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

I haven't camped for some time, I have had the misfortune of being dragged out camping in weather not ideal. As a boy scout I did a winter hike in Zimbabwe and having a new army surplus bag thought I was made. /snip/ it was cotton and in modern terms, rated a 33c, suitable for the tropics. Later on we were taken on a walk (with no sleeping kit) to practice surval training, we were in minimal outfits as winter got warm in the day but we didn't return home for a few days. The utter bastards taught me one thing - screw getting cold again.

Since then I have camped in places like the Zambezi. A couple of times in the Drakensburg in winter to please the wife. Woollen socks and jerseys were magic. But the bags were of down or hollow fibre. There was a woolen blanket used to place between my foam hiking mattrass and me. There wasn't snow but our prefrozen beers refused to thaw.

If wool gets wet you are in trouble in a cold environs. Try lugging a wet blanket on your pack for miles through mountains. Not advisable, doable but not advisable, then try lying on it and sleeping. Hollow fibre was excellent, still have it ....


PS - I have never seen snow and believe that is should be only good for post cards.

PPS Snowmen have no balls?
 
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A good mohair blanket is magic in winter, on a good bed. There are wools and there are other wools.

Yep people have used wool for centuries, but before spinning they used hollowed out sheep for eons and probably thought woven outfits were for wooses.
 
I'm a sheepskin believer as well, and have invested heavily. Since I have Ankylosing Spondilitis, I have to sleep on a hard surface at night, to keep my back straight as I sleep. I live in a cookie cutter apartment complex and it's wood floor over concrete, so for incredible insulation I sleep on a 4-pelt. Been sleeping on it for almost a year now and other than brushing it out, haven't had to do anything to maintain it-it smells like the day I bought it. Natural oils in the fiber are magical in keeping out odors.

For those that asked why I wear wool in hot weather, here's a little story that got my wheels turning.

Say you live in the high desert, and there's a peak in your back yard that taunts you every morning as the sun rises. It's a 7 mile hike to the top with about 5,000 feet of net elevation change, fully exposed with no shade all the way to the top. Now you've been caught in flash mountain storms before, and 5,000 feet of elevation change can provide alot of temperature change, too. You grab your North Face Diablo sweater and a pair of glove liners on the way out the door as an afterthought. Now as the midsummer day cooks on, temps climb from the high 80's to the high 90's. After mile 2, your arms start to get red, and you're thankful that your wide-brimmed hat is there so your shave the next morning won't really suck. Stop for water, re-soak your shemagh and start dabbing cool water on your arms and neck. By mile 5, it's touched 100, and you can feel the sun relentlessly digging through your light cotton teeshirt. You know that within an hour, your chest will be as red as your now-baked arms. Your lips start to crack, you've been pounding dust all day and you've got cottonmouth. The armpits of your cotton teeshirt are crusty with sweat buildup. You can feel your sweat evaporate as it releases and does nothing for you other than dehydrate. You start getting aggravated that you're dragging 3 liters of water to the top, only to have your sweat sublime upon exposure. You start thinking to yourself, what of the few daypack items that are on me, can make me more comfortable for the hardest and most exposed pitch of the climb? Why, as I get higher, is the cruel desert leaving me dryer? And really, who gives a crap about maintaining comfortable temperature if it means getting out of the sun's exposure...

Ah, aha! There's a lightweight breathable shirt in your pack that you should have donned a loooong time ago. It's instant relief. Even though the top half of your body feels like someone took some 180 grit to it, the sweater gives you instant relief from the sun's torturous rays. You can feel cold sweat building slowly as you start padding back up the trail, invigorating your fire engine red arms. After two minutes you realize that wearing a light sweater feels like a downright refrigerator compared to leaving skin exposed to the sun, which at 7,000 feet, and 5,000 feet above the nearest town of any decent size in a couple hundred miles in any direction, has its way with you with no chance of shade from a layer of 'particulate matter' or any kind of cloud cover.

Anyone that has spent any time in the high desert knows that exposure to the sun is THE most determining factor to your comfort. Air temperature pales in comparison, hence why the men of the west wore heavy leather and wool hats for comfort, and draped their shoulders in 10 pounds of waxed canvas as they droved across the plains. Wool just starts making sense as an anti-exposure material. Because it breathes, because it doesn't get stinky, because even if it gets sweaty it will keep you warm just in case there IS a storm brewing on the other side of the peak, it is one garment that will get you through the day in relative comfort. I've picked up a drover's jacket since as well, and it too gets the job done, though it is significantly heavier than a wool sweater.
 
