Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Does all Merino Wool stink?

The wool smell doesn't bother me a bit. I have the same associations with it as Hoppes #9, campfire smoke, and fresh brewed coffee.

I see the Cabelas online description says it's made with merino wool, but doesn't say the percentage. I'm guessing there is a significant amount of polyester in the garment. I've been about soaked when wearing wool and was a little embarrassed about the smell because I didn't know if other people knew the smell of wet wool. A friend of mine jumped into my truck one morning and said something right away asking if I was wearing wool and I said yep, thinking he thought it stank. He said something like man, I sure miss that smell. Used to be the way guys and trucks smelled when I started hunting with my dad up in Canada. It was kind of a nice way to start a day hunting. Friend also thinks it's cool when my truck smells like hay

Anyway, I haven't had a problem with wool smelling worse than any other thing, and usually smells a lot less than other stuff. But it does smell sort of like a wet dog when it's wet.

My Smartwool merino has no stink at all and I have worn it for several days at a time. On the other hand my Cabelas merino is TERRIBLE after 1 day of sweating. I'll never buy that stuff again!

North Georgia must be COLD, I never wore wool undergarments in Alaska.

My wife has some merino wool long underwear and they do smell "sheepy" when they get wet/sweaty. You have to remember, they are made from sheep "hair"! The wool is going to retain a little lanolin and other natural oils from the animal. Some fabric companies do a better job of "washing" the wool than others. Most of the Cabelas products I have tried have been made from mid-grade fabrics and they change their suppliers often.

Chet

If you read the reviews, there's some question about whether they're 100 Merino because they itch. However, they're made in China so 100% accuracy in the labeling is GUARANTEED, right?