Which merino? UPDATE: Minus 33 arrived

[wraithen]

So as i was sleeping on the ground on jblm thursday morning a few hours before dawn, i realized that while my nomex undershirt was soft and warm, i really wanted some good merino for this situation. I wanted to know if you guys had a favorite company and why? Loyalty is a perfectly reasonable reason in my book. People are loyal to companies that take care of people. the only requirement i have is their product line cant use any materials other than cotton, wool, and /or nomex (also labeled as iridex.) Don't get me wrong, i get amazing gear from the army, but i want something to use dual purpose and isn't a 120 dollar undershirt. The one i currently use was off the shelf smoke jumper stuff and I don't care to pay for nomex while hunting.

[yajsab]

Others might mention the popular brand with the price tag, but I use minus33.

[losdaddy7]

Ive been pleased with the Paradox Merino gear at Costco.  While they arent $100 dollar technical base layers, that isn't in my budget.  They are a comfortable, warm, moisture wicking, budget ($25) base layer..... and with the return policy at Costco, you cant go wrong.

[wraithen]

Im not the guy that buys the 100 dollar stuff for the name or because its expensive. Ive also been lookigng at i/o due to the awesome deal they have at promotive.com  redram seems like ok stuff but it doesnt seem like it would be too good for staying where i want it when im moving around a lot. how is the cut for minus33? i have a broader back than front and wide shoulders so sometimes the cuts on garments puts my armpits in a bind which is an automatic nogo.

[Johnb317]

uhhh  Costco Paradox "Merino" is only 10% merino wool.... so I won't touch it.
I have wool from Icebreaker, SmartWool, and Kuiu, and like the Smartwool best, then icebreaker as far as comfort etc.,  Kuiu has the advantage of being Camo.

Pricey stuff, but works great and wears well.

[yajsab]

For the minus33, I bought small and it still seemed big (like M) to me.  So I think you should just buy the same size you wear.  Sportco has them that you can try.

[ellensburgpo]

Kuiu. Well made and warm. Love the flat seams they use. Got it on sale so the price was good. The should still have some stuff on sale.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

Long johns from Walmart, what else do you need??

[sirmissalot]

Another vote for minus33. Awesome stuff

[wraithen]

Long johns from Walmart, what else do you need??

Good quality stuff. I'm guessing this was a joke. I have that stuff issued and I can vouch that it's mildly warm, doesn't wick a drop away from me, and stinks after sweating for 5 minutes.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll price check the Kuiu and see what kind of savings plan it may entail. 

[Doublelunger]

I wear minus 33. They're on promotive.com too.

[wraithen]

Icebreaker seems to have good pricing. Kuiu seems to only come in camo and I don't need nor want that for a base layer. Minus 33 isn't much better in pricing than Kuiu. Seems darned if I do and don't.

[fair-chase]

Really? Kuiu is usually sold out of the camo well before the solid colors sell out. I don't think the bottoms are even made in camo at all. Check their "outlet" too. Usually a few pieces in there. If you can piece meal it a little at a time from the "outlet" you might be able to save some cash. Though that means paying for separate shipping so keep that in mind.

I used to think that Kuiu was the worst for keeping inventory, then I tried looking for Firstlite. They either have the right size or the right color in stock, but never both at the same time.  Oh the perils of having a wandering eye for hunting gear. 

[300rum]

I have used Smartwool for a number of years.  I can find it onsale on backcountry.com. To me, Smartwool seems to be a little higher quality and washes well.  It has to hold up to machine washing for me to buy it.

[Wanttohuntmore]

Minus33 here.  Liked it so much I bought a First lite Camo shirt for 100 as my early season outerwear.

[CoryTDF]

Core4element, Lorpin, and Smart Wool. Those are my go to's.

Lots of sales for this type of gear on Camofire.com

[FANATIC]

I bought the Redram upper and lower lightweight stuff for like $25 each. Seems to work great. Not itchy and it's warm.

[wraithen]

Update: I tried on a Minus 33 shirt at sportco and I really like how soft it was and the cut seemed right to me so I went on to ProMotive and picked up a set. They came in the mail yesterday. I of course had to try it on. I have no idea how they get this stuff so darned soft. It isn't quite silk but it doesn't seem like wool either. For being 100% wool, I am really happy with the fit. I'm 6' and 220 lbs so I got the large pants and xl shirt due to my arms being long and having long shoulders. I will update again when I get some field experience with this stuff, but so far I think I'm going to like it. Only had it on long enough to show the wife how soft it is and how it fits and it felt like it was turning the heater on so I took it off before I got warm. This was directly after picking it up off the porch.

Smartwool seemed just as soft but I couldn't find it anywhere near the same deal I got so that's one of the reasons I went with minus. I'm thinking I'm going to be really happy with this stuff.

[whacker1]

Update: I tried on a Minus 33 shirt at sportco and I really like how soft it was and the cut seemed right to me so I went on to ProMotive and picked up a set. They came in the mail yesterday. I of course had to try it on. I have no idea how they get this stuff so darned soft. It isn't quite silk but it doesn't seem like wool either. For being 100% wool, I am really happy with the fit. I'm 6' and 220 lbs so I got the large pants and xl shirt due to my arms being long and having long shoulders. I will update again when I get some field experience with this stuff, but so far I think I'm going to like it. Only had it on long enough to show the wife how soft it is and how it fits and it felt like it was turning the heater on so I took it off before I got warm. This was directly after picking it up off the porch.

Smartwool seemed just as soft but I couldn't find it anywhere near the same deal I got so that's one of the reasons I went with minus. I'm thinking I'm going to be really happy with this stuff.

how much did you end up spending?

[wraithen]

65.00 bucks plus shipping. Im not sure of the total since i bought something else and it doesnt give an order breakdown but the entire purchase price.

[whacker1]

$65 for top and bottom or separate?

[wraithen]

65 for both the long sleeved crew neck midweight and the midweight pants. the sticker was free lol.

[whacker1]

65 for both the long sleeved crew neck midweight and the midweight pants. the sticker was free lol.

Thank you

[yajsab]

That's very good deal.  Glad you like it.