Customer Reviews

ICEBREAKER HOPPER TEE - MENS - XL - BLACK / PEWTER

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised that I'm the first one reviewing this product. In short, I've been shocked at how excellent this t-shirt is for hiking.

1. I tend to sweat a lot, as often guys (and girls) do when hiking. I just happen to sweat more than most. This shirt wicked the sweat away from my body quickly. I continued to wipe the sweat off my face with my shirt sleeve to be able to see, and the sleeve never got "soaked" as it would with a cotton t-shirt. In a couple minutes it would be fairly dry, so that it would feel nice on my face again.

2. Related to my sweating a lot, I'm a bit confused about the shirt. On the label, it said that you should wash it every few times you go hiking. I knew wool was good at keeping smells away, but this is just crazy. I've worn the shirt for a 5 hour hike. I was absolutely soaked at the end. I stunk like a male locker room. I took off the shirt & smelled it. Nothing. I hung it up to dry, smelled it later. Nothing. I went hiking again with the shirt. Got soaked, let it dry. Nothing.

I got a bit nervous about wearing a "dirty" shirt over & over, so I washed it. Then wore it 3 times without washing.. no smells.

Frankly, I don't think it makes any sense. How can anything not get smelly after I've dropped my sweat into it for hours?

3. It's comfortable. I hate synthetic shirts. Never have liked the feel of them. Everyone likes cotton when it's dry, but it's horribly nasty once it gets soaked. This shirt feels as comfortable as cotton (slightly different, but no worse). Once it gets wet, it doesn't feel soaked against your skin. If you stop sweating for 5 minutes, it dries out.

So to conclude, the shirt dries fast, doesn't smell, feels comfortable. It is - The Perfect Shirt. Not too be too dramatic about it, but I'm excited about this product :)

Back in the old days I wore lots of wool, even though it got awfully heavy when wet and smelled funny and was scratchy/itchy. At the time it was pretty much the only game in town, since cotton was its only competition. Along came polypropylene in the form of the "fig Lifa", and everyone I knew immediately jumped right on it, for the simple reason that it absorbed so little moisture. You could get really sweated up on a ski tour, and not get chilled when your activity level dropped, because the layer next to your skin stayed dry and evaporative cooling was minimized. This worked so well that we were able to overlook the obvious deficiencies of the fabric, namely that it was very stiff and rough, and smelled like a toxic waste dump after you wore it for a while. I remember an icefield trip for 8 or 10 days in the early 80's; towards the end of the trip we judged the undergarments worn by how their wearers smelled. All the synthetic stuff reeked absolutely, on that trip silk was a clear winner of the "sniff" test.
Anyway, I'm going to trek the AC in Nepal, and have been experimenting with wool underwear for the trip. I wore an icebreaker t-shirt and briefs for 8 days straight, thru one bath and a lot of hikes. Unbelievably, at the end of the "test", both garments still smelled fine. I did notice on my longest, hottest hike that the shirt smelled a little "sheepish" when I was walking hard and it was fairly wet, but that smell disappeared when the shirt dried out. I don't find the tops or the bottoms to be either itchy or scratchy.
The change from the old days is that manufacturers have learned to weave the wool very finely, eliminating or greatly decreasing the scratchiness, and creating a much lighter garment that, although of course it still absorbs more moisture than a good modern synthetic like Capilene, doesn't get heavy and dries reasonably quickly. This new age wool has become my base-layer of choice for almost any condition, and I like the Icebreaker brand as well or better than any other I have tried. Highly recommended! You can get a 150 weight from Icebreaker if you like an even lighter fabric, my preference most of the time.

The Icebreaker wools really are the best of the lot of merino products. I've tried several. They hold together well, and are very well made. However, wearing them is like wearing a mini wool sweater. They do *NOT* wick away sweat. It may dry faster than cotten, but the wool just doesn't want to pull in the moisture of the sweat at all until there's a LOT of sweat. They make some of their products with some built in "pilling" but those products are even more expensive than these. Icebreaker finishes the fabric very smoothly and well, and as softly as possible, but it's wool--so it's warm, and a bit itchy, or scratchy, if you prefer. Some people are even allergic to this stuff. But, it's amazing at keeping the smell away. It's like smell hates this stuff, no kidding. Once you get used to the warmth and slight scratchy feel, it's great.

