Merino wool has dominated the outside base layer market, setting the bar for heat, breathability, and temperature regulation. Though merino has lengthy been thought of the most effective base layer materials for searching, climbing, and outside adventuring, there’s one other pure fiber poised to dethrone the outside golden little one — alpaca, a rising star with roots within the Andes, the place its fleece has lengthy been prized for its heat and sturdiness.
We don’t care which animal would win in a cage struggle. Nonetheless, we did need to know which might win a merino wool vs alpaca fleece face-off that in contrast their breathability, sturdiness, sustainability, moisture-wicking, temperature-regulating properties, and extra.
Whether or not you’re gearing up for backcountry backpacking or an prolonged sit in a back-forty treestand, this comparability will show you how to determine which fiber deserves to put on the championship belt.
Alpaca vs. Merino Wool at a Look
| Properties | Merino Wool | Alpaca Wool |
| Fiber Diameter | 11.5 – 22 microns | 15 – 36 microns |
| Heat | Traps warmth by way of microscopic air pockets | Traps warmth as a result of a hole core |
| Water Absorption | As much as 30 p.c of its dry weight | Roughly 10-11 p.c of its dry weight |
| Hypoallergenic | No (though allergy symptoms are uncommon) | Sure |
| Odor Resistant | Sure | Sure |
| Breathable | Sure | Sure |
| Sturdiness | Liable to pilling and shrinking | Extra sturdy and elastic |
| Worth and Availability | Extra choices for specialty gear to fulfill each funds | Fewer, costlier choices |
What Is Merino Wool?
Picture by Alice Jones Webb
Merino wool has lengthy been thought of the gold normal of base layers. It comes from the fleece of merino sheep, a bunch of breeds originating in Spain within the Center Ages. For hundreds of years, Spain stored a strict monopoly on merino sheep. Anybody who dared export the breed risked punishment by dying.
Fashionable merino wool primarily comes from sheep raised in Australia and New Zealand. The wool from this breed of sheep is softer and finer than wool from different breeds.
What Is Alpaca Wool?
Alpacas are South American animals associated to camels. Domesticated by the Incas 6,000 years in the past, these llama-like critters have been historically stored in herds, grazing excessive within the Andes. Robes woven from alpaca fleece have been as soon as reserved for Incan royalty. Alpaca wool material was additionally used as foreign money by some Andean cultures. Right this moment, most alpaca wool is imported from Peru, though alpaca farms are starting to pop up all around the United States.
Softness
Materials softness is a posh equation, with components like fiber thickness, yarn diameter, and material weight all coming into play. Meaning material produced from the wool of the very same sheep can fluctuate relying on how finely spun it’s and the way the yarn is woven. Softness can be partly subjective, so quantifying how gentle merino wool is in comparison with alpaca is not any simple process.
One major consider softness is fiber diameter. On the earth of materials, finer fibers typically have a smoother floor and a much less itchy really feel towards your pores and skin. The diameter of wool fibers is measured in microns. One micron is the same as one-millionth of a meter. If we decide softness on microns alone, merino wins this spherical.
Every merino wool hair will be as skinny as 11.5 microns, or one-third the diameter of the typical human hair. Any merino wool beneath 17.7 microns is taken into account nice, which is the place most industrial merino falls. Alpaca fibers are typically thicker, starting from 15 to 36 microns, relying on the grade.
Nonetheless, one different issue comes into play — scale construction. The hair’s outer layer, or cuticle, is made up of flat, overlapping scales that stack up just like the tiles on a terra cotta roof, with the uncovered edges going through upward, away from the basis. Scale construction is what provides wool that prickly, cactus-like sensation.
Alpaca hairs have flatter scales than these from merino sheep, making them really feel much less itchy, even in comparison with finer merino fiber diameters. One examine discovered that alpaca wool can really feel 5 to 10 occasions smoother than merino wool, giving it a softer really feel.
