Personal Information:
Name: Christine Korhonen
Age: 30
Gender: female
Height: 5'4" (1.6 m)
Weight: 165 lb (75 kg)
E-mail: chris@wormguy.com
Location: Western Montana
Date: June 15, 2004

Backpacking Background:
I'm in Montana where I've become re-acquainted with winter. Now that I'm back above the snow line, I've attempted some winter camping and snowshoeing. I'm a lightweight backpacker mentally, if not always in practice. I've gotten my summer multi-day pack weight down to 13 lb (6 kg), but winter backpacking is still new to me, and my winter pack weight hovers around 25 lb (11 kg).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Ibex
URL: www.ibexwear.com
Style: Women's Climacore Ribbed Woolies
MSRP: US$52.50 top, US$50 bottoms
Sizes tested: L top, XL bottoms
Colors tested: Heather Blue top, Black bottoms
Listed average weights: top 4 oz (113 g), bottoms 4 oz (113 g)
Measured weights: L top 6.0 oz (170 g), XL bottoms 6.2 oz (176 g)

Ribbed Woolies Description:
The Ribbed Woolies are a lightweight, superfine Merino wool baselayer. The top is a long-sleeve crew neck shirt. The bottoms have an elastic waist and tapered legs. Both pieces are made out of a stretchy, ribbed knit and have flat seams. The women's Woolies come in different colors and sizes than the men's versions.   The Woolies are advertised not to stink, not to itch, to regulate temperature, regulate moisture, and to be machine washable. These qualities, in addition to the elastic waist, seams, and tags, were tested over the past two months.

Field Information:
I've tested the Woolies in Montana and Wyoming up to elevations of 7500' (2300 m) and in Hawaii at sea level. I've worn the Woolies as a sleep layer, as a base layer, out to the store, and out jogging. I've worn them in tropical warmth and freezing rain.

Stink:
After two days in the backcountry wearing my polypropylene base layers, I smell bad. After two days wearing the Woolies, I didn't smell nearly as bad. I haven't noticed the top smelling at all. This is a vast improvement over polypropylene.   I wore the Woolies top three days and nights continuously while in town, and even went jogging the first day. I didn't notice it smelling at all.

Itch:
The Woolies don't itch! The wool is soft, and I can identify the Woolies in the dark by their soft feel. The material is very comfortable.

Temperature Regulation:
I wore the Woolies to sleep when I was in Hawaii.   It got down to 70 F (20 C) at night with 70% humidity. I was inside but kept the windows open, and there was a nice ocean breeze. I was very comfortable in the Woolies. When I sleep, I prefer to have my arms covered, either with long sleeves or by a sheet. My long-sleeve cotton shirts were too thick and heavy to wear in these conditions, but the Woolies worked very well.

I also wore the Woolies as a base layer while backpacking in snowy conditions. I wore the Woolies top during the hike and kept it on while I slept. I changed into the Woolies bottoms for sleeping. The top is close-fitting, and works well as a layer under my fleece and jacket. I was quite warm while it snowed all night outside my tent. I was in my 20 F (-7 C) sleeping bag, Woolies, and Finbar Hood. I found if I tried to sleep in more layers than the just Woolies, I got too hot and woke up several times to remove clothing.

Moisture Regulation:
I walked through a snowstorm wearing the Woolies as my base layer. By the time I got to my car, the left sleeve was soaked to my elbow. I wrung out as much of the water as I could, but wanted to keep wearing the Woolies top because the dry part was so comfortable. The wet wool was clammy but warmed up quickly. The wool that was touching my skin dried first, and I moved the sleeve around so the other sections would also dry. It took about a half-hour in my car with the heater on for the shirt to dry completely.

I also wore the Woolies while running. It was a cool day with wind, and any sweat I produced was wicked from my skin. As a rule, as soon as I start sweating I take off layers instead of letting the baselayers get wet. In this instance, the Woolies were just warm enough to keep me from being chilled, but not too warm that I got overheated while running.

Washability:
I've washed the Woolies five times now. As far as I can tell they haven't shrunk or become stretched out. They are only slightly damp when they come out of the washer's spin cycle and take about twenty minutes to line dry after I've hung them up inside (in 30% humidity).

Elastic Waist:
The elastic in the waistband of the bottoms is 1" (2.5 cm) and thinner than I prefer. To compensate for this, I flip the waistband over one or two times. This bulks up the waistband and puts some more padding between the elastic and my skin. It also shortens the length between the bottom's waist and crotch, which fits my short torso better.   The elastic waistband is not tight, it's just thin. It doesn't dig into my waist, but isn't as comfortable as a wider piece of elastic would be. The elastic waistbands that I've enjoyed wearing lately use 1¼" - 1⅜" (3.2 cm - 3.5 cm) widths. It doesn't seem that ¼" (0.6 cm) would make that much of a difference, but it seems to for me.

Seams:
The seams have remained soft and intact. I don't see any visible stress on them. In my initial report, I was concerned that the seams down the inner thigh would be uncomfortable. I haven't noticed this so far. I haven't done much hiking wearing the Woolies bottoms, so I will continue to test these seams.

Tags:
When I first saw the Woolies, I was annoyed by the three large tags on each piece. These tags, especially the large plastic ones, irritated me with their sharp corners.   After a few washings they softened up, and now they are not nearly as annoying. I still don't see the necessity of three tags in one garment, but at least they don't hurt anymore. The tag on the back collar of the top does have one benefit. It helps me orient myself when dressing in the dark. Since the top is a crew neck, it's difficult to tell front from back in the dark, and, with flat seams, it's difficult to tell inside from outside. The tag on the back inside collar points me in the right direction.

Presentability:
Unfortunately, the Woolies did not pass the presentability test. When I visited my mother, she did not appreciate my leaving the house wearing the Woolies top as a long-sleeve shirt. She felt the top hung too loosely on my shoulders. I believe this looseness was due to the style of the sleeves and not because the top had stretched out. I have worn the Woolies top out to the store. It's very comfortable, and I like wearing it, but I have to agree with my mom that it's not the most flattering shirt on me. I have never felt comfortable wearing the Woolies bottoms in public. They look too much like long underwear for me to wear out.

So Far:
So far I've been really impressed by the Ribbed Woolies. Both the top and bottoms are extremely comfortable. The Woolies are my first choice in sleep wear.

Like:
Soft
Odor-resistant
Lightweight

Will watch:
Thin waistband elastic
Seams on inner thigh

Test Plan:
During the coming months, I will continue to test the Woolies, paying particular attention to durability. I will see if the layers stretch out after repeated washings and wearings. I will test the Woolies primarily in the parks and on the trails of Montana and Wyoming.

Read more reviews of Ibex gear
Read more gear reviews by Christine Korhonen

Field Report

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