Sarah Barber reviews Nuyarn including Outoor Vitals and LÉ BENT sun hoodies. Apparel was provided at no charge for the test and review.
With the summer solstice just days away, most trail runners are opting for strappy tanks and crops—and that’s if they wear anything on top at all. Me? I’m typically a sports-bra-only kind of gal from June through August. Between my high sweat rate and well-fueled metabolism, I outperform most furnaces when it comes to thermogenesis.
Benefits of wool
However, over the years I’ve become more conscious of the potential damage from sun exposure, and I’ve also become more aware of the long-term effects of slathering my skin with chemicals. I’m no coral reef, but if oxybenzone is harmful to marine life, how good can it be for me? As such, physical barriers to the sun are increasingly common, but I’m not talking about hats and visors. I’m talking about full coverage of my arms, shoulders, neck and torso in the form of a sun hoodie. If that sounds like crazy talk at this time of year, watch me get even crazier: sun hoodies made of WOOL!
I always thought wool had one job: to keep me warm. But have you ever heard a sheep complain about overheating? No, you have not. Wool is one of nature’s greatest multi-purpose gifts in that it offers warm insulation when the environment is cold, it has a cooling effect in ambient heat, and it manages moisture better than synthetic fabrics. I’ve been called an animal, sometimes even a beast, so if it’s good enough for sheep, it might also work well for me.
Nuyarn: performance wool
Nuyarn, claiming to be “the world’s first performance wool,” has translated the full benefits of wool into human performance by using a vastly different spinning technique than that which is used for standard yarns. Instead of twisting wool fibers in a way that compresses natural air pockets and restricts movement of textiles, Nuyarn “drafts wool fibers along a high-performance filament” which creates more loft and aeration within the fibers. There’s also no need to add elastics for stretch, so fabrics are lighter and less prone to degradation over time. Meanwhile, the tensile strength of fibers is increased compared to traditional wool products, which means less chance of breakage in areas of impact or abrasion (in other words, fewer holes).
Moisture wicking
The result sounds almost too good to be true: natural air pockets producing better insulation against the elements, moisture wicking away more quickly, fabric drying faster, and garments just lasting longer.
I recently tried two sun hoodies from two different companies with a common theme: both are made of a Nuyarn blend. Outdoor Vitals makes the Tern Ultralight Merino Wool Hoodie while LÉ BENT calls theirs a Feathertop Ultralight Hooded Long-Sleeve Tee. The use of Nuyarn technology renders the two garments strikingly similar. Both offer a close-but-not-skin-tight fit, a UPF sun protection rating of 35+, and an incredibly soft feel coupled with all the high-performance features of Nuyarn. In addition to achieving the desired athletic functionality, the hoodies turned out to be versatile additions to my wardrobe.
Versatility
Remember the LBD that transitions seamlessly from the corporate office to the cocktail bar? Well, I took the chameleonic hoodies on a camping trip. In exchange, they took me from sunny afternoon hikes to evening campfires followed by chilly trail runs in the morning and horseback rides in the heat of the day without batting an eye. Meanwhile, I was cool, warm, warm, and cool, in that order. I also didn’t stay wet for long after sweating buckets under the sun.
In a nutshell, Nuyarn just hits different. As far as the rugged outdoors is concerned, I was dressed to impress, but the reality is that I came to play. I played hard, and my attire exceeded every expectation.
Editor’s Note: To enjoy more articles and review from Sarah Barber, visit this link.
