A review of Red Ram’s Everyday Merino Thermal Underwear.

Overall Rating:  **+ (2+ stars of 5)

Specifications:  

  • Breathable
  • Soft
  • Natural Fiber
  • Naturally odor resistant
  • Comfortable
  • Sustainable source
  • Merino wool
  • For “Everyday” use. 

Performance:  **** (4 stars of 5).  Imagine yourself swaddled in a thin cloud.  That’s how soft and comfortable these garments are.  The synthetic, odor resistant light layer I usually buy is soft, but it doesn’t even come close to Red Ram softness.  Their extremely comfortable Everyday Merino products are for just that purpose – everyday use.  Cold at the office? Wear Red Ram Everyday Merino.  Need a light layer in mild weather for hunting?  Throw it on.  Need a buttery soft base layer for a second pair of heavier long underwear during the coldest of temperatures?  Right choice.

 Above:  Red Ram Everyday Merino Thermal Underwear boxers, leggins and long sleeve shirt.

With little body fat I tend to run cold.  Even in early whitetail season, almost no matter the weather, I wear light long underwear for morning and evening hunts.  No matter what the afternoon high may be those early morning and dusk temperatures usually are enough to make me put on long underwear so I’m comfortable.  For the past several months I’ve had the opportunity to do a field test of Red Ram’s men’s leggings, long sleeve top and boxers in several states and feel confident in providing a good field test of them.  I took two does this year, one in Kansas and one in Wisconsin while wearing it.  

The fabric thickness is somewhere between women’s hose and standard synthetic long underwear products.  I would not call it a single Midwest midseason layer unless coupled with a fleece outer garment.  However, for me, it has a dual purpose.  As previously mentioned a light layer like this gets worn in the early season.  Then, as the season rolls along I wear both a light layer of long underwear and a mid-weight layer.  This method keeps my cold butt warmer.  Here’s my view of the pros and cons.      

Pros:

  • The softest, most comfortable long underwear I have ever worn.
  • True to size. 
  • It proved to be very odor resistant even when I encountered unseasonably warm weather in Kansas.
  • They “feel” warm.  Even in the drizzly, dreary conditions the Wisconsin doe was taken in the wool felt nice. 

Cons:   

  • The boxers were a little more generously cut than I’d like, but I think they are designed that way versus boxer briefs.
  • The garments must hang dry versus using a dryer.  As a hunter I can’t hang them in the house due to scent concerns and the weather during hunting season generally isn’t conducive to hanging them outside – frozen undies just don’t feel right no matter what they are made of. 

Cost:  ** (2 stars of 5).  Approximately $29.99 for boxers, $57.99 for leggings and $57.99 for the long sleeve top.     

Manufacturer’s Customer Service:  ** (2 stars of 5).  When I needed clarification about the underwear’s intended purpose and who a customer should contact for service (it wasn’t clear on Red Ram’s website) it took approximately 10 days to get a response.   A company representative indicated contacting Ice Breaker from the About Us page would result in an answer to customer service inquiries. 

Source:  Provided by Red Ram for this review.  

General notes:  The Red Ram thermal underwear is nice, but the review ratings were drug down by the Cost and Customer Service categories.  Again, it is the most comfortable long underwear I have ever worn and a good gateway to merino wool for those garments.    They are available at Gander Mountain and Dog Funk.

happy hunting, dv

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