I live in a freakin desert. Worked in the Zambezi & Limpopo Vallies in summer 116f and humid. Loose shady clothing and water

Leather or felt hat, with cloth for the neck, cotton shirt with sleeves. nylon weave shirt over the top that I pour water on. Denim jeans and good leather boots, -- the socks are wool.

This week has been mostly 95+. I have hiked in 110+ on projects.
 
If I chose to look like a pioneer the natives would either wet themselves laughing or stone me thinking I was coming to steal their country,,,,, again.
 
chose to look like a pioneer? This thread isn't about what you look like. It's about function over form. I agree with your exact statement except for the nylon weave shirt.
 
baldtaco-II said:
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.
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Of course you can become exempt from your structured "imression management" or in layman's terms: Marketing.
I do it every day. so do other people.
I watched 40 years of Chevrolet marketing and conditioning and guess what.. I don't drive a chevy.
Billions of dollars worth of "impression management, didnt work. and I don't feel any more or less because of the decision.
I could care less what image I profess when a utilitarian task is at hand.
Needs will supercede image.

There are no absolutes in human social behavior in the context you are referencing.
Wiki Psych degrees are't worth the time, man.
Try a good Community College.



Most people use online reviews as a baseline not a guideline.
Any of us who spend long periods of time oudoors tend to use experience as the real test of any product or system.

That said, Ive used old Army wool blankets and a 50+ year old Army down filled mummy bag for decades. never had a problem, never slept cold.
Ive used wool blankets alone when it was 18 degrees F and only got cold ears because I forgot to cap my head.

If I hit the lottery, I'll buy tons of synthetic gear and give them all a try.
Until then Im good with what works for me.

My suggestion on the wool blanket thing is this:
Check out how consistent the reviews and experiences are over the past 100 years... if Wool is still in constant use, then there might be a good reason..and possibly worth trying out for yourself.

Try this against the best synthetic system you can find. Then make the call.




I personally use what works for me, regardless of reviews, or other people's experience.
I use other people's input to try and supplement or improve my own systems, not to take them at their word.




Oh and Merry Christmas!!
 
It's like the axe-been around forever, there's probably a damn good reason... There's a difference between paper stats and practicality once the variables of the real world are thrown in. By weight, you might be able to get more insulating value out of polartech fleece... but outside of laboratory conditions...
 
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...........................................The re 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.





"Tell us more about your smother,"

Eliza
 
Use what you like and like what you use. In the summer, I wear mostly cotton or cotton poly blend clothes because of the evaporative cooling effect. In the winter I wear a mix, but usually not cotton. Everyone has prejudices and preferences. Sometimes based on fact and experience and sometimes based upon what they have read or been told. 100% wool blankets don't have to be dry cleaned. It will extend the life of a new, very expensive one that you keep on your bed. FOr an outdoor blanket, just keeping it clean helps it keep it's natural loft and warmth properties. I might like sleeping in wool in the winter but the noise might keep me awake and attract wolves.
 
Guyon said:
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.
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Wool socks for outdoor work year-round, even in the humid Arkansas heat and the dry desert heat. The trick, polypropylene liners. The liners wick away moisture, and the wool provides cushion.

For everyday office and shop work, it's a single pair of merino wool socks with workboots.

Just haven't found a synthetic material that works well for socks.
 
So to launder a wool blanket, you use woolite and use the gentle cycle on the washing machine? Water temp? Then dry them outside, right? Basically if you have not done this and you don't want to ruin a blanket, a lot of people are shy about tossing a good blanket in the washing machine.

I have had wool blankets in my garage for years because I'm hesitant to do them in the washing machine. These are blankets that I used on top of a bed spread which dogs (smell and hair) used to sleep on daily.... washing work? They still stink like "dog" after 15 years of storage.

So, as of yet, I guess the consensus is you can wash them, but it is better (and more expensive) to dry clean them....
 
