I know it is creepy to love a sheep,  but I sure do appreciate what they bring to the Ibex Balance T.  This lightweight, short sleeve, 17.5 micron merino wool t-shirt is an ideal spring time base-layer, that is comfortable as a base layer as well as alone.  The stretchy fabric (82% merino wool, 12% nylon, and 6% spandex) avoids that staticy plastic look and feel that synthetic materials impart on clothing, and swathes the wearer in soft natural fibers.

The Ibex Balance T in the Canyon

I brought an Ibex Balance T, and a comparable synthetic T-shirt into the Grand Canyon for a very sweaty four days of backpacking.  I wanted to get an idea of how merino wool stacked up to its man made counterpart.  Both materials did the job,  drawing sweat away from my body, and depositing into my outer layers to be evaporated away.  Both shirts proved to be durable, but the Balance T out shined its counterpart in two very important categories. The first being comfort.  As I mentioned earlier, the Balance-T has that soft natural fiber feel that does not cling to your body, or give you that vague “I am wearing a plastic bag” kind of aura.  Wearing the Balance T is akin to wearing a finely made cotton t-shirt without the clammy sweat build up.   The second category which  the Balance T out performs my synthetic shirt is odor control.  I wore the Balance T for a day longer than the Synthetic shirt,  and it still had a less funky odor.   The Balance T does take more care than the synthetics.  Instead of tossing it in the washer, and then dumping it in the dryer and being done with it, the Balance T needs to be dried flat as per the instructions.

I beat up this shirt during my trip to the canyon.  It served as my base layer while hiking with a loaded pack,  and my primary shirt on a day off at the bottom of the canyon, bushwacking in and around the river.  The shirt did well, with no noticeable damage to the fabric.  The fit is great,  providing me with a close comfortable fit without being skin tight or binding when worn under other clothing.  It was comfortable under the loaded shoulder straps and my back dried quickly after removing the pack. All of this woolly goodness comes at a price,  and you can expect to pay a bit more for a Balance T than you would a a synthetic shirt.  Is it worth it?  I think so.

Ibex Wool at Backcountry.com