bamboo clothing in winter

[ali]

I've been living in a warm climate for the past few years and this will be my first winter back north of the 49th parallel. The only dedicated cold weather gear i own is a pair of merino long johns, acrylic beanie and polyester fleece lined hoodie. I've worn that to do some 30-45 minute walks in very cold (-15C/5F) temperatures, but I definitely wouldn't want to be outside longer than that. This winter I may need to buy some more layers. My plan is to get a flannel shirt, gloves and socks, then maybe a wind breaker or raincoat if i end up somewhere it rains or snows.

I do my best to eat and live vegan nowadays, so I have been looking into alternative fabrics, i.e. not wool. I'm not really keen on polyester because it retains odor, and that's one of my biggest complaints about winter clothes in general. I've seen a few places selling bamboo gear, but it's very expensive and I don't want to take a risk if it's no good. I know all the marketing spiel says it's amazing, but I would like to hear a real review. Has anyone tried bamboo gear for the winter, and can they recommend it? Or should I just bite the bullet and go with wool?

 

[Jimmy Beans]

I'm not trying to sway you off your vegan principles or anything, but you did kinda ask at the end about going wool anyway. I mean, it sure seems a lot less complicated all in all to just go with something everyone's worn and you know it works. There's gotta be ethically sourced wool somewhere in this world right? Sheep need to be shorn right? Hygiene, excess overheating and such? Guess you could try that plant based clothing but ya might find yourself bamboozled (see what I did there) if it doesn't really hold up to the hype.

 

[ali]

Yeah, honestly, i am not militant about veganism. It works fine if you stay home all the time, but when you're on the road i think it's more practical to be flexible. It's an eco footprint thing for me, not an animal rights thing, so i just make a best effort.

I think Patagonia and a few other companies do recycled wool shirts, although they are pricey. I suppose that's similar to buying at a thrift store.

I did a bit more research online after my initial post. It's tough to find any useful information because most sites talking about bamboo (and hemp) clothing are just trying to sell it to you. I did find a few comments where people admitted bamboo socks take longer to dry than cotton, which kinda feels like a hard no for me during winter.

 

[Hobo richard]

Some wool, like yak in Nepal is collected from big heaps the animals shed. It is very soft and lofty.

 

[Tekamthi]

i know you're not really looking at synthetics... but I got a packable jacket at walmart recently for so cheap you might reasonably just buy a new one as it starts to smell. won't help your eco footprint at all though

 

[GalaxyGlue]

I love bamboo. It's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It's also incredibly soft and comfortable. It's kind of a miracle fabric...until you have to launder it. It's easy enough to hand wash or throw in a machine on cold water/delicate, but if you hang it to dry it will stretch out and if you throw it in the dryer it will shrink. That means you need to lay it flat to dry which requires both space and time. If you have that, great. If not, I'd reconsider. My go-to when laundry options are thin is merino wool. You can wear it for weeks and it doesn't smell. Perfect for cold weather travels.

 

[ali]

So just an update on the bamboo clothing thing. I didn't buy any bamboo winter clothes (i went with a merino longsleeve and a second-hand woolly jumper), but i tried a few other bamboo items coming into spring and not really a fan to be honest. To me it doesn't feel much warmer (or cooler) than cotton, and i didn't notice a difference in smell, although it is softer. GalaxyGlue is right in that it seems to be a bit more of a pain to wash and dry than cotton, so it seems it's mostly a trade-off of slightly more comfortable versus slightly more convenient, and for me the convenience wins.