Why Merino Blends Are The Perfect Combination for Technical Adventure Apparel

At Outside Sports we’re big fans of technical outdoor apparel made from blends of Merino and bamboo or TENCEL. Apparel, headwear, and socks made from these high-performance fabrics keep you warm when it’s cold, keep you cool when it’s hot, and feel soft and luxurious next to your skin. But what you might not know is how bamboo can make its way into apparel, or what TENCEL actually is.  

So let’s take a look at Merino, Bamboo, and TENCEL to see how they work together to produce a better overall fabric that's perfect for your adventures, wherever they may take you.

Bamboo yarn is made by converting bamboo pulp into a rayon or viscose cellulose fibre, which is then spun into a soft yarn. Le Bent describes its bamboo rayon Merino blend as having a softness similar to cashmere or silk. 

TENCEL is a rayon fibre made from eucalyptus wood pulp, and it performs in a similar way to bamboo rayon. Mons Royale, Icebreaker and Smartwool use TENCEL in their blended Merino fabrics. 

The other benefits to blending with Bamboo or TENCEL are improved durability and stretch.

Merino by itself is quite a delicate fibre and can wear out sooner than you’d like. Adding a rayon blend can also improve a Merino garment’s stretchiness and ability to keep its shape. 

The Merino wool that’s found in Le Bent, Icebreaker, and Mons Royale apparel comes from the high-country of Otago and Canterbury, which is incidentally also the home of Outside Sports.

In this region of New Zealand there is a crazy-wide temperature range throughout the year. It can be colder than minus 10° in winter and sometimes nearly 40° in summer. The magical properties of Merino wool mean that Merino sheep can take it all in their stride.  

Merino fibres are extremely fine and complex compared to traditional wool. On the surface Merino is soft against the skin rather than scratchy, and when you delve deeper into the fibres at the microscopic level, you can see that the structure of Merino is different too. Its multiple layers act as a natural temperature regulator, insulating when it’s cold, and releasing heat when it’s warm.  

Merino's unique capability to regulate temperature is perfect for active outdoor sports where your body temperature changes constantly. Skiing, snowboarding, hiking, trail running, and mountain biking all involve periods of high exertion followed by rest and/or exposure to cold.Mons Royale describes merino as ideal for ‘stop-go’ sports because it adapts so well to changing effort levels.

What’s more, Merino is moisture wicking and odour resistant, so it’s comfortable to wear if you get a bit sweaty and doesn’t need washing as often as cotton or synthetic fabrics. 

If you’re an outdoor adventurer, athlete, world traveler, or just someone who enjoys the feel of silky-smooth fabrics against your skin and wants to be at just the right temperature all year round, you’ll love wearing Merino blend apparel.  

At all our stores throughout the Southern Lakes region of the South Island we have New Zealand’s best range of premium Merino apparel and socks from Le Bent, Icebreaker, Smartwool, and Mons Royale.