Icebreaker
Nature Based Clothing Systems
Each merino creates about 5 icebreakers a year. There are 60,000 follicles per square inch of skin, producing over 100 million individual fibres in each fleece. Join the fibres from 5 merinos end to end and you can tie a bow around the world.
Merino is much finer than traditional wool, and is technically more complex than synthetics.
Tiny overlapping scales case the fibre. They're hydrophobic (water resistant), like tiles on a roof. Inside it's a different story - the fibre is highly absorbent.
Icebreaker merino is the most hydrophillic of all fibres and can absorb and release 10x more moisture than synthetics. Each fibre can absorb up to one third of its own weight in moisture without feeling clammy or wet to touch. Your icebreaker can then release this moisture into the atmosphere to keep you feeling warm and dry.
Icebreaker vs Traditional Wool
Compared to traditional wool, the merino fibre is a fraction of the diameter, which is one of the reasons why your icebreaker doesn't itch. The large scales on traditional wool act like barbs against sensitive skin. Merino feels like silk.
Icebreaker vs Synthetic Fibres
Synthetic fibres such as polypropylene or polyester have a much simpler structure. They are made from melting, extruding and setting a petrochemical-based product, similar to plastic. The fibre can't breathe, absorb or release moisture. When knitted into fabric, they are limited to one-way moisture movement, with limited breathability, which can create a chill zone when moisture sits on the outside of the fabric. Icebreaker merino has the ability to absorb and release moisture, to cool or warm the body, thus regulating temperature.
You‘ll warm up quickly but not overheat due to the exceptional breathability of the fabric.
Layering your Icebreaker
Layering icebreaker is your secret to changing climates.
A single icebreaker layer protects you from the sun and still keeps you warm at night.
Layer 2 or 3 pieces, and you have a lightweight system that not only moves with you as if it were one garment, but breathes in its entirety, just as if it was on a merino at 7,000 feet.
Merino wool shares the same building blocks as human skin - keratin. This is one of the reasons why your icebreaker feels so good against your skin. It's the keratin in merino that also makes your icebreaker naturally fire resistant.
Merino Supply
We're fussy about our fibre. We procure the best pure merino available, direct from the mountains of New Zealand. And then make our own fabrics using icebreaker technology.
Originally we had to, as no-one could supply what we wanted. Then it turned into a passion and a source of innovation. An early lesson taught us that it's imperative to start right at the beginning of the chain, with the best raw material. Or else it's like buying grapes from any old place to make a particular style of wine.
We have set up contracts direct with the farmers who grow the wool. We currently work with just 30 of the best growers in the world, mainly scattered around the Southern Alps of the South Island.