Can you wear the BPL Hoody alone with no worries about the wear from my pack? Do I nned an extra layer on top?

Thanks

Edited by Sixguns01 on 01/13/2011 05:30:45 MST.

Any experience out there?

Mark, I would expect wear from shoulder and hipbelt use if you're carrying a load for extended periods of time with nothing in-between you and your pack (ie. thru-hike). I owned one and found no considerable or unacceptable wear and degredation to the merino in the shoulder and hipbelt region, however I wore it on a handful of multi-day trips carrying a very light pack spread out over the course of a year, so I'm not the best gauge for feedback on longterm durability of the hoody. The biggest issue I found, as with any lightweight merino piece in the 160g range (smartwool, Icebreaker, ibex), is the Beartooth doesnt handle snags from branches very well (not much lightweight gear does), and definitely isnt acceptable for bushwhacking for any real length of time. Doing so will result in pinholes and thread runs in the fabric eventually. Bushwhacking, blowdown, laurel, cactus, eyegouging shrubs are natural enemies to the Beartooth, a pack I'd say is good company.

I've worn mine often as my only upper body layer, and have had no durability issues after more than one year of use. In my case even winter use often means direct exposure to the sling that holds my avalanche beacon. As Eugene points out things might change with a thru-hike or other daily direct exposure to shoulder straps or hip belt, but so far mine has held up as well as other merino shirts.

I would be using it on 2-5 days trips occasionally throughout the year. I unfortunately can't do those multiweek trips. Too much going on at home.

I assume the Lightweight Smartwool T-shirts I got for Christmas are just as durable?

Thanks for the input

I've put a lot of use on mine with a bunch of 1 week trips, still in great shape, just a tiny hole on the wrist but that's from collecting firewood while using the thumbloops

this is the only flaw with what i think is otherwise just about the perfect backpacking base material: lack of durability. i dont have the beartooth but my experience with pretty much any merino is that it will wear out quicker than other materials. this is especially true for the lighter garments like the beartooth that are more versatile. I've had merino shirts that i hiked in a few times a week for like 3 years but they hardly resembled shirts by the time i retired them. ice breaker seems to last a little longer but they have nothing like the beartooth. i/o bio also has a really nice peice called the contact glory hoody which can be had for considerably less than the bpl hoody. i love mine- very well made but i imagine it'll be in shreds by the end of my thru hike this spring with daily use. sorry not to address your question more directly, but thats just my 2 cents. Expect to wear the hoody into shreds. keep wearing it!

I assume the Lightweight Smartwool T-shirts I got for Christmas are just as durable?

Not necessarily. The merino weight may be an equivalent but there is variation in weave and sourcing. The BPL Beartooth held up much better than similar Smartwool shirts I've used. I've had some bad experiences with Smartwool products, in particular their socks, but that's beside the point. I owned a Smartwool Microweight Zip T (150g/m2) that had very poor durability, fraying and piling was a problem just from regular use. My Smartwool boxers, which are 150g/m2 as well, are starting to show quite a bit of wear on the panels (not along the stitching), but I've had these for about 4 years now and think that's pretty acceptable.

Bought one for my wife and me in december 2008 ( -40% sale back then :p )
Mine is still in great shape, my wife 's hoodie got a few holes, nothing bad but has seen a little more use too.
I must have hiked perhaps 30 days in it and my wife 50 ( i start using a silkbody shirt with temperatures lower than her ) perhaps with 1/3rd to 1/2 of the time with no other clothes on top of it.

Edited by Fre49 on 01/14/2011 00:27:52 MST.