The Best Merino Wool T-Shirts for Every Occasion

This is my favorite T-shirt. In fact, I'm wearing it right now underneath my giant hoodie. Artilect uses a blend of 150-gsm Nuyarn merino wool—what you might call performance merino, that is spun around a durable inner fiber—and Tencel, which is a light, silky cellulose fiber. The result is a T-shirt that is shockingly lightweight, comfortable, and versatile. I wear the Utilitee while climbing and hiking, as well as while typing at my desk, and it's also crisp enough in appearance to wear to work events (if your boss is cool about it).

When I go rock climbing, it stays soft and warm in the shade, then magically stays light and breathable when I break through the tree line and the temperature suddenly rises by 15 degrees in direct sunlight. The flat seams didn’t cause chafing on my shoulders or waist through backpack straps or a harness, and even though it’s a flattering slim fit, it didn’t constrict the movement of my shoulders or arms in any way. —Adrienne So

If I could have only one merino T-shirt, it would be this one. It's the softest, most luxurious of all the tees on this page. Because it's 95 percent merino wool, this shirt will go quite a while before it starts to smell. Everyone is different of course, but I find I can routinely get five days out these. Obviously if it's hot out and you're sweating a lot you might get less than that, but not much. Either way, it's nice and quick-drying.

I find this shirt too nice to work out in, but it's perfect for around town, and it's my go-to any time I want to travel super light. My only real gripe here is the very limited color selection. Taylor Stitch typically has a heather blue and heather black available all the time, and every now and then some other colors will be available on a very limited basis.

This Ibex shirt is my hiking uniform. I don't think I've hit the trail in anything else since I got this Ibex shirt. Ibex is deservedly legendary for its wool, especially its base layers (see below, and in our merino wool guide). This T-shirt fits nicely into that mold with a little bit slimmer cut that makes it great for layering in the outdoors. It's still loose enough to be comfortable, but when the weather turns you can slip a fitted mid layer over it without any trouble.

The fabric here is 83 percent merino, 12 percent nylon, and 5 percent elastane, which gives it a good amount of stretchiness. The stretch, along with the gusseted underarm, give this shirt a nice range of motion that makes it ideal for active outdoor pursuits like hiking and climbing. I also like that you get a UPF 35+ rating for some sun protection outdoors.

The Ibex also has flatlock seams on the shoulders to cut down on chafing when wearing a backpack. Honestly, the flatlock part (that's a method of stitching that makes the seam as flat as possible) isn't what's helpful here, it's that the seams are forward, off the shoulders enough that they aren't where you pack straps will rub.

Unbound Merino's T-shirt has long been a favorite of WIRED readers. It's the most popular T-shirt in our merino guide and well loved by travelers. It's very soft, and because it's 100 percent merino wool it'll stay odor free longer than any other shirt in this guide. It's also lightweight and packs down to a tiny roll, which is perfect if you're looking to simplify down to one bag (really, is there any other way to travel?).

I love how soft these shirts are, and they dry the fastest of any merino T-shirt I've tested. My only gripe is that they they're very lightweight merino (190 gsm, superfine 17.5 micron) and seem to be more prone to small holes than other merino tees in the guide. It's not enough to stop me from recommending them, but do know that Unbound's T-shirts need to be babied a little. I recommend hand washing and line-drying these when you can.

Minus33 is one of our favorite brands for midweight and heavier merino (the company is based in New Hampshire so they understand real winters), but I also love this lightweight T-shirt. It's my favorite shirt for working out. It uses a corespun hybrid thread that is 84 percent merino wrapped around 13 percent nylon, with 4 percent Spandex. It's 145 gsm, and that little bit of synthetic allows it to stretch better and makes it a little more durable than pure merino.

It's soft and comfortable—not too hot in the sun (it also has a UPF rating of 20), and warm enough when it's cool. It's also durable (I've been rolling jiujitsu in this shirt for years and it's fine). It's machine washable, and you can even throw it in the dryer. No need to baby this T-shirt.

Merino T-shirts aren't the cheapest, and if you're looking to build a wardrobe around them it can add up quickly. That's one of the reasons I like Quince's All-Season Base Layer Tee. It's affordable and comfortable.

This Quince shirt is 100 percent extra-fine merino wool jersey (165 gms) that's perfect even on the warmest summer days where I live (admittedly, I think the hottest it got this summer was 92F). I like the relaxed fit, it's neither skin-tight technical, nor overly loose and baggy. It fits like a t-shirt is supposed to. That's what Quince does well in a number of categories: offer a solid, no-nonsense, competitively-priced t-shirt that fits well and feels great. As an added bonus Quince offers free shipping and free returns for 365 days, which is the best I've seen.

I think of this Smartwool classic crew long-sleeve shirt more as a base layer than a T-shirt, but it's a loose enough cut to wear it alone, and it doesn't look like you're half-dressed for a trip to the slopes. Even if you never wear it alone, I'd recommend getting one of these if you live in a cooler climate. I have two and they are pretty much attached to my body all winter long here in Wisconsin.

This shirt is 88 percent merino wool and 12 percent nylon. Smartwool doesn't use the term Nuyarn, but it does say that the merino uses a recycled nylon core for added durability and keeps the merino layer next to your skin, which pretty much describes Nuyarn. Whatever terms you want to use, the result is a nice blend that doesn't need to be babied. You can wash this one warm and tumble dry it on low without worry. Mine are two years old now and still look brand new. There's also a quarter zip version if you prefer.

Ibex Woolies Pro Tech base layer crew is the best lightweight merino base layer we've tested. If you want a hard-wearing shirt, this it it. Woolies are Nuyarn (see above), which is 85 percent merino wool and 15 percent nylon—the merino wool is wrapped around a nylon core, which increases the warmth while being lighter (5 ounces for the men's large) and more durable. This is my top pick for all things technical. It's quite tight, which makes it great for layering. It's my go-to for bring hiking, backpacking, and winter in general. I also love the Woolies Pro Tech Bottoms ($115), which are what I bring backpacking in all but the warmest of weather.

Aside from comfort and warmth, a big part of the reason we recommend Woolies is that they last. Ibex is what passes for a heritage company in this space; the company was founded in 1997 and has been cranking out merino garment for a long time. Adrienne has Ibex merino base layers that have lasted 20 years without a problem. Properly cared for, Woolies will keep you comfortably warm for years to come.