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December 29, 2008
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The LS Crewneck (Courtesy of Kombi)
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What's the best stinkfighter: merino, bamboo, or synthetic fiber?
— The Editors
Santa Fe, New Mexico
 You can always throw a few chemicals into a synthetic fiber and call it stink-free, but if you have sensitive skin those chemicals can cause rashes and other problems. And merino smells just fine until you get really wet and sweaty and then you’ll begin to smell like you’ve just wandered onto a sheep farm. So your best all-natural bet is bamboo.
The reason bamboo is odor- and bacteria-free? In the wild bamboo is fighting a constant battle with insects and microbes that want to destroy it, so over the years it has evolved a set of properties to combat these terrorist attacks. According to a recent study performed by the Japanese Textile Inspection Association, bamboo has about a 70 percent antibacterial efficacy without the need for added chemicals. These antimicrobial qualities have a shelf-life of about 50 washings.
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Do you have a question of your
own?
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Kombi's bamboo LS crewneck ($55) or zip top turtlezip hybrid ($60) is everything a baselayer should be. It’s so comfortable, in fact, that I’m wearing the crew (which is 48 percent bamboo, 48 percent Coolmax, and 4 percent Spandex) right this very moment. It feels soft and silky next to my skin, and even after about 10 washings, I’m still stink free.
Stephanie Pearson: The Gear Girl
When it comes to gear, contributing editor Stephanie Pearson lives by one rule: What you own, owns you. That's why the skier, hiker, biker, runner, canoe paddler, and sometimes yogini is on an eternal quest to find gear and clothing that will enhance her life rather than make her a slave to dysfunctional stuff. During her seven-year stint as a travel editor at Outside, Pearson received three honorable mentions in The Best American Travel Writing series for stories on Guatemala, New Zealand, and Bhutan. Now that she's no longer in the office at Outside HQ in Santa Fe, Pearson hopes to be on the road more and is always in search of functional and aesthetically pleasing gear that's easy to use or clothing that's elegant to wear. Pearson is based in northern Minnesota and Santa Fe. Her latest adventure was on the fringe of the Amazon Basin in Brazil.
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