If 100% wool blankets need dry clraning, why do people recommend them?

WOW,
Merry Christmas.
hey, take a step back Payette and take a deep breath. Just don't post a pic of you doing it, or I will barf.
Sorry Esav
But I have been around long enough to remember the BS the last time around.


To the OP, hope you are well, and I would skip the wool blanket for cold weather. Some here will remember my stunts in the dead of winter, 3 winters back, trust me, get a GOOD synthetic sleeping bag system. Or end up like me...scared of the cold.

Wool Socks, Hats, Gloves or mittens. Wool Sweater. All great Items that I utilize when out in winter. Wool blankets, I have one in the truck, not in my pack.
In the Spring, summer and fall, a wool blanket can be fine. And I think they clean up very easily. Just hang them up, and air it out.
 
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At any rate...

I've had great luck with wool. As far as wool clothing goes the things I appreciate the most are 1) the lack of sweat building up in my base layers, 2) the way it seems to thermo-regulate (I make far fewer stops to add/remove layers with wool), and 3) I find it to be more durable than the synthetics I have used. A wool blanket over a sleeping bag is a huge help on cold nights, but I still think those guys that sleep in just a wool blanket are kinda nutty :D. I also find that maintaining wool is pretty easy. It's also traditional, and I like that. Isn't liking your gear an important factor?
 
Wool blankets are definitely durable. Mah dog has a big pile of different ones in his room and he seems to love 'em.
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I've sweat in my smartwool undies plenty of times, and been warmer than when I had worn my Patagonia synthetics. It wasn't a scientific study, but it doesn't take a genius to know when one is cold or not.
This thread has me wanting to get a nice wool blanket for my bed, and another for camping. I'll still turn to down for the real cold nights.
 
baldtaco-II said:
1] I believe first and foremost it is an image thing. We know it isn't performance because that can be measured and compared against other things that can be measured. I strongly suspect it fits in when folks factor in an image they want to project – they want to look all retro.
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No serious outdoorsman gives a hoot about his "image," friend. People choose wool because it works for all the reasons people have listed here, if you bothered to actually read the other posts.
 
Well Mr. Rucker , after seeing those pictures I would have to say that you need to stick around . Your experience and knowledge are a benefit to us all.
 
Wool is recommended so much because it insulates so well. It retains 90% of its insulating value when wet, whereas most synthetics lose 90%.
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The wool industry says wool ceases to insulate when it has absorbed 30% of its weight in water. So again, source please?
 
ukknife,

I've been using wool for a little over ten years now, never got big into synthetics however I know many that swear by them, under armor and klim come to mind.

So far for me wool has taken the cake, I enjoy its year round use. With a base layer, layer of wool and what ever coat I've been good.
 
As to the original question, wool blankets only make sense to me in conjunction with a long fire, super shelter, or relatively mild conditions. For prolonged wet or freezing conditions, other sleep systems make more sense to me. That said, a wool blanket is about as bomber as you can get for gear, and you really don't have to do much to clean it other than brush it off and air it out. I bet you could be comfortable with just a wool blanket and a fire at least 8 months of the year.

For clothing, I prefer wool over synthetics for base layers, socks, and hats for the odor control. I also prefer wool for outer layers like pants or pullovers when I want durability, warmth, and easy field repair in mostly dry conditions. When it's wet, I wear synthetic outer layers.
 
WOWOWOWOW, with few instances experienced in my life of the life endangering cold/wet, I have come to realize that (1) Yes wool has insulated and protected us (mankind)/(womankind) from the harshest of what mother nature can offer for tens of thousands of years, but also (2)I find it hard to believe that we as an educated, ongoing species, cannot CREATE something that; insulates, wicks moisture, is more breathable, easier to clean, and does not require a non-human source to provide...I have to go with evolution. The moar time goes on the better(moar efficient) things are. Just my 2 cents.
Have a nice day!
 
