It’s the age old question, is yak’s wool better than merino wool when it comes to creating thermal underwear for snow sports?
A British company called Kora™ (kora.net), who have developed the first technical base layer using yak wool believes so.
“With a soft-handle, technical qualities and an ethical harvesting process, Kora™ has managed to produce performance base-layer clothing from Yak-wool and, in tests, this has surpassed its merino equivalents,” said a company statement.
It’s a popular misconception that yak’s wool coarse but in fact it’s yak’s hair that is, not the wool, which is an inner layer of fine wool that the animal grows each year to insulate against the cold and is very soft. They’ve been growing it in the Himalayas for at least 10,000 years.
kora™ has developed their unique fabric for active use called Hima-Layer™ made from yak wool. Extremely soft, the wool is sourced directly from remote nomadic communities in the Himalayas via the KeGaWa Herders’ Co-operative.
In company tests kora™ Hima-Layer™ fabric is 40% warmer than merino wool weight for weight, it wicks as efficiently as merino and is 17% better at transporting water vapour through it than merino, the company says, adding that Hima-Layer™ fabric is very breathable, having 66% greater air permeability than merino and a kora™ 230gsm base layer is warmer, lighter and more breathable than a merino 260gsm equivalent.
Kora’ tops and leggings are priced at £95 to £105 per item and are available in a range of colours for men and women.
Michael Kleinwort, kora’s founder has spent many months in the course of the past five years in the Himalayas testing prototypes and finding and meeting nomadic communities from which kora’s wool is sourced. Michael has trekked through some of the most remote, high altitude mountains in the Himalayas with explorer Jeff Fuchs. He is a keen traveller, photographer, skier and endurance athlete.
