Ultrafine Merino Longsleeve

The Ultrafine gets even ultrafiner. Now a stunning 16.5 microns, this is the Ultrafine 16.5 Exquisite Merino. Like its predecessor the Ultrapure Mackenzie Merino Jersey, this is a 100% merino fabric made from top-capped, tight spectrum merino from the Mackenzie range in New Zealand. The only difference is we are now using even finer yarns, 16.5 micron instead of the 17.5 we’ve used before. Why? Well the finer the merino, the softer it is, and in this zone the touch is just stunning. More importantly the supply chain for this quality of merino has broadened over the years so we now are confident we can source this quality of merino consistently and our goal is always to use the absolute best merino possible. Knit especially for us by Global Merino using their ultra pure Mackenzie blend standard that creates a finer and more precisely calibrated merino of unsurpassed quality.

Top Capped & Tight Spectrum

Merino is measured in microns, the smaller the number the finer the fiber and the softer the hand feel (and higher the price). But until now this number was actually an average, a mixture of different micron fibers that averaged out to the reported value, meaning half the fibers actually are thicker than the rating. Global Merino’s Mackenzie Blend is top capped, so the number indicates not the average but the absolute maximum thickness that can be included in the blend. It is also a tight spectrum blend, meaning that there is a very low variance of fiber thickness allowed in the mix. This creates a more stable and predictable fabric with an exceptional hand feel.

NZFAP Traceable and RWS Certified

No that doesn’t mean what you think it means. NZFAP is the New Zealand Farm Assured Program, which fully audits the merino used to ensure a pristine supply chain. The fibers can be traced back to the farm, the majority of which are currently in the Mackenzie Basin of New Zealand. Global Merino is in direct contact with the growers and only non-mulesed fleece wool is used to create a yarn that’s better for everyone from sheep to farmer, from spinner to knitter and from us to you. It is also RWS certified to mean high level animal welfare and land management standards.

Nature’s Finest Performance Fabric

We’ve been calling merino “nature’s finest performance fabric” for so long that other brands have started copying us verbatim. It’s all good though, because it’s not a tag line it is a statement of fact, especially when talking about the superfine and superwashed type of merino we like to use. Merino has an incredible dry hand feel because its surface repels water while it simultaneously pulls moisture into its core, creating a dry body climate. This cools you in the heat and insulates you in the cool, allowing you to wear it further and farther in comfort. In addition it is naturally bacteriostatic, creating a cleaner fabric that resists odor, allowing for longer use times. We could go on too, it's UV resistant, naturally springy, and phase changes at just above body temperature for extra cooling effects. But ultimately the real way to know the beauty of fine merino is to wear it.

190 gsm 100% Pure Merino

This is the raw, uncut good shit, precisely calibrated to make the best possible t-shirt. The 2-ply, 16.5 micron merino yarns are incredibly soft but at 190 grams per square meter the fabric is durable enough to wear every day. The fabric is a substantive mid weight for a t-shirt, wearable in the widest range of common temperatures. But it's also the lightest weight we are willing to use for a 100% merino knit, as it needs the weight and structure to drape properly. All this nets out to a near perfect t-shirt fabric that many of us wear almost every day of our lives.