Bamboo or merino?

[Yngla]

Hello!
First time poster here, planning for my first ever Camino in September (yay!)
For different reasons I try to avoid wool and after some serious googling I think I might have found an alternative in using bamboo. Since I don’t have any first hand experience with bamboo in functional clothing, is there anyone on the forum who has tried? Is it too hot/too cold/too wet/too stinky?

 

[Kitsambler]

The bamboo fabrics available now are highly engineered. I have felt some bamboo sheets: a very soft, silky-jersey hand, seems perfectly suitable to clothing. Worth a try if you can't handle wool (although merino is not the problem of other wools.)

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

After reading Wikipedia (but only Wikipedia so far) I can't see much reason using bamboo fabric over other fabrics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_textile

 

[onwayhome]

I've used both bamboo and merino tops. Personally I think merino is a bit warmer, deals better with moisture and is less smelly. So I rate bamboo somewhere between merino and cotton.
Bamboo is, however, softer next to skin than merino in my experience; this might be an important factor for you.
I often wear a wicking t shirt or vest under a merino top. It's probably not as efficient as merino on its own, but I find it a lot more comfortable.

 

[Stivandrer]

I suppose that merino is designed by nature to be used in cold(er) climate that bamboo.
I first heard about bamboo, when sb described the hot climate in SE Asia and they had their shirts and dresses bought in bamboo or pineapple as it was the coolest in a very hot climate to wear and soft too.

I find merino extremely soft and it should not scratch as fibers are less that 18 microns !

 

[Lucho]

I bought some bamboo socks on a recent trip, wore them a lot, and was unimpressed. They were cooler than my merinos, but they stunk very quickly whereas my merinos I can wear a few times before I need to wash them. They also held a bit more sweat than my merinos after long days. I didn't think the slight coolness benefit was enough to warrant the increase with stink and wetness, so I'm still a loyal merino guy.

As for feel, I guess maybe the bamboo is a little smoother, but I can't really tell. The difference is negligible.

Of course, the two pairs of bamboos I bought were from the same company (I don't recall the name) so it could be other companies have better bamboo technology. YMMV.

Anyway, that's my $0.02.

 

[Yngla]

Thanks a lot for your opinions on the subject. It seems I might have to give merino a try after all.

 

[Lucho]

Thanks a lot for your opinions on the subject. It seems I might have to give merino a try after all.

Icebreaker has a Cool Lite technology (or something similarly named) that is great for summer shirts. I'm not sure if they use it in their socks, but it's worth searching for if they do. In any case the major brands (Smartwool, Icebreaker) tend to offer socks in a variety of thicknesses and fabric combinations, including ones targeted for warm weather.

 

[Aussie Cossie Tanya]

Hi, I have multiple pairs of bamboo socks to weat around home. But would never take them travelling. They literally take days to dry. I've washed all my socks together to test it out. Woollen, mixed blends etc, and without fail the bamboo ones are still hanging drying out days later. Cannot say about other items though.
Cheers Tanya

 

[Jo Jo]

Yngla,

Bamboo has the same advantage/disadvantage as cotton--the fibers are like sponges for water. The concern with cotton/bamboo in the mountains is that if it gets wet, it does not dry very fast. Leading to walking in wet clothes. At worst, it can lead to hypothermia. Backpackers never use these fabrics for that reason--they can be deadly.

Conversely, that is why those fibers are so great in the desert--the hold onto the water, creating an evaporative cooling system. In fact in the real heat, I dunk those fabrics in water to cool down. I call it "turning on the AC."

You are walking in September, which can get a little cold towards the end (which is also when you will be going through Galicia, which is always rainy and cold). So I would not take only cotton/bamboo. But it will be hot coming across the low parts after Pamplona and before Astora. My wife had to buy a linen shirt last CF in Logrono because the nylon was just too hot for that middle portion even in late September.

Here is my somewhat heretical advice: I would take at least one outfit (shirt and pants) of quick dry nylon for the mountains on either end. The other outfit (shirt and pants) I would take cotton/bamboo (except never for socks--moisture around the feet=blisters. Always synthetic or wool for the socks). In the mountains, wear the nylon during the day and at night in the alburgue, when you wash the nylon, wear the cotton/bamboo. You are not going to get hypothermia in an alburgue. Then, past Pamplona, when the rains disappear and the sun is eating you alive, switch. Wear the cotton/bamboo during the day, and the nylon at night in the alburgue.

Buen Camino,
Jo Jo

 

[Theresa Brandon]

Look into Tencel (Lyocell), on its own or blended with Merino.

 

[DebR]

Hello!
First time poster here, planning for my first ever Camino in September (yay!)
For different reasons I try to avoid wool and after some serious googling I think I might have found an alternative in using bamboo. Since I don’t have any first hand experience with bamboo in functional clothing, is there anyone on the forum who has tried? Is it too hot/too cold/too wet/too stinky?

For what it’s worth, my experience with bamboo is that it takes much, much longer to dry, even in a tumble dryer. I take merino (though I get why you may want to avoid it) because the bamboo top I carried never actually got completely dry after any wash. It was fine to wear, and warm enough in the autumn I used it, but washing was a kind of death-by-damp.
Interested to hear otheres’ experience...

 

[t2andreo]

In my experience, tops (shirts, pullovers, undergarments) made from bamboo may be "scratchy." Merino is softer and faster drying. Personally, my preference is for modern synthetic fibers like microfiber. However, I have tried them all over the past six or so years.

