Wonderful World of Wool Event: Day 3

Wonderful World of Wool Event: Day 3

Did you think that the only products we'd cover in our wool event would be diapering related?! Heck no! We want to introduce an excellent product for the whole family today!!

About Smartwool

[from their site ]

SmartWool was born with comfort in mind. (The) founders were New England ski instructors struggling to keep their feet warm. After trying a variety of materials, they rediscovered an age-old classic: wool. But while these socks may have been warm, they were itchy and shrank. So they worked on a process to make them soft and easy care. SmartWool was born on a simple belief: keeping feet comfortable on the slopes.

But it was a difficult sell. Try as they might, they couldn’t initially convince others of the material’s merits. No one believed that a wool sock could be anything but itchy. Out of frustration, they finally challenged people to try them. And this simple tactic changed the course of SmartWool forever and pioneered a new market transformation for wool performance products. The instant people tried them they were awestruck with SmartWool’s soft luxurious feel. They were even more surprised that their feet stayed comfortable for extended periods of time in mixed weather conditions. Instead of getting clammy, the SmartWool socks stayed dry, soft and comfortable. The founders then realized that they had to get their socks on as many people as possible to let them speak for themselves.

Hurley's Experience:

Believe me when I say, they did speak for themselves! Living in Alaska, I have to endure some pretty grueling temperatures during our winters. I couldn't have been more relieved to have the opportunity to review a product that would help me in such a way.

When I first tried out the Smartwool products, it was a really cold day here. I'm talking, -30 something degrees cold!

The scarf and mittens were so light weight and yet extremely warm. Even when faced with such cold temperatures, my hands and neck stayed as warms as if I were wearing multiple layers of other mittens/scarves made of primarily cotton. Even when I was warm inside my heated Jeep, the wool wasn't suffocating me. I figured if it kept me so warm in the freezing arctic temperatures, it would make me cook inside a warm vehicle! That was not the case! As mentioned on Day 1's post, wool is temperature regulating. It keeps you warm in the cold and cool once you've made it inside to a warm place.

That feature makes Smartwool ideal for not only avid winter sports players, but also Joe Schmo on his way to work in the morning waiting for the bus in freezing temperatures!

And Mamas... sometimes we can go a little overboard on layers for our kids. Understandably we need to be certain that they are warm enough! So rather than bundling them up like Randy from the movie A Christmas Story:

Smartwool has products that will help them stay equally warm, AND let them move their limbs.

As well as receiving the scarf and mittens, Smartwool was generous enough to also send 3 pairs of socks!! I am not even bluffing, I use these socks constantly. They are the first pairs I grab before I have to go outside!

After having them for several months and using them as much as I have, I've had to wash them many, many times.

What I do is wash them with my regular clothes on Cold and then let them hang dry so they don't warp. Admittedly, my husband has been guilty of throwing them in the dryer several times... and even then they are just fine. They still look great, excellent used condition.

Smartwool has TONS of socks to choose from on their site, with really awesome prints. You can even find the perfect socks for your weather situation. They make them with varying degrees of weight to help keep you warm, and cushion to help keep you comfortable. They also make them in lengths that range from the hidden sock [great for the jogging shoes!] to tights [great for extra under clothes layers].