Blowing wet wools weigh myth out of the water

Firstly a disclaimer.... and apologies for the Title pun, but this is a back yard comparison only, and there may be slight variations. But basically, a popular belief is that when it comes to wet wool versus wet polar fleece, popular consensus is that wool when wet is heavier than wet polar fleece and that wool takes longer to dry.

So... I soaked 2 popular & almost identical hunting shirts in style and size, 1 woolen and the other one fleece, and weighed their wet weight.
Well the difference in weights surprised me, to the extent that I dropped them back into the tub, dragged them out and re-weighed them. And although there was some very small difference from the original weigh in, the big gap between the 2 fabrics was still there. I expected some difference, but not as big as it was :(

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and here is their dry weight..... with only 82grams difference between them. I zeroed the bucket weight on the scales, so all weights are "net"
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I then pulled them out of the tub and held them up to drain for 20 seconds, then into a bucket to get their "wringing wet" weight
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Then I hung them on the clothes line and re-weighed them after 10 minutes.
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Then back onto the clothes line for a re-weigh after 30 minutes
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Then back onto the clothes line for a final re-weigh after 1&1/2 hours
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So as I indicated.... there's possibly some small variences and its not scientific..... but the results are the exact opposite of the popular belief, but then I've never doubted good old NZ wool :thumbsup:

Which one do you think is warmer (dry)?

Thats a cool experiment, i've always thought the "myth" was true...

The fleece ..... but only if your sitting around. The wool breathes a lot better when your working in it.
And I wear MKM's soft woolen singlets or tee's under both of them anyway.

Great experiment.
Not the resulting expected.
Wool doesn't smell as quick either!
I wear wool baselayers now days after years of technical synthetic. Just the smell difference is worth it.

That is actually a fairl scientific experiment. The one other thing I can think of is wearing each while walking for say 30mins and 1hr and weighing after that. Maybe motion makes the difference?. Would be good to see if wool still beats Synthetic in that scenario.

good stuff mate

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Originally Posted by longshot

That is actually a fairl scientific experiment. The one other thing I can think of is wearing each while walking for say 30mins and 1hr and weighing after that. Maybe motion makes the difference?. Would be good to see if wool still beats Synthetic in that scenario.

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Yes, that would be interesting !.......Are you volunteering for that test ?:D

One so called advantage with fleece is you can spin it around and around and get rid of a heap of excess water, or just ring it out and then put it back on. That might be a myth too.

You dont see Sheep wearing fleece for a good reason :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Husky1600#2

One so called advantage with fleece is you can spin it around and around and get rid of a heap of excess water, or just ring it out and then put it back on. That might be a myth too.

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I think that applies to both of them..... but of interest, I've just taken both off the clothes line, 5:15pm.... and the wool is dry, but the fleece is still holding significant water in the bottom 1/4, which as you say, a quick flick got rid of a lot of it, but it was still wet compared to the wool being reasonably dry ???
And I'm not biased.... as I own 5 of the popular brand fleece shirts, and 5 of the popular brand woolen shirts :D

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Originally Posted by Pengy

You dont see Sheep wearing fleece for a good reason :thumbsup:

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Yes but fleece doesn't smell of sheep when its wet, and wool is itchy for some folks, I can't wear wool next to my skin not even Merino it gets itchy.

Counter-intuitive or counter-myth. Long time since I had a woolen Swandri, used to live in one. They stayed expensive and fleece came along dirt cheap. But I should have known. 5 yrs ago I got convinced to try merino underwear for several months thru a hot European summer backpacking. Best thing I ever did. Never worn acrylic next to my skin since. Might have to find a woolen shirt. Good post!

What was the relative thickness of the wollen material vs the fleece? Fleece is usually a lot finer and more dense material than the wool which is usually a coarser fiber. I had an old ex military swandri product that was about 6kg dry - warm as all hell but I'd hate to have to swim in it.

One possible fly in the ointment could be that the Synthetic material might be multilayered, so has more surface area to hold onto the water so will be heavier when wet, and be slower drying as more surface area is holding the water

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Originally Posted by No.3

What was the relative thickness of the wollen material vs the fleece? Fleece is usually a lot finer and more dense material than the wool which is usually a coarser fiber. I had an old ex military swandri product that was about 6kg dry - warm as all hell but I'd hate to have to swim in it.

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If you mean the Military DPM pattern wool jacket..... There's a reason they're so hard to find. They were possibly the worst made woolen product ever produced in NZ. You could almost push a pen through the weave of the wool :(
Not that our popular woolen brand is as densely woven as it used to be these days either.

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Originally Posted by rugerman

One possible fly in the ointment could be that the Synthetic material might be multilayered, so has more surface area to hold onto the water so will be heavier when wet, and be slower drying as more surface area is holding the water

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I hear you, and that wouldn't be a fair comparison. Definitely not a layered fleece. 350gsm single layer fleece.

Great experiment NIMROD, colour me surprised.

This is purely anecdotal of course, but the difference for me is when wearing wet woollen clothes I feel like a drowned rat. Like there's no denying that you're absolutely soaked. But for whatever reason when I'm wearing wet fleece clothes, I often don't feel wet at all. Perhaps there's something to be said for the drying/wicking properties of wool vs fleece when you add a heat source (i.e. your body heat)?

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Originally Posted by Husky1600#2

One so called advantage with fleece is you can spin it around and around and get rid of a heap of excess water, or just ring it out and then put it back on. That might be a myth too.

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That you can definitely do.and from soaking wet.polatfleece will let water drop down to bottom of fabric reasonably quickly so the top dries quickly. Loved my old swannie but fleece dried much faster.

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Originally Posted by Roarless20

Great experiment.
Not the resulting expected.
Wool doesn't smell as quick either!
I wear wool baselayers now days after years of technical synthetic. Just the smell difference is worth it.

