Minus 33 Merino Wool Thermals

Canadians know and love their thermals. No matter what you call them long underwear, thermal underwear, long johns or union suits - their express purpose is to stay warm and dry. In a land where the winters can be downright hostile and frigid, underwear becomes a incredibly important decision.

Stay warm with just the right pair of thermal underwear for any of your outdoor activities or just to get to work in comfort and warmth. Thermals that are made well tend to come in weight class, light weight, medium weight and heavy weight or expedition worthy. Light weights are perfect for day to day wear. Medium and heavy weight are great for all day outdoor activities.

With a wide variety of style, colours and materials to choose from, you can outfit the entire family in their own coloured thermal underwear and keep everyone warm in style. I have tried many kinds of materials from silk to synthetic and nothing beats natural merino wool and the company Minus 33 has something for everyone in the family.

Minus 33's Merino Wool Clothing and Base Layer Clothing was started with the desire to provide warm, comfortable, high quality clothing that is highly functional and long lasting. They have you covered from the tip of your head to your fingers and toes.

Merino wool has many desirable qualities such as high insulation and low air permeability. Merino is a natural fibre that is enhanced by minus 33. It is easy to care for, comfortable and does it's job better than every other material out there. These qualities and many of its other qualities, is what makes merino wool such a fantastic fabric for outdoor apparel, socks and thermal clothing.

Fashionable is not only about how you look but how you feel, merino wool has many natural attributes that make it extremely comfortable to wear and long lasting. It's superfine fibres feel like silk next to the skin, it's responsive to micro changes in temperature, its wicking properties are 30% more effective than synthetic materials and whether it is summer or winter, Minus 33's merino wool clothing leaves you feeling great.

Merino wool's hydrophilic core has an amazing capacity to absorb up to 35% its own weight, moving it away from the skin and letting it evaporate easily, this is what makes merino wool so effective at keeping you warm is this wicking ability. But do not be fooled, even though it is plush and thick feeling, it is still a highly breathable material that does not feel heavy.

When you spend all day outdoors, or even a few hours, moving around or sitting quietly, you will experience changes in your body temperature. When working you will heat up more, thus sweat more. When sitting quietly, you are not as active and generate less heat and sweat. With synthetics you need to wear one for being active and one for not being active, they are a passive material and less reactive. Merino wool is more active in that it reacts to the micro changes and works to restore balance.

Durability is important, many high quality, high priced synthetic thermals, last a few months of regular wear before they start to say or droop, lose their elasticity. Merino wool being a more natural material bounces back better and for longer than the synthetics. It has finer hair or fibres than many other types of wools, it can be bent 20,000 times without breaking, its coil spring fibres are quick to bounce back into their original shape even after 20,000 bends. Its also why merino wool feels more luxurious, not prickly, than other wools.

Merino wool is also stain and static resistant, odour reducing and quick drying, it is resistant to catching fire and if it does it self extinguishes. It is easy to care for and more recent innovative technology allows for the merino wool to be washed by machine AND tumble dried in the dryer no more separate hand washing and hanging needed. It also does not need as much washing as cottons do.

There are many companies out there that use merino wool in their outdoor clothing and baselayers such as Duofold, Smartwool, Icebreaker, Wigwam and Riverstone, I personally find Minus 33 just uses it smarter. Its as if they live and breath warm clothing wear and take into consideration the smallest of details, like seams which are flat lock and are much less likely to cause chafing and you don't feel the small bulk of a seam.

They have taken into account many of the different types of outdoor activities like fishing, camping, hiking and snow sports and perfected their gear with small touches. When one deals with weather it can range from mild to extreme, and they have you covered there too offering various weights ranging from light to expedition.

Minus 33's controlled felting, milling and fulling are finishing treatments used on merino wool to achieve thicker material, reduced air permeability and increased strength. All of which improves many of wools natural attributes.