First off, I totally agree with the first reviewer in that I was surprised to see no other reviews. I don't see how you could try this clothing and not show support for it and really rethink your wardrobe.

I recently discovered Icebreaker when I decided to try some 100% Merino Wool clothing/layers.

This shirt is a lightweight shirt that could be used as either an undershirt on colder days or a sole layer while being active outdoors in the summer/fall/spring. It would work well as a mid-layer when a bit cooler outside.

***Overall***: Great usability, good style, great fit, great material/hemming. Excellent all around: "A"
(I have tried many other brands of merino, and still trying more, but thus far- Icebreaker is the very best)

___END OF REVIEW OF SPECIFIC SHIRT___
*If you are interested in more info on wool / contemplating trying it for the firs time - here is more information on my personal experience thus far:

I have used synthetic undershirts and clothing for years (such as capilene by patagonia, underarmour, etc.). I was shopping for new layers to keep me cool, insulated, wicked of sweat, and odor control. I found I could choose between the new 'Coco-whatever' 'charcoal-something' most recently released synthetic or 100% merino wool. I'm glad I chose wool. Although more pricey, I think it's worth the extra for quality of experience while wearing.
The differences I notice between wearing wool versus synthetic are:
1) Wool reduces odor extremely well when you perspire. I sweat more than others, and synthetics of all types used to leave me smelling poorly after a workout or even midway through a hot day. I can sweat profusely in wool and when it is dry: almost no odor whatsoever. Even when drenched with sweat, damp clothing, the odor is masked and faint. Really have to try it to understand. (Although, if you get soaked 100%, by standing in rain for an hour, you will have a bit of a unique hair smell until you become drier)
2) Wool wicks so much better than synthetics. I used to drench in my coolmax, capilene, underarmour, poly-synethetics, etc. Synthetics do seem to dry a lot quicker than cotton if it's your only layer, but underneath other shirts or jackets- I found it almost useless. I would wear under a cotton polo on a hot day and back would be soaking wet, and stay that way. Wearing wool light layer underneath same shirt: significantly less moisture/wetness on back of outer shirt. It's impressive how it pulls the sweat from the skin, keeping me dry, while it adsorbs it away from the outer layer. Hard to explain, but I know I'm sweating as much- yet there is less 'soak thru'; When sweating moderately- I can feel the dampness directly on the back of the merino, but I stay dry next to my skin, and the outer shirt doesn't get soaked. And I tend to be totally dry much faster once I can cool down for a moment.
3) Insulation is far superior. These merino wool layers almost are perfect at temperature regulation: they provide great warmth and increase in warmness when you are active and sweating. Yet, they also tend to be breathable so they won't overheat you. They just seem comfortable pretty much regardless.

In closing, and with full disclosure, I would like to say that I do not work/own stock/have any affiliation at this time with any wool manufacturer/clothing company/or any individual sheep. These are my personal views on the clothing thus far, and may change my mind later but I highly doubt it.

I have been a big fan of merino wool for several years so when I read about this tee shirt I didn't need a lot of convincing to try it out. After a couple of months it has become my favorite to wear regardless of what I am doing. Can't be happier with it.

The shirt has been pretty good overall. Would I stock my entire wardrobe with Merino Wool? No.

Good:
- I like the sleeve design. It cuts across my chest nicely. It looks sporty without being too flashy.
- The wool shimmers ever-so slightly, even after many washes.
- The shirt has held up well to many washes, even the dryer like a cotton shirt. No piling, no fading.
- It never stinks like a cotton shirt can.
- Sweat/water dries fairly quickly from it.

Bad:
- 90% of the time it's not itchy. But sometimes it is, especially if I have any layers on top.
- Does not keep you warm when it's cold, nor does it have magical powers to keep you cool when it's hot. It's a tee-shirt, not the magical weather blocking thermos that is sometimes advertised with merino wool.
- Expensive. I'd love to see this cost $35 before I'd buy more. I understand that this isn't likely to happen.