Unbound Merino Crew Review

Introduction

Unbound’s Lightweight Merino Crew is an everyday performance t-shirt made from 100% Merino wool, and it is packed with magical features.

It never holds a smell, keeps its shape over time, wicks sweat easily, regulates your body temperature, feels incredibly soft, and because it is 100% Merino wool, it is biodegradable and contains no plastics.

If you’ve never owned Merino wool clothing before, this may sound too good to be true. But after testing Unbound’s shirt in all sorts of conditions, I can assure you the shirt lives up to the hype.

Why Merino Wool?

Before exploring all the features of Unbound’s Lightweight Merino Crew, it’s important to briefly highlight the benefits of Merino wool. Merino wool fibers have some truly magical properties, and their benefits are on full display with this shirt.

For starters, Merino wool is naturally odor resistant, wrinkle resistant, highly durable and elastic, soft to the touch, both UV and flame resistant, and biodegradable. This means Merino clothing won’t hold smells, lose its shape, or make you feel itchy.

Furthermore, each Merino wool fiber has a crimped structure that makes for a breathable, sweat-wicking shirt in warm weather, and an insulating shirt in cold weather. Yes, that’s right. Merino wool can regulate your body temperature based on the weather.

Merino sheep depend on these extraordinary properties to thrive in both the hottest summers and coldest winters, and you can get them all packaged into a soft, lightweight t-shirt.

Shirt Construction

Fiber Composition

The first thing that stands out about this shirt is Unbound’s commitment to 100% merino wool. Most brands use Merino wool blended with plastic-based polyester for their Merino t-shirts, but this one is the real deal.

100% merino wool provides all of the odor resistant, wrinkle resistant, and thermal regulation properties of Merino wool while still being biodegradable. Merino wool blends trade off some of these properties for better abrasion and tension durability, easier maintenance, and lower cost.

Fiber Density

Unbound’s Lightweight Merino Crew has a fabric density of 150 grams/square meter (gsm). This straddles the line between a “lightweight” and “midweight” shirt, making it suitable as both a performance shirt and an everyday shirt. Since this shirt leans towards the “lightweight” category, it’s a great option for warm weather or sweat-inducing exercise.

• Merino shirts under 150 gsm are “lightweight” (designed for performance and hot weather)
• Merino shirts between 150 gsm and 200 gsm are “midweight” (designed for everyday usage)
• Merino shirts over 200 gsm are “heavyweight” (designed for durability and strength)

Because this shirt is so lightweight, you may notice that when you hold it up to a light source and stretch it, you can see between the fibers. You’ll also notice that the shirt snaps right back into shape once you let go.

Shirts made of cotton can also be lightweight, but they tend to lose their shape (especially at the neck and shoulders), while this shirt’s natural elasticity holds it in position.

For those who want more thickness, Unbound sells two variations with higher density. Their Active Merino Crew has a density of 165 gsm, and their Everyday Merino Crew has a density of 190 gsm.

Fiber Diameter

The fibers that form the Lightweight Merino Crew have an average diameter of 16.5 microns. For Merino wool t-shirts, a fiber diameter of 16.5 microns is considered “ultrafine”, reserved for only the highest quality garments.

• Fibers under 17 microns are “ultrafine”
• Fibers between 17 and 18.5 microns are “superfine”
• Fibers between 18.5 and 20 microns are “fine”
• Fibers over 20 microns are “medium”

Unbound’s “ultrafine” fiber choice makes this shirt incredibly soft, and among the different t-shirt variations Unbound offers, the Lightweight Merino Crew has the finest fibers. Unless your entire wardrobe is made from cashmere and silk, this will be one of the softest t-shirts you own.

While some other brands do use Merino fibers as fine as 16.5 microns, those t-shirts are generally Merino wool blends. We have not yet found a t-shirt made from 100% Merino wool with finer fibers than Unbound’s Lightweight Merino Crew.

Shirt Design

Logos

There are no visible Unbound logos, decorations, or designs on the outside of this shirt. The shirt is as simple as can be, with only one logo seamlessly printed inside the collar. This means nobody else can see the logo, and there are no tags or patches sewn into the shirt.

Unbound’s commitment to simplicity here is admirable. Too often, brands try turning their customers into walking billboards with distracting logos on their clothing, and it is a breath of fresh air when companies sell you clothing without forcing you to advertise their brand everywhere you go.

Fit

This shirt has a classic fit, which makes it suitable for working out, travel, and most other casual settings. In general, it wears true to size and shouldn’t shrink or stretch much as long as you follow the care instructions.

When the shirt does happen to get wet, you may notice a loosening of the fibers, but this is only temporary. Once the shirt dries up, it snaps back into its original shape.

Care and Maintenance

One of the benefits of Merino wool is that it is low-maintenance. You can definitely get by multiple days, weeks, even months without washing 100% Merino wool clothing.

This shirt is incredibly good at eliminating odors and retaining its original shape. This means you may only ever need one or two shirts, and accidentally spilling food on it will be a far more likely reason to wash it than the effects of daily use.

Whenever you decide to wash this shirt, it’s worth noting that the care instructions are specific. Merino clothing should not go in the dryer, and should be laid flat to dry, rather than hanging vertically.

High heat from dryers can cause Merino wool fibers to shrink, and despite the natural elasticity of Merino wool, the extra weight of a wet shirt being left to hang vertically can lead to permanent stretching at high-touch points like the shoulders and neck, and ultimately, a poor-fitting shirt.

Unbound says pilling is normal, and offers the following note: “Should pilling occur, try washing your clothing with a pair of denim jeans (just make sure to close the zippers). Over time, the shorter wool fibers causing the pilling will naturally pull away on their own.”

Wool Source

Unlike commodities like polyester, Merino sheep are unique animals with different life experiences living in different conditions that translate into differences in Merino wool quality.

Variables like the weather conditions a flock is raised in, the cleanliness of their grazing area, and even the quality of the grasses a sheep eats can all affect the quality of their wool.

In Charles Massy’s book Call of the Reed Warbler, he describes how one Australian farmer’s journey to improve his land allowed him to sell his wool for premium prices as the higher quality forage for his sheep led to stronger wool fibers.

Unbound sources their Merino wool from Woolmark certified Australian sheep. Woolmark is an Australian non-profit that verifies the source and quality of wool designed for apparel, and their seal of approval is a source of pride for many apparel manufacturers.

Price

As of June 2024, the Unbound Lightweight Merino Crew sells for $90, which is the same price as their Everyday Merino Crew. Their Active Merino Crew sells for $95. For bulk purchases, you can save $25 by getting 3 t-shirts for $245 or 5 shirts for $400.

If $90 sounds expensive for a t-shirt, consider that this may be the only t-shirt you need. Rather than buying 7 cheap cotton shirts for $90 and washing them after a single day of use, a single Unbound Merino shirt can go weeks without needing to be washed.

You’ll have less clutter in your home, less laundry, and a softer, better quality shirt that can be worn in any casual, travel, or workout setting.

Final Notes

The Unbound Lightweight Merino Crew is so light that it often feels like it isn’t there. But in fact, the extra soft Merino wool fibers are working 24/7 to keep you dry, smell-free, and keep your body temperature in check.

Even during strenuous exercise, where other fibers like cotton or polyester stick to your body and become saturated with sweat, this shirt maintains its breathability in nearly all conditions.

If you’ve never owned a 100% Merino wool shirt, give this one a shot. You may just find that the magical properties that help sheep thrive without much maintenance in nearly all conditions can do the same for you.

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