Looking for a wool outdoor shirt.

check the recycle stores like GoodWill. I found a brand new Pendelton wool shirt for $10 bucks last year
 
MTB said:
I am looking for a red/black buffalo plaid or a solid color earth tone heavy weight wool shirt to go over a normal t-shirt and under a coat for fall and winter wear. It will be used for hiking, camping, and hunting so it needs to be sturdy. I looked at Woolrich and it seams they cater to a less outdoorsy crowd now. Also, $300 for a shirt is asinine. Pendleton has a shirt I like but its $140. I as hoping to stay around the $100 mark. I prefer new, but I haven't ruled out used. I am currently checking out ebay. Does anyone have first hand experience with any other brands beside Woolrich and Pendleton for wool shirts? What other manufacturers am I not thinking of?
Click to expand...
Check out Gostwear here in Canada ... lots of solid wool stuff for decades ... and (so far) no Orvis / Frost-River / Filson premium pricing. And the prices are in Canadian dollars! Just multiply by .623 for U.S. pricing ...

https://www.gostwear.com/hunting-c-86.html

Decades ago I owned (and wore-out) one pricey HBC wool shirt and two Pendleton shirts ... good stuff but crazy-pricey even back in the day ... now just unavailable (the HBC shirt) or crazy Rolex-spec for the zillionaires in Jacskon Hole and Aspen and Sun Valley and Lake O'Hara ...

But I still have the six-point HBC "banky" that my freashly-minted new wife gave to me for Christmas back in 1971. She was in nursing school in Winnipeg, and I was teaching at God's Lake Narrows ... way up North ... :)
 
Thanks again for all the in put guys. Not only have I found a like new USA made woolrich buffalo plaid shirt, but I just scored a like new USA made L. L. Bean wool sweater. Next on my list will be another guide style button up and pants. My wool gear collection is growing nicely.


oldmanron said:
Check out Gostwear here in Canada ... lots of solid wool stuff for decades ... and (so far) no Orvis / Frost-River / Filson premium pricing. And the prices are in Canadian dollars! Just multiply by .623 for U.S. pricing ...

https://www.gostwear.com/hunting-c-86.html
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing that site. I will most definitely be ordering from these guys.
 
Glad and surprised to see my favorite in this catagory, Johnson Woolen Mills, represented! What a great bunch here. Filson is also fantastic, and I have found both harder wearing than recent woolrich, though mine were definately around seventy dollars. Maybe the insane priced ones are better? Gost looks promising but I didnt see wool shirts on their site.

I do think wool is becoming a niche trend at the boutique level now(or maybe thats all that survived). I guess its not profitable to make working clothes in wool but maybe if it become popular enough again it will. For the sake of cost Ive been running wool undershirts from ibex and smartwool under heavy cotton flannel. Not ideal but cheaper than the all wool flannels available new. Also old wool sweaters dont look as nice but they sure work well and the light color ones are easy to dye.
 
Add another vote for checking ebay and Goodwill type stores. This spring I picked up two 100% Merino wool sweaters (one from each place) for like 10 or 15 bucks apiece. I was surprised how many they had on the rack to choose from. I'll be wearing them in the deer stand this November.
 
Another good source if you don't mind OD green is varusteleka.com They are a Finnish surplus place that do a fair amount of euro gear. They also make their own stuff and use a lot of wool, since Finland has mandatory service and a lot of folks supplement their issue gear.
I just picked up a Fjallraven re-wool greenland jacket for next "winter" and it seems pretty solid. I don't mind it being recycled wool, I think overall that "pure" wool is overblown. Most of my merino gear has at least a little synthetic in it, and it certainly doesn't seem to degrade its durability, the one bit of 100% merino I did have seemed to come apart just like every other bit of cotton or similar. Time will tell, but I think it will serve well. I've still got some fleece gear from before the move, but its getting on in years and wool is a bit better in the very high humidity we get around here.
 
I have a few merino wool shirts from Rambler's Way (https://www.ramblersway.com) that are quite nice, although pretty lightweight since that was what I wanted. I first discovered them at a Marshall's or T.J. Maxx discount store, along with some other brands of merino wool shirts whose names escape me at the moment. Next time around, I unfortunately had to pay more than for the first one, but that first shirt is still my go-to for backpacking, either layered or alone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MTB
I hit several thrift stores local to me with no good finds at all. I was actually kind of surprised. I'll go back in a week or two though. I did find a few pair of pants Im watching on ebay at the moment. hopefully that turns up something nice. Either way, next month I think I will be ordering a pair of pants from the Gostwear company that was recommended here. I like the looks of their stuff, the price is fair, and its made in Canada. The reviews were good and I'd be happy to buy from our northern neighbors!

I just made an absolutely amazing discovery! Last night as I was trying to clean up our basement I was going through some boxes we STILL(after 6 years) haven't unpacked yet. To my delight I found a box containing 4 US army wool blankets, 3 US army cold weather wool shirts, 1 USMC wool sweater, and 1 British army wool sweater! Everything is like new and the US army shirts are still in the plastic bags from the manufacturer! Years ago before my wife and I bought our house, I had sold off a large portion of my outdoor gear. I'm not sure how I lost track of these but I had just assumed they were with all the other stuff I sold off. Man, it was like Christmas morning!
 
They are very expensive, even more so here in the UK, but it’s hard to beat a Pendleton. Just my two pence. ;)
 
MTB said:
I hit several thrift stores local to me with no good finds at all. I was actually kind of surprised. I'll go back in a week or two though. I did find a few pair of pants Im watching on ebay at the moment. hopefully that turns up something nice. Either way, next month I think I will be ordering a pair of pants from the Gostwear company that was recommended here. I like the looks of their stuff, the price is fair, and its made in Canada. The reviews were good and I'd be happy to buy from our northern neighbors!

I just made an absolutely amazing discovery! Last night as I was trying to clean up our basement I was going through some boxes we STILL(after 6 years) haven't unpacked yet. To my delight I found a box containing 4 US army wool blankets, 3 US army cold weather wool shirts, 1 USMC wool sweater, and 1 British army wool sweater! Everything is like new and the US army shirts are still in the plastic bags from the manufacturer! Years ago before my wife and I bought our house, I had sold off a large portion of my outdoor gear. I'm not sure how I lost track of these but I had just assumed they were with all the other stuff I sold off. Man, it was like Christmas morning!
Click to expand...
Great find. Surprised the moths and silverfish haven't had a field day with these long stored shirts, blankets, and sweaters.

I have some wool stuff that is stored in sealed small garbage cans with moth balls. Need to check their condition and maybe bring them out of retirement if usable. If not usable, toss them.
 
gadgetgeek said:
Another good source if you don't mind OD green is varusteleka.com...
Click to expand...

So, thanks to you, I am addicted to this site. I have made multiple orders for new and surplus items and its all fantastic. Their in-house brand, Sarma, is excellent so far. I now have their merino scarf, merino fingerless gloves, wool Finnish Field Cap, and two of their wool flannel shirts. I will be buying their wool field shirts and other merino items in the near future. Their shipping is also usually faster than domestic shipping in the US. I seriously can not say enough good about these guys. Thank you for recommending this company!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top