It’s value noting {that a} small minority of persons are allergic to the lanolin in sheep’s wool. Lanolin, or wool wax, is fats sheep secrete from their sebaceous glands. Just one to 2 p.c of the final inhabitants is allergic to lanolin. Though a real allergy is unusual, it may be barely extra prevalent for people with different pores and skin circumstances like eczema. Alpaca wool is taken into account hypoallergenic as a result of it doesn’t include lanolin.
There may be one other problem in judging the softness of technical outside wool clothes: Few clothes are produced from one hundred pc wool, whether or not merino wool or alpaca wool. Most fashionable wool clothes blends pure wool and artificial fibers, growing sturdiness and lowering itchiness.
With in depth private expertise with each alpaca and merino wool base layers within the subject, I give the softness edge to alpaca. Merino wool blends have a tendency to depart me feeling like I’m hugging a BBQ brush. Though removed from silky Egyptian cotton, my alpaca layers are way more snug towards my pores and skin.
Winner: Alpaca
Heat
Each merino and alpaca wool are wonderful choices for chilly climate however for various causes. Merino wool is semi-hollow, so it traps air throughout the fibers. As a result of it’s tougher for warmth to switch by way of air than by way of stable materials, Merino wool helps retain physique warmth in chilly circumstances when used as an insulating layer.
However once we’re speaking about extraordinarily chilly temperatures, alpaca completely outperforms merino. These animals have been bred for prime altitudes (assume increased than 13,000 toes!) and frigid climate. Alpaca hair has a hole core that traps air and creates a pure thermal barrier to maintain physique warmth in and chilly air out.
Alpaca’s hollow-core construction additionally signifies that it outperforms its weight as an insulator. In case you’re venturing into frosty terrain and must hold gear weight low, an alpaca base layer may prevent a couple of back-breaking ounces with out sacrificing insulating capacity.
One scientific examine confirmed that though merino wool has longer, thicker fibers than alpacas, it’s much less environment friendly at sustaining core physique temperature.
Winner: Alpaca
Moisture Wicking
Moisture-wicking efficiency is especially necessary for high-exertion outside pursuits. Sweat trapped subsequent to the pores and skin isn’t solely uncomfortable; it can be harmful in chilly climate. Water conducts warmth a lot quicker than air, which implies a physique lined in a soaking wet base layer will shed warmth quicker than a golden retriever sheds hair on a black pair of pants.
Each alpaca and merino wool wick moisture to maneuver it away out of your pores and skin, the place it could actually evaporate with out sending you spiraling into hypothermic shock. Nonetheless, merino wool is significantly better at managing moisture. Merino wool can soak up as much as 30 p.c of its dry weight in water. Compared, alpaca is extra hydrophobic, absorbing solely 10 to 11 p.c of its weight in water. Whereas that may be a good factor on a wet day, it may be a nasty factor on a brilliant sweaty hike.
Winner: Merino
Drying Velocity
Merino wool’s wonderful moisture-wicking capacity has one main disadvantage — it takes ceaselessly to dry, particularly in humid circumstances. In distinction, alpaca fiber has a pure water-repellent high quality, making it faster-drying in sweaty and wet circumstances. Whereas it could not wick sweat as effectively as merino, its quick-drying properties are a serious benefit when it’s essential to keep heat and dry in unpredictable climate.
Winner: Alpaca
Breathability
Each merino wool and alpaca are extremely breathable supplies. Each have nice fibers and naturally occurring hole air pockets that enable air to flow into so your garments don’t really feel additional stuffy, particularly in heat climate or when issues get bodily energetic. The breathability of merino and alpaca wool makes them a sensible choice for path runners, hikers, and run-and-gun hunters.
Winner: Tie
Odor Management
Each alpaca and merino wool fibers have pure anti-microbial properties that assist them struggle funky human smells. As a result of you’ll be able to put on merino and alpaca clothes for a number of days with out washing, they’re a unbelievable choice for backpacking and backcountry searching journeys.
Merino wool resists nasty health club bag odors partly due to its lanolin content material. Lanolin has each antibacterial and antifungal properties. Merino’s breathability and moisture-wicking talents additionally contribute to its odor resistance.