Magnaminous_G said:
No serious outdoorsman gives a hoot about his "image," friend. People choose wool because it works for all the reasons people have listed here, if you bothered to actually read the other posts.
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No person suddenly becomes exempt from impression management just because they want to consider themselves an outdoorsman. It's a bit pathetic to think that when people classify themselves as that they suddenly become exempt from mechanisms underlying the human race. …................................................................... Had you genuinely been listening you would have been able to notice that what some people seem to be putting in their posts is nothing more that the shoring up of their own personal prejudices, and they lack the necessary objectivity to even know it. They get pissy and stamp their ickle feets. …...........................................................Stuff has properties, fact. Sometimes those properties are ideal for a task and sometimes they are not. Sometimes something else is better. What seems to be failing here is that which can be measured, and is a fact, is not the same thing as what someone prefers, or what can be made to work. Those things are different. …................................................ What is apparent is that context phases some people and completely blinds them to the truth of that. They might well be able to grasp it if they are fed very slowly from a sippy cup, but they can't process an adult plateful which requires a knife and fork and teeth. Below is good analogy:..................................................Lets suppose the topic is favourite hunting rifles chambered for different rounds. Great, folk can all chime in what what they like and what works for them and so on. But then lets suppose there's a musker in the haystack and in addition to that some demonstrably false claims are made. “You don't need to crown the end just hacksaw it off it will be just as accurate”, “an air rifle at 12 ft/lbs produces more muzzle energy than an Eley Alphamax in yay guage...”. Those are just wrong. There's no two ways about it. Someone challenged on such an assertion who in reply posts up loads of images of himself out hunting with an air rifle does nothing to counter the challenge. They are still wrong, and the attentive observer will know it. Twisting, turning, jinking, talking about irrelevant stuff, throwing out chaff, spitting the dummy, will only throw off the most casual observer. And that is exactly what has happened here...........................................There are some interesting outdoorsy folk on this forum. Some use the same kind of gear as me and some very clearly don't. No matter. Some are very extreme either side of me 'cos I like to mix and match, no matter. Some really good contributors err to the very light, far lighter than I pack, no matter. Others I value just as much but they are minimalist and often to be found in wool, with wool, and probably needing to warm themselves round an open fire with a BK9, no matter. The point is that preference and objective measures of what any of us use do not necessarily coincide. That's a fact too. And it is dishonest or naïve to pretend it is otherwise. Personally, whatever someone chooses to prefer I hope it is an informed decision, no more, no less. When a person deliberately muddies those waters it is to the detriment to all of us all because it vandalises the information pool we draw on to influence our preferences. Sometimes that is accidental and it is just a manifestation of someone that can't keep up with the conversation. Other times it is not......................................... When it happens repeatedly someone has to step in and challenge that. Failing that we end up with a worthless scenario like “does x tire work better than y tyre for z” and instead of getting the appropriate measurements to z we all hug each other and nod sagely when a guy post pictures of himself with a wooden wheel and claiming “look this is clearly the best 'cos I used this and I survived” - and if he really is a special flower he'll go on to say about how newfangled composite tires are not the best because cavemen never had them and people survived for thousands of years without them. Start down that road and uncritical muppets everywhere will be stripping the Rockwool from their lofts and lining their rooves with sheepskins.
 
I like wool. But not in the summer. I have wool socks on my feet right now. They are warm. I am wearing my favorite wool shirt too. It is warm. I don't have wool pants anymore. Perhaps I shall get some for Christmas. Or not. I did get my wool German blankets out the other day. I don't like to use them outdoors. But I like them.


ETA: BT, give it a rest. Merry Christmas. :)
 
Wool works very well.

Wool continues to insulate when DAMP, not when soaked. Reason being the fibers are hollow, so, even when damp, it prevents most conductive heat loss, all convective heat loss (unless a cheap/threadbare/overly thin blanket), and all radiative loss. When WET you lose heat rapidly through the water in the blanket conducting it away. Down is just as useless when wet. Synthetics can retain 40-60% of their insulation, depending on the synthetic, because many simply do not let water through all the way to conduct heat.

Wool definitely smells better. It has a smell of its own, cotton is nicer when clean, but will start to stink after a couple of days. Synthetics go beyond stink to flat-out STANK, and usually very quickly (people started keeping their distance after an hour or two when I tried synthetics).

Then there's the resistance to burning thing.

What wool doesn't do well:
It's not light. If you want to be light, you can use synthetics and stank, or use down and do your best not to get it wet.

Wool blankets need to be part of a system, not really used on their own. They work best next to a fire. If you're going in the hard cold and do not/can not have a fire, you really need two. One folded in half under you (preferably with a foam or other pad under it, but definitely something to keep the snow from melting under you and soaking it, one above you, preferably folded in half above you. It's also best, if not having a fire, to rig a tarp or lean-to as a wind break. If you are adventurous, you can try a coal bed.

It doesn't really compress, but unlike down and synthetic bags, can be stored in your bag, or folded up as tight as you can get indefinitely.
 
PayetteRucker said:
Note that most of the shit I wear in the high desert and canyonlands in the mid 100's is the same that I wear in the winter. Is your synthetic jacket comfy and practical at both 105 and -10?
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Codger_64 said:
I like wool. But not in the summer.
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I too like wool in the cold of winter. But I wondered why PR is wearing wool at temps of 105? :confused:
Hailing from the humid south, perhaps I don't understand dry heat. I don't know.
 
baldtaco-II said:
I believe Tesco sells a sleeping bag, probably with a good amount of chicken feathers in it, and for weight, volume, and performance I don't think you'd need anything better than that to trounce an equivalent weight of wool blanket. Clearly that bag is pretty low end so I'll say any bag exceeding such a humble baseline standard as that, then I don't need to type a great bit list of stuff.
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Oh My, I could theoretically be sitting on a gold mine. Lets see 2 million chickens per week,52 weeks per year. Anybody need a good sleeping bag?
 
Stuffed with chickens or just with chicken feathers?
 
Chickens have a very high body temperature - I'll bet they'd work. They'd be kinda lumpy, though.;)
 
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