Merino wool is the perfect fabric for active clothing. That's because Merino sheep are smart. In fact, Merino farmers say they are as every bit as clever as their sheep dogs. But then, Merino are no ordinary sheep. The Merino fibre itself is just as smart. It can tell when you're hot. It can tell when you're cold. It can manage your microclimate even if you didn't know you had one. And it's all down to Mother Nature.

That's because Merino is hygroscopic. That means it can absorb water, or more precisely sweat. And because it can do so in significant amounts, your body can shed more heat when wearing Merino than when you wear a non-hygroscopic man-made base

And it works the other way around too. During cool and damp conditions Merino fibres actually gain heat, so they help to keep you hot when you're cold. These two processes are called absorption and desorption. Man has tried to replicate this intelligence in a fabric but has so far had little success. It could take a while, it took a few thousand years of evolution for the Merino to come up with that. And they are pretty smart. This natural ability to regulate your temperature explains why the Natural Base Layer works so well. Because the Merino is where it is needed most...

Not bad for a dumb old sheep.

Smallprint: We source our Merino from the un-polluted southern alps of New Zealand and all howies performance Merino carries the MAPP guarantee for source, process and functionality. Again, a little more expensive, but a little better too.