Disclaimer: Some, ok 99.8% of you, will consider the events that follow positively gross, but that’s what created the buzz for us and made it worth risking a nasty untreatable skin disease.:)). WARNING DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.
Icebreaker clothing lays claim to being thin and made from natural fibers which makes it warm in cold weather, cool in warm weather, light, breathable, easy care, no stink and no itch. Having worn Icebreaker merino wool in Alaska for 10 days I can attest to all of the above however I was curious just how far the limits could be pushed so I rounded up three co-workers and put it to the test.
Four testosterone-rich Canadian guys sharing one shirt for three weeks to see if they could bring Icebreakers outdoor gear to its knees.  We had two very simple rules as follows: 1/ each activity had to produce copious amounts of sweat  2/ no washes, rinses or application of good smelling products were permitted during the challenge.
Our intense sweat-filled activities over the three weeks are listed below:
- 9 8Â km runs each @ 90 degrees F plus
- 3 1.5 hour hot yoga sessions @ 109 degrees F
- 36 holes of golf @ 95 degrees F
- 1 1.5 hour cycle ride at 93 degrees F
To give you some idea of what we threw at this shirt, the average male sweats out one liter per hour of activity so this shirt sucked up and spit out approximately 24 liters of man juice from four different guys over a three week period. I KNOW YUCK.
Knowing guys and gals have a very different take on what passes the smell test I made my very “hyper-sensitive to unclean” wife the judge. When handed the shirt at the end of the three weeks for the final verdict the best criticism she could come up with was to say it didn’t have that fresh out of the laundry smell. I will give her that much but what about that nasty don’t come near me smell of body odor?  Definitely no body odor smell were her final words. Actually her finals words were, “It’s still gross”.
May be so but for anyone who’s active this little test should serve to reassure you that whatever activity you’re involved for whatever length of time if you’re wearing Icebreaker merino wool you won’t finish up smelling like a barn yard animal in the heat of summer.
For photographers specifically the results of this challenge should bring a huge smile to your face as we often travel for weeks at a time to remote areas that have small plane weight restrictions and no access to laundry facilities. When it comes to photography clothing nothing else can match Icebreaker merino wool. With varying 150, 200, 260, 320 weights available this makes layering for a variety of temperatures possible without having to carry more than 3-4 pieces of photography clothing for your entire trip. When Icebreaker clothing is layered together they lock together like a single garment with air being trapped in between each fine layer to ramp up the warmth. So a few tops and bottoms of varying weights and you’re all set for a week or a month. Icebreaker has a very nice illustration of the merino weights and layering process on the Icebreaker clothing website.
If you want to purchase Icebreaker Outdoor Gear you may go direct to the “Icebreaker Store”  (Choose the country you reside in from the drop down menu top left to shop in your preferred currency)
