Wearing Wool: The New High Tech Fabric Grows On Sheep

I am not what you would call a “road warrior” kind of cyclist. I don’t own a shiny plastic jersey, I ride in jeans, I don’t even have spandex shorts. I don’t have a gortex, mega ultra super rain jacket, with poly-vinal double ply super plati-nylon weave, or any of the other really pricey plastic clothing I see other people ride around in. While I am sure these things work very well, I am a simple kind of guy, and also one on a budget.

So when I heard about Jones Wares, and their use of wool in cycling and outdoor gear I was intrigued. Here is a product that is grown, not made in a lab, my eco-hippy half liked that. But then I started to think, isn’t wool itchy, won’t it smell funny, won’t it irritate my skin? I guess the only way to find out would be to try out some of the products.

Lucky for me the good people at Jones Wares sent me some nifty wool arm warmers and hat. My first impression was a good one, they sent the items in the least amount of packaging possible while keeping it safe (again my eco side loves things like that). Most of the packaging was recyclable, and the arm warmers and hat came in Black (my favorite color). So far so good.

I took them out of the bag and slid them up my arm. Pro tip: don’t pull so hard that your hand slides off and punches you in the face (twice), as this is not the “cool” way to put them on. A gentle tug will do. The wool was smooth and warm, and I didn’t suffer any itching or redness (I was sure to swing my arms around in several directions like a mad man to see if they would fall off, verdict: they won’t).

I was a little skeptical of the hat, it was super thin, and looked a little “weak” for winter. Boy was I wrong. Not only did it keep my head just as warm as the thick army surplus hat I had been sporting, but it also fit under my helmet way better and allowed for a much more natural fit. I have since retired the army surplus hat for snow ball fights. Again I didn’t suffer any itching, or redness, the wool was super smooth merino wool and came down just enough to get the top part of my ears so they wouldn’t get cold in the wind.

As you know, Boston is a very cold place in the winter, as you might also know (if you are a cyclist) you can still get wicked sweaty cycling around even if it’s 9 degrees outside. I commute to work every day. So when it is sloppy out, or super cold out, or raining cats and dogs, I have a fun time.

My normal cycling setup was long sleeve shirt, with short sleeve shirt over it, with hoody over that with light jacket over that. The arm warmers provided the same sort of solution that a long under shirt did, only it was way easier to slide them off when I got hot. This allowed me to manage that cold start of the ride while being just fine at the end (you don’t even have to slide them off, you can just slide them down). Pro tip: Wool arm warmers absorb snot just as well as your other t-shirt, feel free to use them as a hanky.

I have been using the arm warmers and hat for about a week and a half now. In that time I have taken them out in 9 degree weather, pouring rain, snow and a general mix of winter time horrible. They have held up very well to the daily abuse and have not started to stink (yet, given time everything stinks). Plus I have to admit, they look pretty cool. At the modest price of $28 they are a pretty good deal. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a natural fabric alternative to the super expensive hyper plastic world of high tech cycling gear.

You can find more information about Jones Wares at their website, or you can check out their brand new site here at BostonBiker.org.

We will do a product review for anything that people want to send us, but be warned just because you send us free stuff doesn’t mean we will give you a positive review. If you think your products are up to a critical eye, and a field test contact us and we will give it a try.

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