Reader Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5

Second Update: I have changed the rating back to a 5 because I have been using, and even abusing this baselayer and it not only holds up, but the loose sleeve cuffs pop back into shape on washing. It does not smell, even after a two week test in which I wore it constantly as a baselayer for daily activities and sleeping wear. The torso fit stays constant and it feels great.

Update: After wearing the Patagonia Men's Wool 2 crew long sleeve merino wool top for two weeks it has the precise kinds of problems identified by Kevin who commented below in this review thread. The cuffs get baggy and stretch, they do not stay tight -- or as tight as the capilene top. Therefore, they do not feel all comfy and warm and they allow cold air to circulate up the sleeve when worn without an additional layer. While this may be unavoidable it is critical to the feel and warmth of this base layer and its functionality, so I have reduced its rating to a 4.

Original Review:

This is my first merino wool baselayer. Weighs 6 oz. on my scale, the Patagonia site says it is 3.5 oz.



Specs are at:

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/product/mini_site/pbl_collection.jsp?OPTION=PBL_COLLECTION&catcode=PBL.PBL.MENS.WOOL2#yc

All the things being said about wool base layers in the BPL articles sure seem to be true, so far.

1. Light weight puts it in competition weighwise with my Patagonia capilene top, of similar fabric density or weight.

2. Comfort is incredible. Soft, doesn't itch.

3. Construction is superior to my capilene top IMO. It has extra cuffs that fold back and can be extended to cover my hands all the way to my knuckles. The seams cannot be felt; the Patagonia site says the arm pit seams are designed to prevent chaffing as are the shoulders to prevent chaffing from back pack straps.

4. Tested outside at 40 F, low humidity, 4500 ft. elev. it works by itself in light wind without exercising. With a vest, like the Flash vest, or wind shirt I believe it will be warm enough down to 32 or less w/ low humidity and no serious wind when exercising. (Update: Wore it in 22 F air, low humidity, no precip or wind, this morning, with the Flash vest and it worked w/o exercise, bit cool in the arms, but it worked.) There is an article that convinced me to try the wool top here at BPL and a second, edited edition of the article available as a book:

Clothing and Sleep Systems for Mountain Hiking, 1st Edition (August 2002),
by Ryan Jordan, Jim Nelson, and Alan Dixon; at:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00036.html

And, another:

Comfort and Moisture Transport in Lightweight Wool and Synthetic Base Layers, by Don Wilson, Alan Dixon, and Will Rietveld; at:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/comfort_moisture_transport_wool_synthetic_clothing.html

The reddish color is great for me because psychologically its a lot warmer than blue and it means it can be seen easily for safety and avoiding losing it.

This piece is warm indoors and stays comfortable going out into the colder night air with a light wind.

So its rating is a 5 when considering functionality, performance, and weight.

Edited by bdavis on 12/28/2006 16:58:33 MST.

Rating: 2 / 5

I've loved my Smartwool and Ibex ultralightweight layers and wanted to compare the Patagonia item. It was hard to compare fabric weights, but the Patagnoia Wool 2 item is about the same weight of fabric. The sleeves and body are looser--especially the cuffs which makes putting on an overlayer a little harder--but the zipper works well (and has reflective tape) and the material seems as itch free as the Smartwool and Ibex products of similar weight.

I'm changing my rating from a 4 to a 2. After going through several of these tops I've found they wear/tear much easier than Ibex and Smartwool products. perhaps that's why Patagonia has discontinued the product.

Edited by ksawchuk on 11/26/2010 18:45:34 MST.

Rating: 5 / 5

Although I only bought the Patagonia Wool 2 Long Sleeve recently, I have fallen in love with it and have worn it for many hikes of various lengths. While the investment for great wool is significant, it is certainly worthwhile. I have worn this top for hiking and trail running in temperatures from 28 to 65 degrees, and it has truly excelled. It is extremely comfortable and fits perfectly. It wicks sweat very well and keeps me feeling good in all of the conditions I have tried it in. I stay comfortable if it gets wet, and it doesn't let me cool off too fast after I stop moving. In addition, I wore it for a couple of weeks without washing it, and there was very little odor. This is the best wool garment that I own, and I look forward to getting the pants shortly.

I have noticed the cuffs getting a little looser, but they returned to normal upon washing. Great job, Patagonia!

Note: I never have had a problem with static electricity and the Wool 2.

Edited by gungadin on 03/14/2007 12:34:13 MDT.

Rating: 1 / 5

Purchased a Wool 2 L/S Crew a few weeks ago when Backcountry.com was having their 20% off sale.

I have a couple Smartwool tops and a couple Icebreaker tops, all of which work great. Bought the Wool 2 because I wanted a lighter (fabric) weight wool top also.

I like the weight and the fit, but putting it on causes it to charge up with static electricity like crazy!

None of my other wool tops do this. Has anyone else had this happen with the Patagonia wool? I guess washing it might fix the problem, but as soon as I wash it I can't return it.

Rating: 2 / 5

This is a quality product, comfortable and lightweight; however, I was very disappointed with how easily this shirt would catch on Velcro, pulling the wool thread and creating small holes and creating nubs on the shirt. The shirt caught on the velcro on my pants, tent, and sleeping bag. Almost seemed like a magnet for velcro. For this reason I cannot recommend this shirt. My Smartwool Zip Tee seems impervious to velcro, so I would consider this or another option over this garment.

Response to Post Below:
A picture would have been worth a thousand words. I returned the shirt for refund based on the velcro snags and the "pilling" that occurred on the shoulders of this shirt from the shoulder straps on my pack. Again, this all occurred after one trip. If you saw a picture of the obvious "trouble spots" on this shirt it would leave you with zero question in your mind that this garment has issues. I wouldn't recommend others attempt the velcro test, but if you're concerned- go for it. As I mentioned above, I tried the velcro test on my Smartwool and it had no issues with snagging. I was wondering if this was a "wool" issue or just an issue with the Patagonia and it seems to be related to the weave used on the Patagonia shirt.

Edited by jdgkeg on 06/21/2007 12:36:38 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I have the zip-neck version of this shirt, reviewed elsewhere. I was curious about the above poster's comments on the wool being a "velcro trap" so I did a test of velcro ( 2 different sources of velcro---one being on my bike gloves, the other the pole wraps on the inside of my Firstlight tent) and achieved the following results:

Icebreaker 240 weight--no grab
Icebreaker 190 weight--no grab
Ibex Woolies 140 weight----------no grab
Ibex Tern 150? weight--grab(but not destructively so.
Ibex Guidelite Pants(Climawool hybrid nylon faced/merino wool interior)--velcro closure aggressively grabs inside texture(the wool side) of pant. Be careful.
Patagonia Wool2 148 weight ------very slight grab-- (again, non-destructive) it took conscious effort to get it to grab just a little.
Smartwool Hoody (versawear med,wt.)--nope
Isaia Italian made fashion merino wool sweater (heavyweight>300 weight wool---keep from velcro at all cost. Really bad grab.

So, my question is ???

verdict on Wool 2----great stuff, and a very versatile weight---
and it's held up just fine on several backpacks and some skiing.

Edited by kdesign on 06/18/2007 16:23:38 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

I love this shirt more than any other I own. The only problem is the durability. I'm on my second one and have had numorous holes 1/8" to 1/4" in diameter pop up all over on both. Also, I did have velcro eat up the sleeve on my first one (see my review of the G6 pack here for a picture).

What could be done to make it tougher without taking away from the shirt's better aspects?