Merino Dry times

Lowg08

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Does anyone have any information on merino dry times. I’ve been trying find which company might dry faster. I have always used first lite but I did notice my pro merino 145 bottoms dried fairly fast. The stone glacier chinook interest me with its 89/11 blend. It may dry quicker but kuiu is 83/17 and first lite is 95/5. Just wondering. It would be kiln (250) vs pro 200 and chinook (170)
 

j33

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Jun 11, 2020
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My Kiln 250 is very slow to dry, holds alot of weight when wet.

I'm gonna make a video one day to compare the Kuiu 125 and FL Wick 150 dry times, feels like the Wick dries faster.
 
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N.of49
Maybe a test on water absorbancy would be easier
All wool retains water, and only is known to 'wick' by being breathable to the point of allowing evaporation, not by moisture transport. merino is not the miracle it is portrayed to be, many have ditched it as a base layer
 
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Yeah I love merino but on a backpack hunt staying dry is the name of the game. Smelling bad is secondary to staying dry at least for me. I would say synthetic with some type of anti-microbial treatment does work but still stinks after a couple days. It’s really the only downside but just play the wind I can deal with my one odor for a few days. I’ve slowly started to use synthetic base layers just for dry times and durability.
 
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Yeah I love merino but on a backpack hunt staying dry is the name of the game. Smelling bad is secondary to staying dry at least for me. I would say synthetic with some type of anti-microbial treatment does work but still stinks after a couple days. It’s really the only downside but just play the wind I can deal with my one odor for a few days. I’ve slowly started to use synthetic base layers just for dry times and durability.
The Sitka stuff with polygiene is the best anti odor I’ve found in a synthetic so far.

Have heard the Toray stuff from KUIU is good but haven’t tried it yet. Tried just about everything else.
 
OP
Lowg08

Lowg08

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I’ve been considering a swap up. I just noticed once mine is wet. It’s wet. I makes me carry a second shirt. I’ve never gotten cold in it but haven’t been wearing it soaked either
 
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The Sitka stuff with polygiene is the best anti odor I’ve found in a synthetic so far.

Have heard the Toray stuff from KUIU is good but haven’t tried it yet. Tried just about everything else.
Agree sitka with polygiene is what I’m using as well. I’ve used KUIUs stuff and like it it a lot but still thought polygiene was better.
 

207-12A

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My experience with wool vs. synthetic, cottons, blends etc. If you get any of them soaked, wool will feel ‘wetter’ because it’s heavy and has this hanging soppy feel to it. If you get a nice sunny day, the others will dry out marginally faster yes. If you get overcast and you’re expecting to dry clothes, wool will retain that soaked heavy feel for longer. I’m still a wool guy, but avoiding getting catastrophically wet is important. I’ll usually bring a mid layer that functions as a reserve incase my base gets soaked.
 

Bump79

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A merino/nylon blend will barely dry faster than 100% merino as nylon holds a similar amount of water at ~30%. A polyester/merino will yeild faster dry times as polyester holds only .3% of it's weight in water.
 
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A merino/nylon blend will barely dry faster than 100% merino as nylon holds a similar amount of water at ~30%. A polyester/merino will yeild faster dry times as polyester holds only .3% of it's weight in water.
this is true and why I still like my original first lite aero wool that is 65/35 blend merino and polyester. Not sure why they went to nylon besides maybe durability.
 
OP
Lowg08

Lowg08

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If I was to compare would Sitka mid-weight or light weight be the best all year top
 

Kvan-mt

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Sep 16, 2015
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No experience with any merino other than kuiu. I think the temperature and amount of wind has more to do with the timing of drying than the merino brand. Archery season my merino drys out within 5-10 minutes after I quit moving, rifle season it’s a little longer but the moisture keeps you warm. Gotta love that cold feeling on your back after a solid hike.
 

sneaky

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I run hot, and I get tired of that clammy feeling of merino after hard climbs. The odor mitigation is about its only saving grace to me compared to a comparable weight quick- drying synthetic.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
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I will say for those that say merino drys almost as quick given conditions I don’t think it can be argued that merino is hydrophilic (attracts water) and polyester is hydrophobic (resists water) and this can be seen as it was stated above. Merino absorbs 30% moisture vs 0.3% absorption of poly.
 
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Depends on the weight - my 150 and 175 merino gear dries stupidly fast (especially with lots of sun + low humidity), but my 250 joggers take a good chunk of the day, and even then there's a good chance they're still a bit clammy.
 
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