Opinions of Smartwool Garments?

“I bought a Smartwool t-shirt to give it a test run. According to <"http://backpackinglight.com/index/4/index.htm#Part%201"> BackpackingLight, Merino wool is the miracle base layer, so I thought I would give it a try to see if I should convert from my hot weather cotton / cold weather synthetic system to just wool year-round.

Well I didn't get very far because the second I put it on I felt a little bit of an itch. Now granted, I may be overly sensitive to the non-cotton feel, but it was enough for me to stop my test pre-tag removal.

Questions:
1. Does anyone use Merino wool as an all-season base layer?
2. I bought a t-shirt rather than Smartwool's base layer - I think there's a difference in thickness and in-turn itchiness. Has anyone used their base layer and been satisfied?

To Smartwool's credit I do mean "little bit itchy." It was more of a non-cotton feel than an itchy feel. Some folks might not even notice a difference.”

“I do use their socks and am completely satisfied with them. I wouldn't want folks to rehash old sock threads.”

“I haven't tried it and wool seems to hold too much water and take too long to dry. It also weakens when it gets wet and is weaker than synthetics to begin with. I haven't found anything that can dry faster than Lifa's Prolite 5000. I had a pair of Merino wool gloves and they got holes in them very fast.”

“SmartWool socks wear like iron and wick moisture away from your feet as though they had itty-bitty fans in 'em. I wouldn't hike without them and I recommend them with reservation.”

“Crap! This wasn't a sock thread. Sorry...”

“I love the socks, but have had a non Smart Wool Merino wool turtleneck that itched, so I haven't been very interested in trying their other stuff. I'm perfectly happen with capilene/polypro stuff.”

“Dammit! 'withOUT' reservation...”

“I used one for a season but I just couldn't get used to that constant, low-level feeling of skin irritation. I know what you mean, it's not really an itch/scratch feeling. I always chalked it up to extra-sensitive skin.”

“Rented fingers this morning, FG?”

“Sorta...
Mother Goose and I catered a wedding yesterday, a 16-hour ordeal. After we got done, we polished off a couple of bottles of Chardonnay. I'm still feelin' a little hinkey...”

“Wow, I bet you are!

Is there some sort of husband medal for that?”

“LOL!”

“Skully - I'm gonna take your comments as confirmation. I think I'll hold off on Smartwool shirts for now and just stick with the socks.”