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Ullfrotte Merino Mid-Layers from Woolpower

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Woolpower Mid Layer Review by Dawn Smith

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Woolpower Web Page

SRP Half Zip Turtleneck Top £84 Leggings £76 - Men’s and Womens sizes XXS - XXXL

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When I was planning a trip to Norway I met up with the guys from Koolbox, the UK importers of a number of excellent outdoors products including Woolpower.

This Swedish company makes a collection of high performance thermal undergarments that can be combined in different ways depending on temperature and activity level to keep the user warm and dry.

Koolbox supplied me with a set of the 400g/m² mid layer long johns and matching zip turtleneck top for testing in the Norwegian winter.

I expected temperatures could be as low as -40C so it was important to choose products for the trip that were designed for extreme conditions and in this regard the Woolpower layers performed flawlessly.

Woolpower are based in Östersund in Northern Sweden and have been making thermal undergarments for the last 40 odd years. In 1972 they developed their own unique material called Ullfrotte, which comprises two thirds Australian merino wool and one third synthetic fibres, which gives their products the warmth and wicking properties of wool, with added strength and durability.

Woolpower take the finished yarn and produce all of their products in-house, in their own factory in Östersund. The material is produced on specially designed knitting machines and comes off as a continuous knitted tube, with the added benefit of no lengthwise seams.

The outside of the garment is smooth so it won’t snag on the zip of your hard shell. The side worn next to the skin is comprised of lofty terry loops. As much as 80% of Ullfrotte actually consists of air and the loops in combination with the crimp in the wool fibres, creates a knitwear capable of trapping a lot of air and the more air that can be kept still around the body, the more heat can be retained.

Once the tubes come off the knitting machines they are washed in clear water without detergents and dried so that the once the garments are made they are in effect pre-shrunk and can then be washed at up to 60C (140F) if required. Being made of wool they can be washed using fabric softener if required.

time I get back into my bag that I am cold and spend the next 20 minutes or so warming up again, but wearing my Woolpower layers as PJ’s meant that I was still warm when I got back into my sleeping bag and was able to fall asleep right away. A definite plus!

My test samples are military green, but the layers also come in navy blue and black.

The guys at Koolbox had told me that no matter how long I wore them they would not smell. I thought ....okay....let’s see? Well, they were right, amazingly these layers at the end of the trip were as fresh as when I took them out of the box. Another big plus.

When I got home to Wales I just threw them into the washing machine, inside out, to test the claim about being able to stand a hot wash and sure enough they came out beautifully clean and did not shrink at all!

I hope next time I go to Norway, I will be able to try the Woolpower 200 g/m² base layers and wear these in combination with the 400 g/m² mid layers.

All in all these knitted mid layers from Woolpower are an excellent, adaptable, well made product and should give many seasons hard wear, making them well worth the investment.

After drying, the tubes are cut to shape and assembled.

Woolpower has one machinist assemble one complete garment and then add her own label to the garment, thus maintaining a high quality control of its products.

On the samples that Koolbox supplied for testing the zip turtleneck was made by Martha Persson and the long john leggings by Elaine Granlöf and a jolly good job they made of them too.

Although the Woolpower samples I received were technically mid layers, which I wore over Helly Hansen merino base layers for skiing and snowshoeing, I also found out that they made excellent pyjamas worn next to my skin. When doing this I found them very warm and comfortable and not at all scratchy.

I am very tall, as you can see in the photos and I was pleased to find that Woolpower have got their sizing just right. The XL top and leggings fitted me perfectly. The leggings have a gusset which makes them very comfortable.

The leggings are also available for men, with a fly.

Getting up in the night for a pee is always a trade off between the need to relieve oneself and knowing that in so doing you are going to lose a lot of body heat. It’s okay for guys who can just pee into a bottle, but I don’t have that luxury, so have no option but to unzip my sleeping bag and get up into the chilly tent. Usually I find that by the

The Woolpower 400g/m² mid layer is well proportioned and fits my tall frame really well. The cuffs and ankles have knitted cuffs and the drop tail at the back is generous.