Alpaca lacks lanolin, however the fiber construction helps forestall it from turning into a pungent micro organism breeding floor. Its low water retention means sweat doesn’t sit on the material lengthy sufficient to fester funky odors. Alpaca fibers even have a pure waxy coating that helps hold micro organism away.
Winner: Tie
Sturdiness
Alpaca wool tends to carry up higher than merino. A 2021 examine discovered that alpaca fibers are extra elastic than merino fibers. Because of this clothes produced from alpaca will maintain its form higher over time, lowering the chance of shrinking, felting, and pilling. In a 2005 examine, researchers found that alpaca fibers took longer to interrupt than merino wool fibers beneath laboratory stress checks. In distinction, merino wool is extra delicate and vulnerable to pilling, notably in high-friction areas just like the armpits, elbows, shoulders, and groin space.
Alpaca’s sturdiness makes it a superb choice for outside adventurers who want gear that may face up to tough circumstances and frequent use.
Winner: Alpaca
Sustainability
Each merino wool and alpaca are pure merchandise produced from renewable sources. Each animals are sheared yearly to allow them to produce new fleece. Some folks take into account alpacas barely extra planet-friendly as a result of they require much less water than sheep. Alpacas are additionally selective grazers, nibbling solely the tops of explicit vegetation. In distinction, sheep are extra indiscriminate grazers and vulnerable to overgrazing.
Fashionable merino wool additionally goes by way of a course of referred to as superwashing to make it mechanically cleanable and forestall shrinking and felting. The superwash course of makes use of a chlorine fuel to strip away the scales and the lanolin. After the scales have been stripped away, the fibers are coated in a polymer resin. Wastewater from superwashed wool accommodates excessive concentrations of chlorinated chemical compounds. As a result of alpaca fibers don’t include lanolin or the identical barb-like scales present in sheep’s wool, it doesn’t have to be superwashed.
Many producers mix their alpaca and merino wool with polyester for additional sturdiness. Polyester is produced from petroleum-based chemical compounds, so hold that in thoughts if you’re studying the labels.
Winner: Alpaca
Value and Availability
As a result of merino wool is the present golden little one of the outside world, it’s simple to seek out base and mid layers in virtually each form, measurement, coloration, and worth level your coronary heart needs. The widespread availability of merino means you shouldn’t have issues discovering appropriate gear for any funds or outside pursuit. Nonetheless, high-quality gear isn’t low cost. Identify-brand merino wool clothes usually comes with a premium price ticket. Take a look at our favourite merino wool base layers for searching to slender your search.
Alpaca fiber hasn’t fairly hit the mainstream, which makes it tougher to seek out. Whereas alpaca clothes are extra frequent in eco-friendly and boutique manufacturers, discovering choices for rugged outside use can nonetheless be a problem. Alpaca gear additionally tends to command a better worth than comparable merino wool merchandise, largely as a result of smaller manufacturing scale. Nonetheless, alpaca gives wonderful worth in the long term as a result of its elevated sturdiness.
Winner: Merino
FAQs
Though alpaca outperforms merino wool in a number of classes, it may be costly and troublesome to seek out.
It’s best to keep away from the dryer to guard the integrity and form of alpaca wool clothes. As a substitute, lay them flat on a clear towel or a drying rack and allow them to air dry.
Whereas alpaca wool has water-repellent qualities, it isn’t waterproof. If alpaca clothes get moist, they keep insulating qualities and can dry quicker than merino wool.
Remaining Ideas
Alpaca actually packs up the factors in head-to-head rounds on the subject of softness, heat, drying pace, sturdiness, and sustainability. Nonetheless, discovering high quality alpaca outside gear is just not a simple process. In case you’re searching for high quality alpaca clothes for outside pursuits, Paka and AlpacaTek are nice locations to begin.
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In the meantime, merino wool gear marketed for climbing, searching, snowboarding, mountaineering, and path operating abounds. Whereas I might love at hand over the championship belt to alpaca, the restricted number of outside optimized gear and the additional expense make it troublesome to be the fangirl I need to be. I’m hopeful, nevertheless, that as extra hunters and hikers notice how unimaginable alpaca is for outside put on, we’ll see extra top-notch choices hit the market.