2010-01-13 - How wool works

Anyone who goes hiking will tell you that wool is an absolute necessity. Wool is a ridiculous material. It wicks the sweat off your skin, it keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It can even keep you warm when it's wet unlike most synthetic materials we can make. So how does wool work?

Wool has been used literally for thousands of years. It primarily comes from sheep but other animals from that family produce wool as well. Wool is sort of like hair or fur- only it has a different texture and grows differently. Wool is naturally crimped instead of straight so it creates a lot of additional air pockets between fibers- therefore more insulation. It grows in clusters, or 'staples', which give it strong elastic properties. If you really want to know how the structure of wool accomplishes that- check out this description. Basically the way fibers grow make them really good at naturally shedding water- simultaneously the core of each fiber can allow water to enter it to be sucked up, or wicked away from your skin. From there the fibers disperse the moisture and it evaporates. That same core when empty also creates an air pocket that acts as an insulator.

A really popular type of wool is Merino wool. The wool fibers are a lot finer than other wools so you can make clothing out of it that is still really soft while keeping all of the benefits of wool. It's softer and lighter but just as warm and handles moisture just as well. I just picked up an awesome scarf-type-thing and so far it works really well. It can be used as a scarf as well as a light weight head cover to keep the sun off of your head and neck. Wool is ideal for hiking in all seasons and especially good for long hikes. Wool naturally has anti-bacterial properties so they resist odor-causing bacteria in sweat. The wool fibers are covered in lanolin- an oil from the sheep's skin. Lanolin acts as a water repellent as well as the anti-bacterial agent in wool.

So it's stretchy, strong, warm, wicks sweat away which keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter and even helps you not smell bad. It really is an amazing material. I always 'knew' how great wool was- but I wish I had discovered it and started using it earlier.