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Word is Sir Peter Blake used a merino top for 6 months without washing it.

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

If you mean the Military DPM pattern wool jacket..... There's a reason they're so hard to find. They were possibly the worst made woolen product ever produced in NZ. You could almost push a pen through the weave of the wool :(
Not that our popular woolen brand is as densely woven as it used to be these days either.

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No, not those although I used to have one of them as well. They were "summer weight" in comparison to the thick layered one. The thicker one was almost waterproof for anything up to moderate rain - the water just tended to bead up and run off leaving the top layer only feeling a little damp. Really tight weave.

Good comparison.
Another advantage of wool, it doesn't build up static electricity. Which is also bad for you.

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Originally Posted by 7mmwsm

Good comparison.
Another advantage of wool, it doesn't build up static electricity. Which is also bad for you.

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Or go on fire, the early synthetic stuff was terrible, hopefully it's improved cause I witnessed an incident that could have been fatal . . .

Thanks Nimrod for an awesome ecperiment and helping me feel less bad about the number of accumulating hunting tops in both fleece and wool. Found both effective but have to say the wool is better when wet at keeping me warm

Just got 3x MKM active singlelets today. Looking forward to combo with the Swandri this month

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Originally Posted by Snoppernator

Thanks Nimrod for an awesome ecperiment and helping me feel less bad about the number of accumulating hunting tops in both fleece and wool. Found both effective but have to say the wool is better when wet at keeping me warm

Just got 3x MKM active singlelets today. Looking forward to combo with the Swandri this month

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I would say MKM just got an influx of orders after this and one of the other threads, just got the hoodie and a couply singlets :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by TeRei

Word is Sir Peter Blake used a merino top for 6 months without washing it.

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That’s nothing. I used to wear my old black shearing singlets so long my chest hairs grew through them. :)

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Originally Posted by Tahr

That’s nothing. I used to wear my old black shearing singlets so long my chest hairs grew through them. :)

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And then you discovered women, and the benefits of using soap 'n water occasionally lol

Well Done on the experiment; a very surprising result for me.Personally; my son & I tend to target the rainy weather to go hunting & ive tried different wool/merino combinations & hav found Macpac thermals & Macpac/Stoney Creek Fleece best for me. I find there is quite a difference in fleece quality tho. i have tried a no. of average brands & like you say ; they retain water pretty badly. Like what Micky Duck said; some Fleeces let the water pass down through them very quick ( without seemingly taking too much body heat ) & seem to dry pretty fast.

Hi all last year I purchased a fleece anorak from a very reputable brand which also has wind protection as well While hunting at Te Puke hut in the Kaweka's in drizzle last November it filled up with water. After I returned I hung it up outside to allow the water to move to the bottom of the garment I then spent 5 minutes shaking it and cracking it like a whip to get the water out I gave it a good shake about a dozen times, I was very disappointed with the performance. It was still wet and heavy two days later! Nimrod's experiment confirms my thoughts that old swanny held water but shed it quickly as well. I am definitely going back to wool. Thanks Nimrod

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Originally Posted by Ruger7mm

Hi all last year I purchased a fleece anorak from a very reputable brand which also has wind protection as well While hunting at Te Puke hut in the Kaweka's in drizzle last November it filled up with water. After I returned I hung it up outside to allow the water to move to the bottom of the garment I then spent 5 minutes shaking it and cracking it like a whip to get the water out I gave it a good shake about a dozen times, I was very disappointed with the performance. It was still wet and heavy two days later! Nimrod's experiment confirms my thoughts that old swanny held water but shed it quickly as well. I am definitely going back to wool. Thanks Nimrod

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That is because the manufacturers make products that the average Joe public ask for. Spent 15+ years in the clothing industry and was always getting asked "Can you make it windproof" Course you can, easy peasy, just slap a layer of windproof fabric on the outer of the garment. BUT fleece doesnt work like that, fleece needs to breath, and that windproof layer which is to some extent waterproof as well, pretty much negates the benefits of fleece. Easiest way around it is buy quality fleece, and use a separate windshell.

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Originally Posted by Happy Jack

Yes but fleece doesn't smell of sheep when its wet, and wool is itchy for some folks, I can't wear wool next to my skin not even Merino it gets itchy.

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Same - that's why I've never been keen to try those MKM shirts... I can just about handle some of the higher quality finer merinos, if I force myself to ignore it, but mostly wool next to my skin makes me really uncomfortable and has done all my life. I can now handle merino woolen socks, but straight woolen socks, no way. I always need a liner sock underneath. Drives me nuts. Funny thing is one of my kids is the same, while the other can happily wear anything against his skin, no worries.

Forgot to add - great experiment Nimrod - thanks for taking the trouble and for sharing the results. I'm still a big fan of woolen mid layers and insulation - jumpers, hats/beanies, mittens, and socks - wool feels warmer to me, is not as sweaty, and definitely less smelly than synthetic. I just wear synthetic base layers.

Just to reiterate.... I'm not out to recommend wool over fleece or vise versa, and both hunting shirts are from NZ's two leading outdoor clothing manufacturers in their field. Not cheap knockoffs.
The exercise was done purely to dispel the oft quoted advice on this forum that wool is heavier when wet than fleece.
Both fabrics have their strengths and weaknesses over the other and personal preference is a given right to everyone. And the last word on this experiment, that I haven't posted on here, is that both are about neck and neck when it comes to being rung out of excess water.

Happy hunting and hot barrels..... NIMROD

Yep on the wool for sure- by the bye- the last 2 weeks at work(builder) ive noticed wearing my hi viz synth hoodies does not breathe- back to my Swandri shirt and now mkm wool/synth blend.
Man those hi viz Hard Yakka tops are a plastic bag to wear.