Garthr

Sure there is a reason to wash wool clothing, and that it may be wool, but after sweating in something, hanging it up, and wearing it the next day, it feels like I'm putting on something that's been worn and sweated in. It doesn't feel clean because it's not. Wool may not smell as polyester, but that doesn't mean it doesn't absorb all the other stuff that makes up sweat. I agree that wool isn't so great in sweating in the cold because it's so slow to dry. I laugh at the wool lovers line "it insulates when wet" ..... as so does any polyester of similar construction of the fibers, anything that traps air. And whether you wear wool or poly when it's wet, you need protection from the wind or else you'll freeze from evaporative cooling.

With polyester that develops on odor, Atsko Sport Wash works well and rinses clean with no residue. You're right vinegar doesn't help in the wash. That doesn't make vinegar worthless however !

Try this :

I deodorize clothing washed in any laundry soap by making a spray bottle of 50/50 white vinegar and tap water. After washing while still wet, mist spray the smelly areas until it it's saturated and let it line dry. The next day you may notice some faint lingering vinegar odor, but it won't stink and it lasts for quite a few washes/wear cycles. Repeat as needed as it costs pennies.

GhostRider62

How does one wash their kit every day when touring? Let alone have spray bottles of junk to optimize cleaning while touring.

Sweat that cools you is sterile. Period.

The organisms resident on your skin are what produce the stench. Wash your skin. So many people stink.

Merino is highly antimicrobial due to lanolin and the hollow fibres. I rarely wash my merino

mams99

This!

GhostRider62

Reviewer wore the product for 10 straight days outdoors w/o laundry and w/o odor

I've worn the bottoms and a slightly lighter Kora base layer for 3 weeks straight in a wilderness area. No odor.

https://thetrek.co/kora-yushu-ls-zip...-layer-review/

L134 

I used to claim to my wife that my Merino wool jerseys didn't stink. She, not so respectfully, disagreed.

ignant666

Perhaps you are stinkier than me, or perhaps your wife has a more sensitive nose than mine.

But i can say that i recently, as a test of this very thing, wore a Rivendell short-sleeved wool tshirt for 8 days in a row (while at home) without any comment from the wife re being smelly.

This was a single-blind test, in that i knew i was wearing the same shirt every day, but my wife was not told this, and apparently did not notice. I do not think a double blind approach would improve the quality of the experiment.

flocsy

It's not clear whether the jersey or you smell. Please clarify with your wife and report back

autonomy

I have everything in merino - socks, underwear, tshirt, longsleeve, and longjohns. It's nice to bring just one pair of socks for 3 days (unless you get them wet). I also like to sleep in it, it feels good. It's also cozy in the winter.
It's true, it doesn't stink. But I tried riding in a merino tshirt in the heat and it absolutely sucked - absorbed a lot of water, sagged, and clung to my skin. It wasn't really form-fitting, that may have been the problem, but it didn't stink and it did dry out fast in camp.

staehpj1

I have found wool, merino or otherwise to be over rated as cycling clothing for touring. I was really happy when other options came out that allowed something other than wool for outdoor use in wet activities (I was a kayaker, backpacker, cyclist, and so on way back in the day when synthetic stuff was a new craze). At that time synthetics really could smell bad after some wear. The poly pro stuff was especially bad in that regard. Even so I still thought they were worth it since they didn't soak up or hold as much water and dried quickly. Over time synthetic got better and better about their odor properties. Some are really odor resistant and some less so. I just take the ones that I find good in that regard on tour.

I remember the arrival of synthetics as being liberating. The gradual improvement in anti-stink properties over the decades have been welcome as well. I have some synthetic that I leave home when I tour, but I leave the wool home as well.

irwin7638

I wear wool blend socks, merino wool undies, base layer and jerseys. Nothing else is as comfortable riding a bike.

Marc

john m flores 

Love wool. Hate moths ruining the wool party. I've tried cedar, moth balls, etc. What works for you?

balto charlie

Wool for me, I bring less clothing because I can wear it over and over. And I smell fresh daisies. Thin wool dries relatively quick.

john m flores I keep them in a cedar chest with my wool sweaters. I think some holes come from the washing machine, wool can be more delicate than synthetics.

Paul_P

This must depend on where you live. I also love wool, animals don't wear it for nothing. I have drawers full of wool sweaters, heavy and not so heavy socks, scarves, tuques, and one really thick winter sweater for cross country skiing. I take no precautions and I've never had a bug-caused hole in any of them.