Tim-Gabz said:
If wool gets wet you are in trouble in a cold environs. Try lugging a wet blanket on your pack for miles through mountains. Not advisable, doable but not advisable, then try lying on it and sleeping. Hollow fibre was excellent, still have it ....
Click to expand...
Wool doesn't work well where I live. If it gets wet, it stays wet. It doesn't actually do a lot of the things I see people claim compared to synthetics, except maintain warmth better when wet, feel better on the skin, and resist funk. It certainly doesn't breathe, manage moisture, or dry anything like synthetics. It's not even close.
I've been using a lot of wool baselayers lately, simply because I like it, and it feels good...well, because I bought a few hundred bucks worth this past year to compare to a closet full of synthetics, and am stuck with it, too, but at least it feels nice. Very comfortable in the right conditions. I use it at work, and took an Icebreaker top and bottom to Utah recently, where the drier climate doesn't present such a challenge to the material. After they fell flat on their face in wet weather here a couple of times, they don't go outdoors overnight with me any more(edit: in Alabama). I use wool socks, but carry a pair for every day since my trips are typically just for a night or two. Sometimes when it's rainy, they seem wetter after "drying" all night than they were when I took them off.
The military issue wool blankets are a bulky, heavy, soggy mess after being used in wet weather here, too. Only took one time using them in the rain and mud to end that little experiment. I assume they'd dry a lot faster out West. Cold weather here is usually wet, though, so things are different.
 
btw, I think a lot of these arguments are blown way out of proportion. For instance, I even said that my wool baselayers "fell on their face" just now. It's not like they were horrible to use, just didn't do well compared to some of my synthetics like Capilene and Polartec PowerDry. For years, I used plain old cotton long johns. I'm still using military issue wool/cotton blend drawers, and expedition-weight polypropylene from the original ECWCS that are all ~20 years old, and both still work ok when used properly, though the blended drawers have long since worn out at the crotch, and get used with a pair of boxer briefs under them. I've got cotton, synthetic, and merino blend boxer briefs, too, and except for the cotton when sweating a lot, it's not a huge issue to me which one I have on...
 
I think a person has to decide what they are going to be doing before they spend the big money on clothing. If you are going to be doing primarily bushcraft/primitive type camping I see no reason why wool clothing shouldn't be looked at. Here is a thread by Mtwarden using almost all wool for a psk trip.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ht-w-just-my-bottle-holder?highlight=mtwarden

On the other hand if multi day trekking is your thing I know the Filson Double Mackinaw Cruiser might scare you off on the weight alone:D and I can attest to that because it is my primary winter coat.

On another thread someone once asked about gear people should own incase of a TEOTWAWKI event where you wouldn't be able to readily replace items at the nearest store. This got me to thinking how my Under Armor had not really held up for the price so I have been buying a lot of wool over the past couple of years just for the durability alone. Good clothing isn't cheap and I know those $200 wool whipcord pants I bought should last a very long time in comparison to my brothers $100 synthetic snow pants he uses.
 
This is why I hate "gear" forums. Too much gets lost when devotees start having at eachother and what could have been an informative discussion turns into a pic-bomb pissing match.

Wool works. Synthetics work. Cotton works.

If it keeps your ass warm when it's supposed to, it doesn't matter if it's made from the flesh of used-up Hollyweird used-to-be's, and sewn with tanned skunk anus.

As far as statistics go they're useless, any mathematics teacher/professor will tell you that. As well, when you start slinging numbers and quotes it's generally considered good form to CITE them, otherwise it's suspect...

I wanted to say "bullshit", but I didn't know how the mods would react to that...

Pay what you want, use what you want. I hunted, camped, and woods-bummed for years in cotton with a used "Old Hickory" butcher knife...

For about 15, to approximate -- and I still don't own any of the fancy space-age stuff. But, then, I also don't plan on eating sardines on the snowy peaks of Mount Frozenbawls, either...

...I stayed warm and dry on a lot of cold nights. I didn't die of hypothermia...

But then again, I didn't know I supposed to die. We were poor and I didn't get the memo that told all of us who didn't have wool maxi pads and super-poly-stretchfleece had to exit "stage death" if not using the "American Association of Outdoors Gurus of America" approved apparel and equipment...

... I didn't even get chilly.

One more strike to keep me from getting that nifty patch...

Reading some of this crap would have had me, as a young kid, scared to death to even mention the word "snow" and "winter" without spending $4,000 dollars on the latest "sta-dri" technology and super alloy, futuristically convection ovened steel.

Sometimes I have to laugh at you guys because I can imagine a junior high girls' bathroom being the setting for some of these arguments, right down to the "OH NO DZITTEN!
 
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very funny and very accurate post

I 'outfitted' a whole bunch of city kids by sending them to thrift shops for old woolens and the like.
 
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