Merino.tech Bottoms Review

The finely spun, 100% Merino wool knitted fabric of the Merino Tech Bottoms will keep you warm when worn in colder conditions while also feeling so soft next to your skin. Besides a few rough edges, this pair of long underwear performs nearly as well as other, much more expensive choices. Their stitching, in particular, looks to be top-notch. “If you're looking to grab your first pair of wooly bottoms, these make a solid choice,” confirms our lead Justin Simoni. Just make sure you're willing to care for them like any delicates in your closet.

Performance Comparison

Warmth

The Merino Tech Bottoms are made to stay warm on cold days. The 100% Merino wool fabric at 250 g/sm is some of the weightier we've reviewed. Tightly knitted, this fabric traps a fair amount of heat and keeps it close to your body.

Our controlled environment exercise tests resulted in us getting quite warm within a few minutes and staying warm for a few minutes longer before we got to baseline. Our lead reviewer was a fan, noting, “I'd consider the Merino Tech Bottom a good pair of long bottoms for cold, active days: ski touring, snowshoeing, or a very cold run.”

Breathability

Good warmth usually means average breathability, and that's what the Merino Tech Bottom resulted in. Our portable airflow meter gave back numbers similar to other Merino wool bottoms of similar fabric weight that are often found at higher prices. This could suggest that the Merino Tech's deliver on their promise of quality Merino at a good price.

Warm long underwear with average breathability like the Merino Tech Bottom are usually best for keeping you warmer in colder temperatures. If you try to wear these in more milder conditions, you run the chance of overheating. You may want to pair these pants with an outer layer with zippered vents to enhance the breathability of your entire layering system.

Comfort and Fit

The soft, super-finely spun 100% Merino wool in the Merino Tech Bottoms stands out when it comes to comfort. Wearing these simply for the feel of the fabric is a treat. Expect these to fit pretty snuggly against your body — such a fit will help moisture from your skin to transfer to the long underwear and across the fabric to its outer layer, keeping you as dry as possible.

Fit is mostly true to size. Our lead reviewer found a size M worked well for his 32-inch waist and inseam. We measured the inseam of the Merino Tech Bottom at approximately 28.5 inches, which is a little shorter than many other long underwear in our lineup. Seams are fairly minimal, except on the fly, where several come together. Thankfully, all seams are low profile, flatlock seams, which reduced any chafing or annoyances to a minimum.

Durability

Unfortunately, the Merino Tech Bottom suffers the same issues of limited durability that most 100% Merino wool bottoms experience. 100% Merino wool is just a fragile fabric compared to the Merino blends out there, saying nothing about pure synthetics, which can suffer far more abuse from an absent-minded owner. This fragile knit fabric is chosen instead because of all its other positive benefits. So, care for this fabric, and it will return its worth.

The Merino Tech Bottom, on the whole, seems well-sewn, with a low profile and strong flatlock seams throughout, with no premature wear noticed. Besides using a somewhat thinner one-inch waistband and the lack of a gusseted crotch, there's little sign of cutting corners to deliver an inferior product. For an excellent price, these bottoms deliver quality construction.

Drying Speed

Being 100% Merino wool, the Merino Tech Bottom won't win any races in getting dry. Wool naturally holds onto a small amount of water inside its hollow fibers, stubborn to let that moisture go. Unusually, wool also wicks moisture away from your skin, so even though it may take longer to dry, the fabric will feel drier next to the skin than it ultimately is. Wool is also warmer wet when compared to synthetics.

Merino.tech notes that these are okay to place in the dryer on a low tumble. Yet tester Justin Simoni cautions buyers, “I'd still suggest drying these on the line or even laying flat, even though the manufacturer's instructions say they are dryer safe.” We didn't notice any unique characteristics in these bottoms that would make them impervious to the untimely wear that a dryer can cause to wool garments. We measured these at 7.6 oz for our size Medium. Generally, garments made with heavier materials dry more slowly.

Layering Ability

The Merino Tech Bottoms work best as a next-to-skin layer. The tightly knit wool fabric is sheer enough not to catch on almost any layer put on top of it. Including a fly means you won't want to wear these as an outer layer. Low-profile flatlock seams throughout negate many annoyances those with sensitive skin may experience.

We particularly like the high hem on the cuff, which causes the Merino Tech Bottoms to fit extra tightly above our ankles, leaving room for a high sock to be cinched up rather than fighting for the same space. We'd love it if the waistband were a little wider to keep the bottoms better up and distribute the elastane force over more of an area, as well as wishing for a gusseted crotch that would move the middle seam away from sensitive areas while giving the bottoms a more dimensional fit.

Should You Buy the Merino Tech Bottoms?

It's always hard to see the faces of our friends when we tell them the advantages of wool base layers and bottoms, only to have them shocked at the price. But with a pair of 100% Merino wool long underwear at a reasonable price like the Merino Tech Bottom, we can finally suggest a good value pair that should meet or exceed almost all of their needs.

What Other Base Layers Should You Consider?