Nomad Sweater

Lambswool is the softest wool a sheep will produce

The entire Nomad Sweater is made from lambswool – the softest wool a sheep will ever produce. As sheep get older the wool fibres in their fleeces start to turn thick and coarse. So lambswool is collected from lambs before they turn 1, which is when their wool is at its finest, strongest, and most elastic. Lambswool is much rarer than wool from an adult sheep as it can only be collected once in each animal’s lifetime. And because the fibres are so fine, it makes the sweater incredibly soft on your skin.

You can wear it year-round

The natural properties of lambswool mean you can wear the Nomad Sweater year-round no matter what the weather is doing. The wool is so soft on your skin that you can wear it on its own in warmer temperatures. When the weather turns colder you can layer under and over it just like a regular sweater. Or you can carry on wearing it on its own and the thermoregulating, naturally water-repellent wool will still insulate you from the cold, and keep out the rain and snow.

How the sweater keeps you warm in the cold

Staying warm is all about trapping as many pockets of air next to your body as possible and that’s what lambswool is built for. Every fibre is hollow which means you have millions of air pockets trapped next to your skin. And as the natural curl of wool fibres traps more air than straight fibres, the microscopic texture of the fabric itself will also retain heat.

It keeps you cool in the heat too

The sweater will also stop you overheating in higher temperatures as it just releases its warmth if you’re getting too hot. Merino wool has to keep sheep cool even when the temperature goes over 30°C, so the fibres have evolved to naturally absorb the moisture from sweat and disperse it to start releasing heat.

Fast drying and insulating even when wet

The outside of every lambswool fibre is covered in a natural wax coating which makes it water repellent. At the same time the wool acts like a sponge to soak up sweat and spread it over a massive surface area so that it evaporates at high speed. And as the fibres can absorb over a third of their own weight in water and still feel dry, you’ll stay warm and insulated.

It’s hard to make the Nomad Sweater smell

It’s not sweat that smells, or even the clothes themselves. It’s the build-up of bacteria on the surface of the clothes. Lambswool is naturally odour resistant – odour molecules are absorbed and locked into the centre of its fibres so you simply can’t smell them. They’re then released when you wash the sweater. It’s perfect if the nearest shower or waterfall is a couple of months away.

How we source our wool responsibly

While lambswool is an amazing material, it has to be made ethically and in the right way. Our sourcing partner in Italy is a member of the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), an independent body committed to protecting the welfare and livelihood of the animals and herders, as well as preserving and restoring the grasslands they graze and work on.