IMHO, you will remember the value of the better quality iterm, LONG after you have forgotten the price you paid for the lesser item. Always go with quality.

Hope this helps.

 

[Corinne Lombardi]

Take a look at the Icebreaker merino blend shirts. They are soft, do not stink quickly, and cool. My only complaint with the full merion, is that it tends to wear out in the armpits over a relatively short time (1 year). However , the blend seems to have fixed that. Anyway, worth the cost.

 

[MikeyC]

Wood or wool? I'd go with wool every time. The wood pulp textiles such as rayon, bamboo, tencel, lyocell have their place but not on our Camino or everyday hiking. As noted above they are poor at wicking moisture and take an ages to dry after washing. I'm not too keen on them either as they are chemical intensive in turning the wood pulp into fibres. That said we usually pack a synthetic (polyester) top or two to have a quick drying item in our pack.

 

[Trude]

Bamboo takes forever to dry........

 

[BmoreNomadic]

One important takeaway from my Camino experience is that merino is amazing! (I'm wearing a merino shirt right now...) If you can make it work for you without a negative reaction, I would go merino all the way. This time of year there are good sales, so give it a try!

 

[Stivandrer]

One important takeaway from my Camino experience is that merino is amazing! (I'm wearing a merino shirt right now...) If you can make it work for you without a negative reaction, I would go merino all the way. This time of year there are good sales, so give it a try!

I am hugely dependent on various wool line products...
Have a look on Woolpower.se for heavy duty merino looped frotté gear for the colder season(s)...

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've used both.
I prefer merino wool, but I do like the bamboo as well.

 

[Yngla]

If you can make it work for you without a negative reaction, I would go merino all the way. This time of year there are good sales, so give it a try!

Got myself some icebreaker merino on sale today. Will try both merino and bamboo at home, but after reading the replies in this post I now am heavily biased towards merino

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Marino - I have bamboo socks but find they wear out quickly. That could just be me, however, or my boots.

 

[MarkN]

Marino is my vote too.
In fact I wear Marino socks all the time now as they are just so much better.

 

[rbrownprop]

I think you will find that merino is superior. One trick is to wash the merino before wearing. You could invest in one of each, bamboo and merino and test them out. I find merino to be superior for x reasons. For travel you can reduce your wardrobe to a couple shirts; they do not pick up body odor at all. True you must wash occasionally for spills and such and in a rare circumstance they may not dry overnight so having a second is good. Second, most people who are sensitive to wool do fine with merino, it is that soft. And finally and maybe most importantly, they keep you comfortable. Layered in the cold or a single light T-shirt in the heat, warm or cool as you need. The wick better than anything else I have worn.

 

[Hiawatha]

Dry socks are paramount , don't hold the false hope that slightly damp ones will dry out in wear either , rather they will only contribute to blisters . I am a fan of all things Merino , my farm is in ' Wool Country ' but I will admit to walking almost the entire Frances in synthetic ' CoolMax' liner socks [ A hot June / July ] . I sent my Australian merino socks back to Barcelona, far too hot , and bulky for expanding sweaty feet . The advantage of synthetic materials is that they will dry on the back of your pack as you walk In this way you can swap socks two or three times a day ensuring dry , if not slightly manky socks at all times . Invariably they will be dry the next morning after washing .
I heard many Pilgrims moan about perpetually damp Bamboo socks also .

 

[Håvard Karlsen]

Hello!
First time poster here, planning for my first ever Camino in September (yay!)
For different reasons I try to avoid wool and after some serious googling I think I might have found an alternative in using bamboo. Since I don’t have any first hand experience with bamboo in functional clothing, is there anyone on the forum who has tried? Is it too hot/too cold/too wet/too stinky?

Bamboo is excellent. Used 2 pairs (t-shirts/boxers) black. Dried very fast in the sun and very comfortable to wear.

Buen Camino!

Håvard

 

[J Willhaus]

Bamboo will not dry as quickly as merino. At home try had washing a merino and similar weight bamboo item. Hang them to dry to help you with a choice. In the hot summer there may not be much difference in drying time, but in cooler or wetter weather you will want your clothes to dry before putting them back on the next day.

 

[J Willhaus]

I have some bamboo hiking socks and they are hard to get dry compared to merino. I own lots of merino shirts and even pants and love them. The only bamboo shirt I ever had was also not fast drying.

 

[Kanga]

Yes, that's my experience too - bamboo takes far too long to dry.

 

[Lexicos]

Unfortunately the word "bamboo" when used on clothing labels is a bit misleading.
Yes, they take much of the raw material from bamboo (the cellulose) but it is then so intensely modified and engineered, as mentioned above, it may as well be any other pseudo-synthetic material.
I wouldn't touch it, certainly not for long hikes.

I found that the best mix is 85% merino wool and 15% synthetic.
Bay far the best.

Having said all that, I just noted in the original post that you can't wear wool! Hoohaa.....

Quote from the web: "Textiles labelled as being made from bamboo are usually not made by mechanical crushing and retting. They are generally synthetic rayon made from cellulose extracted from bamboo."

 

[trecile]

Having said all that, I just noted in the original post that you can't wear wool! Hoohaa.....

There's that, and also the fact that the OP did her Camino two years ago.