Thread: 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



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"




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




Then I hung them on the clothes line and re-weighed them after 10 minutes.


Then back onto the clothes line for a re-weigh after 30 minutes


Then back onto the clothes line for a final re-weigh after 1&1/2 hours



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

Which one do you think is warmer (dry)?

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Originally Posted by TeRei

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

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

Originally Posted by Tahr

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

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.

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.

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.

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

good stuff mate

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.

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.

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

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.

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.