Every wool has a rating in microns, which describes how thick the wool is. The finer it is, the softer it will feel against your skin. For this reason, merino and cashmere come at a premium with micron ratings of 10-25 and 14-19 respectively.

Merino and cashmere are perfect for your grandmas sweater - but they will not do for an outdoors jumper that needs to take abuse. The finer a wool is, the more prone it is to tearing and pulling.

The issue is, that as you add softness, you lose the friction that is holding the garment together.

This means that in some respects, a more expensive jumper could actually sag with age more than a lower cost garment made from coarser wool. However, most of the time today, a lower cost wool garment will not be made with pure wool at all, it will be a blend made with polyester which reduces the antimicrobial, water-wicking and heat-management benefits of wool

Our wool jumpers are made from 26.5 micron wool from Romney Marsh sheep. This sits somewhere inbetween merino and the coarses of Shetland breeds. It's a happy medium for outdoorswear. It feels slightly rough to the touch, but is not itchy. 

Our double layered jumpers have an inner lining made from merino wool, possum and 15% polyester.


Why Possum?

 The possum is 55% warmer than merino and 35% warmer than cashmere as well as far softer. At a molecular level, it's a tubular fur similar to that of a polar bear. The possum are all wild pests from New Zealand. They were introduced from Australia and today outnumber the human population and have killed the majority of the islands birds, driving many species extinct. The possum population is considered a national emergency and mass-scale ecological crisis. We consider it one of the most ethical materials you could wear in terms of environmental impact and comfort. 

Why merino wool? 

The merino is soft against your skin and provides an extra layer of warmth, as well as a wind block, since it has a much finer weave. The best place for merino is against your skin, whereas the best place for the 26.5 micron Romney Marsh wool is on the exterior of the jumper where the resilience is needed for outdoor living. 

The inner layer is 15% polyester, because this helps to reduce stretch so the jumper holds its structure over the years.