IceBreaker is the world's leading manufacturer of clothing from New Zealand merino wool. I've had a customer tell me "it is like crack cocaine - once you have some, you can't stop using it!" Another customer said, "when I wear IceBreaker, it establishes homeostasis - I'm warm when the air is cold and I'm cool when the air is hot!" A third customer wore his for 39 days straight without washing it, "and it never stank!"So what's the deal with this stuff? The short answer is:
- it is highly breathable, right down to the fibre level
- it's warm when it is cold out and cool when it is warm out
- it doesn't itch
- it doesn't stink
- one layer is good, multiple layers is great!
- wind resistance increases with layering, but breathabily stays high
- it is easy care - wash with your other laundry
- it is flame resistant, static resistant and heat resistant
- it insulates, even when wet
- it is built to last
- it's biodegradeable when you have finally worn it out
- the wool is annually renewable, as well as sustainably and humanely produced
For the science geeks: how does IceBreaker merino work? It's a little thing called "evolution." The merino is originally a lowland sheep from Spain. Flocks of them were dropped all over the world by the Spaniards as they explored the seas. The New Zealand merino live in the Southern Alps and have had to adapt to the cold winters and hot summers of the mountains. (It kind of sounds like the weather and mountains around Calgary. Hmmm!) Anyway, if his wool didn't breath in summer, the sheep would die of heat exhaustion. And if it didn't insulate in winter, he would die of cold. His wool (your Icebreaker merino) forms a buffer zone around his (your) body, keeping him (you) at an ideal temperature in all climates and conditions.
When moisture is absobed from the cold air, IceBreaker merino fibres liberate heat through a molecular process called "heat of sorption." On the flip side, in a warm or highly aerobic environment, sweat is pulled from the body into the fabric, dispersed and metabolised as vapour, cooling the body through "cooling by evaporation." Very cool.
The merino fibres are extremely fine which is what makes them so breathable. They are made of a protein called keratin, which is the same protein found in our skin, hair and nails, so it is hardly surprising that it feels so good next to your skin. The protein is also what makes IceBreaker flame-resistant - ever try to light a steak on fire - it is really hard to do!
Of course, the fine fibres, when woven, form lots of tiny air pockets (more than thicker fibres like in synthetics or traditional wool) which provide the superior insulating effect. And, when you add layers, the fibres lock together and feel as if they are one garmet. You get increased wind-resistance and increased insulation without sacraficing any of the breathability. (Breathability = comfort in any temperature!)
New Zealand merino is naturally neutrally charged. While that makes it static-resistant, what's really interesting is that it also makes IceBreaker stink-resistant! Most dirt and smells cling to synthetics and even cotton through magnetic attraction - the cling of a positive charge to a negative charge. Since the merino is neutrally charged, dirt and smells don't cling to your IceBreaker. You can literally shake the stink off your clothes. Or hang it overnight and gravity will do the work for you.
Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino hand-picked from 120 high country stations (that Kiwi for 'sheep ranches') in the country's Southern Alps to create edgy outdoor clothing that combines nature's work with human technology and design. The company is committed to sustainability, ethical manufacturing, and animal welfare. In 2008 the company launched "Icebreaker Baacode," pioneering supply chain transparency. Each Icebreaker includes a unique Baacode, which enables customers to trace the garment online from rearing the sheep through to each stage of the supply chain process.
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