So................... here's another blog post about wool running gear. I had posted a review in the early winter about a Woolx mid weight insulating merino wool base layer (spoiler- I love it), and then recently posted a review of merino wool socks from Farm to Feet (another spoiler- I love them). Now I'm going to post a review of a light weight merino wool t shirt- the Outback T Shirt by Woolx (http://www.woolx.com/woolx-lightweight-merino-wool-tshirt-for-men.html).
Note- this buff looking fellow is their model, not me.
For an insulating layer, of course wool makes sense- everyone knows wool is warm. And for socks- sure, everyone gets that wool socks are comfortable. But wool for a running t shirt? It's easy to understand how you might think that doesn't sound great. When it's cold, there's nothing cozier than wool, but when you're hot and sweaty, wool isn't the first thing that comes to mind. However, once you've tried one of these shirts, you won't think twice about running in it on even the hottest of days.
Woolx makes the softest, silkiest clothing you can imagine. There is none of the itchiness or scratchiness that you might expect from wool if you've never experienced the performance merino wool gear that some companies have been producing. The fit of this also is perfect for me. This is listed on their website as a slim fit, which is what I like. This shirt fits on the snug side for sure, which is what I prefer when running. I don't like to have extra fabric billowing around.
To test this out, I've gone on several runs in different conditions- cool, rainy, warm & humid. The warm and humid is what I was really looking forward to testing this out in. In the cool weather, it was nice and comfy, but nothing to make it really stand out. I wanted to see what would happen when I went for a long sweaty run in this, so last weekend I did 2.5 hours of trails, with temperatures at about 20C (68F) and pretty high humidity. As was expected, I worked up a good sweat, and soaked everything I was wearing. I had no issues at all with chafing or rubbing with this shirt.
One of the great things about wool as well is that it tends to not hold stink like synthetic fabrics do. I'm sure all of us have gear that, no matter how many times you wash it, as soon as you pull it out of the closet you can smell the stink. Wool really doesn't get that, so if the stink of synthetics bothers you, wool is definitely worth looking at.
The one other thing to take into consideration is cost. This shirt retails for $58, which is pretty steep for a shirt, but not out of line with some of the big name brands. I think it's worth it to spend a few more bucks for something you love than something you think is just okay.
Bottom line- this shirt goes on the list of "running stuff that I love."