weather clothes supplies due to its insulating properties, and the Smartwool Intraknit Racerback Bra is a superb choice for when the temperatures drop. Merino wool fibers are evolutionarily tailored to maintain merino sheep heat in chilly climates and supply an excellent quantity of insulation for his or her weight. Most wool clothes designed for insulation are product of pure wool as an alternative of a mix. Wool can maintain you heat even when it’s moist. This may be helpful should you sweat rather a lot throughout a operating effort or get caught in a rain or snowstorm. Whereas different supplies, particularly cotton, can get extraordinarily chilly and thus harmful when moist, you may belief wool to offer heat underneath any situations.

Can I layer with wool attire?

Wool is a superb choice for almost any layer of your operating package. As a base layer, wool can wick moisture from the pores and skin and transfer it outwards so your pores and skin doesn’t get clammy. Thicker wool shirts, just like the Smartwool Basic All-Season Merino Base Layer, are a superb choice for including layers because it will get colder. The proportion of wool in a bit of clothes will decide how insulating it’s, with pure wool shirts being the warmest. Many shirts designed to perform in heat climate as a standalone or base layer within the chilly are produced from a wool mix. By mixing wool with different supplies, firms could make clothes extra sturdy and faster drying.

Many firms make each prime and backside wool baselayers, a superb basis for a operating package in chilly climate.

Name for Feedback

• Do you run in wool clothes? Which gadgets or manufacturers are your favorites?
• What climate or temperatures do you discover wool probably the most comfy?