Winter camping is not over yet, at least not for campers in Canada that is. Camping wildwood or backcountry camping everyone knows the one common tip from winter camping tips is to pack smart and light. Training and climbing beforehand is also an advantage as it physically prepares you for your adventure. However, bringing one bag for clothes limits your camping clothes, so you need clothes to have a multipurpose. The frequent solution I hear around from backpacking forums is choosing Merino Wool. Although a Merino wool base layer has many beneficial purposes such as durability, breathability, and lightweight, we cannot limit ourselves to only this.
If you are camping for a long period, you need clothes that require less washing, are odor-resistant, durable, warm, soft, breathable, and most importantly: do not absorb 30% of its weight in moisture. Imagine hiking up a mountain in the rain and water leaks in your waterproof jacket and your merino wool sweater soaks up 30% of its weight! You are struggling to keep warm and trying to stay dry while wearing wet clothes. The solution is not always merino wool, but a different source of wool: Alpaca. Alpaca fibers are naturally medullated and have 90% wicking abilities. What does this mean? When it is raining, your alpaca sweater will get wet from the outside, but it will not absorb water. So you are dry from the inside. This also means if you are wearing your favorite alpaca beanie, alpaca gloves, or alpaca socks, your head, hands, and feet will stay dry. Now that we have a solution for getting wet from the outside, what about the inside? Everyone sweats and when sweating, it not only wets your base layer, but causes discomfort for you. Wet clothes can cause rash and even odor. However, Alpaca fibers wick away your sweat not allowing you to cool down. And most importantly: with 18 microns and being softer than cashmere, you will not feel any discomfort with your Alpaca fleece. You won’t have to worry about smell either as Alpaca is odor-resistant.
Being incredibly soft and warm, Alpaca clothes is perfect for your camping sleepwear. Being durable, water-resistant, odor-resistant, and once again, very soft, Alpaca clothes is ideal for hiking. And do not forget, just like Merino Wool, Alpaca is breathable. Having semi-hollow fibers allow your Alpaca layers to be lightweight and breathable. So when the sun is shining after the rain, take off your Alpaca sweater and keep your Alpaca base layer on.
Soon Arms of Andes will be expanding their clothing collection to: Alpaca Sports bra, Alpaca Women’s underwear, Alpaca briefs, Alpaca sweatpants, Alpaca leggings, Alpaca socks, Alpaca beanie, Alpaca gloves, Alpaca shirts, Alpaca long sleeve top, and Alpaca tank top.
Remember to: “Alpaca AoA!”