A lot of synthetic gear carries a tog rating. Whats the tog rating of Merino?
Merino isn’t quite so simple to rate. Firstly, the term “Tog” refers to thermal resistance, and this in itself has two different meanings: 1) the temperature difference across the structure when a unit of heat energy flows through it in unit time or 2) the temperature difference across a unit area of a material of unit thickness when a unit of heat energy flows through it in unit time. It is the reciprocal of thermal conductance. The SI units of thermal resistance are: K/W for the first meaning K·m²/W for the second meaning (see closer two different definitions general/buildings in thermal conductance). In textiles, a tog value is quoted instead. This refers to it’s warmth factor only, but Merino is far more complex than the synthetics given tog ratings. Merino not only keeps you warm when it’s cold, it will also keep you cool when it’s hot! It will even still generate heat when wet. These are not attributes that can be measured by simplistic Tog ratings. Clever stuff Merino! • What’s
