Merino shirts are literally the only shirts I've worn through to have holes on various places. Its not that great and vastly overpriced material for many active uses, but marketing is strong with this one.

To quote some mountain guides I talked about this - its a great second layer in snowy sports, ie ski touring. Wicking of sweat ain't great compared to synthetics (and thus drying takes also much longer), but when wet it keeps warmth, unlike synthetics or cotton. As top layer it sucks since as mentioned it has little resistance to abrasion comparatively, and everybody wears some sort of backpack out there. I have synthetic shirts that lasted 10 years either frequent gym going or intense mountain sports, not a single hole or tear. None of merinos survived that long.

I talk about cheaper brands like Decathlon but also Ice Breaker, the heavier/thicker ones.

Not talking about hoodies here, those seem much thicker material and never worn those, synthetics served me for such role very well so far.

Just in case you weren’t aware, you can’t use enzymatic laundry powder with merino because it will dissolve it and cause those holes. For years I thought I was going too hard on them or the holes were coming from moths, but then I read about it online. My merino gear now lasts a lot longer now that I wash it separately and with non-enzymatic powder.

From what I've seen merino tends to be more delicate than synthetics, but much more odor resistant.

Merino is the only fabric I've found that can handle multiple sweaty days or even workouts without a hint of smell.

>> merino tends to be more delicate than synthetics, but much more odor resistant

100% this. Merino is great if your use case is any warm / hot / humid climate where you want to wear your shirt for multiple days...

Yes that is true, forgot that part. Doesn't help much in colder situations with more layers but for a single layer case, with nothing carried on the back/waist its fine even long term. I just don't do such things much.

The one Icebreaker shirt I owned got holes and sweat stains while my tri-blend American Apparel shirts continued for years longer without issues.

I will add another data point to this: Unbound Merino tshirts※¹.

As other replies have mentioned, merino is definitely fragile (both of mine had holes within a few months). But the caveat being that I literally wear them every 2nd day (I own two day-use tshirts (2 more for night/spare) and rotate them daily, so they probably got 5 years of use in the year that I've owned them.

They are even more amazing for anti-smelling than synthetics with silver woven into them (like Lululemon Silverescent). They can go for weeks without washing (I've tested with other people's noses). Caveat being if you spill something on them or absorb a ton of barbecue smoke, they will need a wash (or at least spot cleaning).

I think merino tshirts (2 pair), lightweight synthetic everything else, powerful phones or ultralight laptops + USB-C has enabled folks like me to travel indefinitely (except in winter) with a 20-25L bag or less ※².

※¹ - https://unboundmerino.com

※² - That is if I didn't have a family incl. toddler, in my case I'll still LARP onebagging for our 1-4 week trips.

I agree with you about the breathability of those merino t-shirts, but I think the author is right about their fragility. I feel like mine constantly get runs or shrink even though I’m careful (I’m a frequent business traveler and they do get heavy use). I’m considering switching back to traditional undershirts.

That's weird, because I am still wearing the same Icebreaker t-shirts I bought in 2015, a decade later, through many many washes. They have thinned out some, and I've added more new shirts over time to my rotation, but the very first one I bought is still perfectly wearable as a daily undershirt. I've never had one shrink, I do have some small holes in the oldest shirts, but nothing that impedes its basic function.

I think it's like Apple cables: for some they're frayed in a month, others still have perfectly serviceable 30-pin cables that they've used daily. Personally, I wear Unbound merino t-shirts and underwear, and they last for years.

(I'm also convinced that front-loading washers make clothes last longer because they don't literally beat your clothes to death.)

For what it’s worth, I am washing them in a top loader. I wonder if that does make a difference.

We haven’t utilized double-blind tests at our house or anything, but definitely makes a difference in clothing longevity for us. Popular consensus seems to agree, FWIW.