Product Testing: Patagonia Merino 1 Silkweight T-Shirt. And Another Amazing Day Out - Hazel Mountain/Buck Hollow Link Up

Patagonia product testing day - Patagonia Merino 1 Silkweight T-Shirt

IT'S THE BEST

(I am on the right)

                PRO:  Wicks and dries better than anything I have ever used!

                           Super soft, and very lightweight

               CON:   It pilled against my hydration pack!! BUMMER!  

                           (Keep in mind we "trot" so perhaps that helped to speed the pilling process along).
                           Wish they had better color choices (not bad, but not great).

               OVERALL:  I have officially recycled all of my lightweight capilene, and have ordered all new
                                    Merino 1 in every color -- short sleeve and long sleeve.

It is always this big debate at Patagonia on fabric base-layer choices -- capilene versus wool.  Capilene is  cheaper, synthetic, and sometimes people have an odor issue with the fabric (although Patagonia has made a lot of progress with this issue over the last couple of years).  Wool is more expensive, a natural fiber, and some say it feels itchy (Patagonia wool is no longer 100% wool.  They have added a small amount of spandex into the fabric to prevent it from running).  

Rule of thumb, natural fibers do a better job???  My take is the wool keeps me warmer, but doesn't keep me dry like the capilene.  I find that my heavier wools stay pretty wet and take a longer time to dry.  Not so great for stop and go travel. Perhaps the system of choice is a wool base layer with a capilene layer on top.....A system that would keep you warm as well as pull the moisture off of you. (But you should try it out yourself, others may have varying opinions)

But now....the Merino 1 has finally entered my life!!!  When I first saw the Merino 1, I was a little hesitant (see paragraph above), but loved the way it felt and knew I needed to try it.  And I'm sooooo glad I did!!  I fell in love with the product in the first 10 minutes!!  It did an amazing job pulling sweat from my body when we were charging up hill, but as we neared the top and began heading down, within minutes the sweat seemed to have disappeared.....magic!

I am bummed about the pilling, and not sure what to do about that, as I almost always run with some sorta pack.  Regardless, I like the way the fabric works way too much to worry about the pilling!  So, enough on the Patagonia Merino 1.  Check it out for yourself and let me know your thoughts!!  And now a quick re-cap of the day out!

 

Well, the photo above says it all!  An amazing day out, as my recovery beverages (water w/Cytomax, and a Natural Light) cool in a nearby river....I leave feeling exhausted after the super-steep ups and downs.....Warmer temps threw in a new challenge....and a reminder that summer temps are not too far way.   Once again, the beautiful scenery made the two-hour drive worthy....not to mention yet another stop at The Griffin Tavern in Flint Hill, VA!   The best burgers ever!!  Kira, as always, rocked it and made the adventure that much more fun!!!  Check out the GPS map below for more info!!