Merino

[have gun will travel]

Ok I know we have done this before. Now it's my turn to spend some money.
Which brand of merino wool under wear do you guys like? Also what weight for spot and stock. Guessing average temp will be about 30 degrees.

Thanks ahead of time for info!!

 

[devon deer]

Icebreaker is the best in my opinion.
Cheers
Richard

 

[JohnCushman]

I was happy with my minus 33 boxer briefs on my elk hunt

 

[2rocky]

If I had to pick my favorite piece, the First Lite, Llano top is my go to base layer.

Haven't sprung for skivvies yet. I hear good things though.

 

[Baerman]

My firstlite llano had holes after the first hunt. I have a Core4Element that is holding up fairly well but it is not camo. Got it on Camofire for cheap compared to other brands. Looking into Kuiu now.

 

[yacantski]

smartwool

 

[AKDrifter]

Ibex, Smartwool, Firstlite, icebreaker and Patagonia. Ive worn merino from them all, the lightweight stuff from icebreaker comes apart but to be fair, I have worn it a lot more then the others. All of the brands run small it seems except the ibex stuff is a little bigger then the rest and first light is what I would call standard sizing (even bigger). Med weight should work for those temps.

 

[Summitthunting]

I second Smartwool.

 

[MtnWest]

A Minus 33 t-shirt is my favorite piece of hunting clothing. Any of the top brands should be good.

Merino rocks

 

[nmelktrout]

First Lite is the most durable and affordable merino on the market. I've worn and abused it all and have admittedly hitched my horse to the First Lite wagon. Sitka would be my second choice. Absolutely shredded every piece of other competitors' merino that I have put to task. Bottom line is you need to try on and feel comfortable with any merino you are going to wear. Nothing beats merino, period.
-Cody

 

[ScottP]

I have collected pieces from Kuiu, Firstlite, Smartwool, Ibex, Minus33, and Core4.

Watch the Core4 stuff, mine was cheap (camofire) because its 50/50 merino/synthetic. And yes, 50/50 boxers stink twice as much as the pure merino ones I have from Minus33. This was verified by 25 days straight on the Alaskan peninsula, testing each pair for 4-5 days.

I like all the 100% merino stuff I have. My Ibex feels the softest, but I can wear others next to skin. I have the kuiu and Ibex lightweight stuff (like a 18) and the Firstlite is the chama hoody, a medium weight and 2nd layer for me typically. I have spent the most hunting days in the kuiu lightweight top/bottom and find them to be very well made. Large top is pretty roomy compared to L in Ibex and Smartwool. Firstlite large is HUGE, I had my wife shrink it a bit in the dryer and its still way big. I won't ever buy Firstlite again without trying it on first. The sizing is wonky in my opinion.

I like to have the light and medium weight, you can adjust for the temperature and how active your stalking happens to be.

 

[fwagner]

First Lite! Mothwing boxers are great! Camofire.com has great deals.

 

[----]

I've had really good luck with Smartwool. I haven't tried every brand, but of what I have Smartwool has been the best. I'm on year 6-7 for some of the shirts and they're still in great shape.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

I've got a mish mash set of Kuiu in different weights, smartwool, and Core4.

All are good IMO. I'd just pick one and go with it. I'm about to order a Kuiu merino t-shirt and a couple other goodies.

 

[deer_shooter]

I have a mix of smartwool, core4 and Kuiu. Haven't wore the Kuiu yet. So far the smartwool has been more durable than core4. This will be year 4 or 5 for the smartwool