super.natural is a young company from the home country of mountain sports, Switzerland. The core idea of the Confederates is to combine the merits of the two worlds "merino" and "synthetic fiber" in their functional textiles. They are committed to producing powerful yet fresh and cool clothes. You can find out how they succeed in this review.

Merino vs. synthetic fiber

Both materials have in the Outdoor clothing an important meaning. While synthetic fiber Since time immemorial, when it comes to the absolute best moisture transport and robustness, came in recent years natural fibers, especially wool fibers merino, back in the spotlight. Wool, already worn by our mountain ancestors, has certain advantages that a synthetic fiber never achieves. These include two main factors: wool also warms when wet, and wool does not absorb odors as much as synthetic fibers. Synthetic fiber acts as a filter that allows perspiration to pass through, but the components dissolved in it, and especially bacteria, remain suspended in the fibers. Wool, on the other hand, has, properly cared for, a natural protective layer that precisely delays the setting of bacteria. So it makes sense to combine the two fibers and thus the advantages of both worlds: moisture management and robustness with the odorlessness and good climate balance of the merino.

The mix does it

The fiber blend from super.natural is the special feature: the core of the polyester fiber is coated with merino. In the test product Nomad Tee 175 4% Lycra is still processed to each 48% plastic and merino fibers, which makes the shirt slightly stretchy. The grip is very soft, almost silky and the base tee shirt feels great on the skin.

In practice

We received a T-shirt for testing from super.natural and took a close look at the above mentioned features.

robustness

Honestly, who does not know it? A little harder, so just worn during sports, hiking or climbing, or just washed a few times, and already arise small holes in the expensive Merinoshirt, For me mostly in the hip area, where backpack or climbing harness sit. A T-shirt for about 50 €, which is perforated after a year at most, is somehow not the yellow of the egg. The material mix of super.natural will hopefully last longer, exactly in these stressed areas. So far, after a few small hikes, many climbing tours and washes, I can certainly find no noticeable change in the material. A plus point for the synthetic fiber content.

Moisture transport and climate balance

Not so important in summer in winter all the more: the sweat has to leave the body quickly, otherwise hypothermia threatens. When it comes to pure merino wool, it sometimes happens that the shirt feels damp and damp at certain points - and, to be honest, these spots also smell like that. The super.natural shirt, on the other hand, feels less clammy, I take this as an indication that the removal of moisture actually works faster. Anyway, it's faster, noticeable.

odor

I am not entirely convinced of the odor-inhibiting property of Merino anyway. After a few washes, also in the soft cycle with neutral detergent, with wool detergent or even by hand, is of the natural protective layer around the wool fibers little left over and the shirts stink after a sweaty climbing day pretty much as cotton or synthetic fibers. Whether this happens two hours earlier, like the super.natural blended fabric or the next day, does not really matter to me.

From another perspective, even the opposite is the case: because the blended fabric also removes higher wash temperatures, cleaning is easier and more effective. At the 30 ° gentle cycle for the pure merino wool, it sometimes happens that unpleasant odors remain even after a wash. The super.natural T-shirt, on the other hand, is actually fresh after washing - and may even be in the dryer.

Conclusion

Fiber blends are definitely the right way for functional textiles. For me, the advantages of the super.natural approach over pure merino wool prevail, especially because of the robustness and thus the overall price-performance ratio. This gives you the full score for comfort, durability and innovation!