who makes the best merino base layers

[Jeff Martin]

I agree with above. First lite is by far the softest. Icebreaker would be a close second or tie. I love icebreaker stuff. Sitka is nice too not the best but very nice.

KUIU has been my biggest disappointment. With all the marketing hype, etc...The merino naps badly and simply scratchy (compared to the others) I am not sure if Jason is trying to convince himself he has the best wool or what.


HOWEVER, i will say, I felt the new KUIU at the SCI show, and that stuff feel exactly like the First Lite if not softer. Wow !! Although, it is not 100% Merino. You have to watch the label very close with KUIU. Each weight has a different mix of Merino and Nylon. If that doesn't bother you, fine...just be aware. I personally buy Merino for the benefits of Merino, I do not need someone to convince me it needs a mix like that Merino/Fleece bull crap...that was a joke. Fleece has absolutely ZERO PR value once wet and he put it on the inside of the garnet. What a joke...

 

[Weekender]

I really like my Firstlite, it's soft and comfy draw back is it gets stretched out and is heavy. Kuiu isn't quite as soft but holds form and is lighter. Good to have choices.

 

[DWinVA]

I like First Lite first then Ibex.

God Bless.

 

[n2horns]

I have FL, Kuiu (old and nuyarn) and Minus 33. the M33 light t shirts the neck just sagged away. FL is 170 gram, which has been my go to hunting shirt for the past few years. I had the old Kuiu (100% wool), and wasn't up to FL specs, not as well refined, rough and scratchy. Kuiu Nuyarn, is great, feels like FL but not 100% wool. I bought this in the 125 gram weight to try out. Impressed with feel and texture, not impressed with blended build.

I wish that FL would come out with a 125 range or so, if not 100. I wear my FL t shirt next to skin then add a llano QZ in camo on top. Gets a little warm, but I can get away with only bringing one camo shirt into the field and 2 t shirts that I can rotate on washes.

I have ibex indie hoodie on order, about 190 gram, so will see.

 

[muledhunter]

I have kryptek, kuiu, and minus 33. Minus 33 is my favorite. And the price is right also.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

+1 minus 33

 

[MattB]

I prefer FL, but last I looked it didn't come in the weight and features of the light Kuiu.

 

[Gznokes]

I'm a little surprised to see all the comments on here about the brands everyone likes. I thought I'd done a fairly extensive set of tests about two years ago and for me the winner in the +/-160 weight category (which I always wear next to skin) was the Kuiu, followed closely by Smartwool. Way behind was the icebreaker and Ibex and Firstlight. At the time, I believe Kuiu and Smartwool were the only ones making stuff out of 17.5 micron wool and maybe it was just all in my head, but I really thought those other brands that were using 18-19.5 micro wool were a lot more scratchy. I see now that firstlight is making stuff out of 17.5 and their stuff looks really good. I just bought a couple of the Kuiu Nuyarn stuff to try out and so far I like it. I had some of the same questions about the composite materials, but at least with the little bit of nylon, in the 145 weight it seems to make sense. As far as the Kuiu midweight that has a little bit of fleece lining, it is super comfy and the wool is very high quality. If there is one concept in hunting clothing I've really come to love it is this new merino wool base layer category.

 

[BCSteel]

all my merino is icebreaker that i get from sierra trading post pretty cheap. the quality imo is great, and is super comfortable. if you don't need camo it's a great option.

My tops are First Lite for camo reasons. I have Icebreaker bottoms from STP that are really nice too.

I dont know if its just a recent thing but I just picked up an Icebreaker 200 wt tee in mossy oak. Had a bunch of them on the shelf along with a few 1/4 zips in mossy oak as well. I wanted solid colour but the camo was all 30% off so I went that route instead.

 

[Browtine]

I have FL, Kuiu and IB stuff. FL is the softest and IB is the most durable. I'm not a big fan of the FL sizing and it does stretch out more than the others. I prefer a more athletic fit and my FL stuff seems to be sized for a beer gut. I do love the thumbholes on the FL though.