This makes wool a hygroscopic insulator. The crimp in the wool fiber forces each strand to butt against each other, as opposed to lining up side by side or laying down flat together. This keeps the tiny air pockets intact, acting as little insulators -- the key to being able to keep you both warm and cool. Air has the ability to move heat by convection -- in other words, by moving and circulating. Through convection, air can transport heat from one place to another.
When air is contained in very small pockets, it can't circulate easily, so heat is retained. Same goes for cold. Think Styrofoam cooler -- the Styrofoam's tiny pockets of air act as an insulator for heat or cold depending on what's inside the cooler. The same concept goes for wool.
There's also some science at work here. Wool fibers are made up of cortical cells, and these cells are wrapped in cuticle. This scaly outer layer is then covered by yet another layer, the epicuticle -- a filmy skin that helps to repel moisture. What's more, the epicuticle also helps out in high humidity because it has tiny pores that draw in the moisture vapor to the center of the fiber where it's absorbed by a chemical process.
The hydrogen bond of water , H2O, is actually broken, creating a chemical reaction with the wool fiber molecules to generate heat when it has taken on a lot of moisture. But because the air pockets allow moisture to evaporate from your skin, you won't overheat when you sweat. The combination of the fiber's natural crimp and the chemical and physical processes that take place when wool meets moisture make it the best all-season natural insulator on Earth. It actually absorbs water from both your skin and the atmosphere around you to create a dry and warm environment where it counts -- against your body.
So the next time you pass a herd of sheep standing around in the pouring rain looking dopey, remember the complexity of their protective coat. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Thanks to its antimicrobial properties, wool clothing creates an environment in which odour producing microbes are less likely to thrive.
In other research from The University of Otago in New Zealand, where 10 male athletes were tested wearing three different fabrics across a range of temperatures, the garment in single jersey wool fabric came out top for both hot and cold conditions. Everything from mattresses, to mattress protectors, pillows and duvets can help to keep you cool through the night.
Snuggly under a wool duvet will regulate your temperature and manage moisture better than ones made from polyester, feather or down. And the research backs this up! We just sent you an email. First, when you touch wool, you don't touch very much of it. The structure of wool is not flat … it is very curly and kinky and on a microscopic level, its surface is very rough.
So when skin comes in contact with woolen fabric, it simply does not touch as much of the wool as other fabrics. Secondly, the cellular, chemical and biophysical structures of woolen fiber are all fine insulators.
Why We Get Cold! Our skin radiates heat into the air. That warming air, which is lighter than cold air, rises up and away from the body. This convection increases with wind. Even in mild temperatures hypothermia can set in. Heat loss is also exacerbated by metals and water, which conduct heat quickly. Moisture greatly quickens our loss of heat. Wet skin loses heat up to 25X faster than dry skin. Wool can keep our skin dry by capturing the vapor of perspiration before it condenses into what we generally think of as sweat.
In the cold, avoid getting sweaty and avoid jewelry. Sit on a fallen tree rather than a stone or cold ground. And rest your feet on a large branch or thick moss if possible. Heat is also lost when cold air is inhaled. Your nasal passages heat the air going into your lungs. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth. The body prioritizes where to maintain essential heat. Blood flow to arms and legs is reduced in order to maintain heat around vital organs and the head.
A head without a hat funnels body heat away. If you feel cold Dress in Layers Start with a wool base layer next to the skin. Synthetic base layers that so many wear today for protection from the cold are designed to wick moisture away from the skin. And that's good, but it's not as good as capturing the vapor and heat of perspiration before it condenses into what we think of as sweat.
Try to regulate your activity so that you do not detect any wetness of perspiration on your skin. Once you skin is wet, you lose heat much more quickly than if you skin is dry.
Cool and cold-weather base layers -- and of course we recommend only wool -- will also insulate and capture the heat released from the body. Mid-layers add extra insulation of air.
In cold weather with low activity level, a thick layer is needed. Mid-layers should also act in concert with moisture sweat transpiration. If your mid-layer creates a barrier between your wool base layer and wool outer layer, the moisture is trapped, This is why we use no liners. Wearers of WeatherWool working hard in serious cold have observed moist air escaping their garments and freezing on the outside. Top layers help insulate, regulate heat and moisture loss, and provide overall protection from elements.
Outer layers also should handle abrasion, resist flame, odors, stains, dirt and electric-arc, and be absolutely silent. The ideal outer layer will also feel luxurious, provide concealment in nature and be admired in social settings. WeatherWool can handle a huge variety of weather conditions, but we do recommend a storm shield for extreme wind and rain conditions. Care and Cleaning.
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