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Nomad Sweater. Dark edition
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Nomad Sweater. Dark edition

Nomad Sweater. Dark edition

We’ve spent 99% of our time on Earth as Nomads. So this sweater is built for anywhere.
CHF 237 CHF 475 50% off
Model is 6ft 4 / 193cm with a 40 inch / 100cm chest, and wears size XL.
  • Made with huacaya alpaca wool from the Peruvian Andes
  • Softer, stronger and lighter than sheep’s wool
  • Made using zero dyes

We’ve spent more than 99% of our time on Earth as nomads. For over 2 million years we migrated across grasslands, deserts and arctic tundra, only carrying what we needed, only keeping what was necessary, and only using the things we had to hand.

Today the last remaining nomads roam the planet. Masters of surviving in harsh and fast-changing environments, they know what it takes to work with nature and leave no trace. So while the rest of the world remains underprepared for Earth’s increasingly volatile climate, nomads have always been ready.

Our Nomad Sweater is built for the times where all you have are the clothes on your back, and every piece of gear has to work across any climate and terrain. Every sweater is created from the wool of a single flock of alpacas raised on a small farm in the mountains of Peru. Left in its raw and undyed state, it’s incredibly soft, warm and light, and designed to see you through scorching summers and freezing winters.

Technical details

Material made in Italy
62% Baby Alpaca wool, 11% Merino wool, 27% organic cotton
Alpaca wool is sourced from Peru and is certified by the Responsible Alpaca Standard
Merino wool is sourced from Chile, is mulesing free and is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard
Organic cotton is sourced from Turkey
The sweater is completely dye free
Built with a 5 gauge knit
Fast drying
Naturally water repellent
Thermoregulating
High-wicking
Insulating
Breathable
Odour resistant
Weighs 550g
Hand wash or dry clean
Do not machine wash
Tumble dry on a low heat
Material made in Italy
62% Baby Alpaca wool, 11% Merino wool, 27% organic cotton
Alpaca wool is sourced from Peru and is certified by the Responsible Alpaca Standard
Merino wool is sourced from Chile, is mulesing free and is certified by the Responsible Wool Standard
Organic cotton is sourced from Turkey
The sweater is completely dye free
Built with a 5 gauge knit
Fast drying
Naturally water repellent
Thermoregulating
High-wicking
Insulating
Breathable
Odour resistant
Weighs 550g
Hand wash or dry clean
Do not machine wash
Tumble dry on a low heat
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Why nomads use wool

To build the Nomad Sweater we started with the most versatile and natural raw material in the world. For centuries nomads have used wool from their livestock to stay warm and dry. It’s soft, elastic, and superb at keeping your temperature stable. It’s also naturally water repellent and fast drying. While all wools are known for having incredible properties, we set out to source one of the most extraordinary varieties on the planet, produced in a remote corner of South America.

The sweater is made with ultra-soft alpaca wool

In our first 5 years we’ve turned a series of cutting-edge materials into high performance clothing – from graphene and copper, to carbon fibre and ceramics. This time we’ve done it with one of the most sought after wools in the world. The Nomad Sweater is made with huacaya alpaca wool from a single farm in the Peruvian Andes.

Why we’ve chosen alpaca wool

Alpacas have been central to Andean cultures since they were domesticated thousands of years ago. As descendants of the wild vicuña they’ve evolved to survive the harsh climate of the mountains, providing communities with a constant source of warm clothing and income. Their fleece is not only softer, stronger and lighter than sheep’s wool, but it’s capable of coping with everything from blizzards to intense high-altitude sun.

The softest, strongest, lightest wool on Earth

Having adapted to life at high altitude, alpaca wool has some properties which sheep’s wool just can’t match. While sheep’s wool fibres are coated in microscopic scales, alpaca fibres are completely smooth which makes them even softer. Alpaca wool also has a higher tensile strength. And as each fibre of alpaca wool is more hollow than sheep’s wool, it has a better warmth to weight ratio.

Made using zero dyes

Although the majority of alpacas have white fleeces, we’ve sourced our wool from a small but diverse herd with fleeces made up of a spectrum of natural shades and colours. To make the Light edition and Dark edition of the Nomad Sweater we simply pick out the lightest strands for one, and the darkest strands for the other. Left in its raw and undyed state the sweater will work with almost any colour you want to wear it with.

The softest sweater ever built

The Nomad Sweater is zero effort clothing. Once it’s on you simply forget it’s there. Not only have we used one of the softest wools in the world, but we’ve also designed every detail of the sweater to follow your body so that you never feel restricted. The engineered panels and thermoregulating textures, let the sweater quietly get on with its job while you get on with yours. We’ve also added a small amount of raw and undyed Merino wool and organic cotton to the alpaca wool for extra stability, to create an astonishingly soft and strong material.

You can wear it year-round

The exceptional natural properties of alpaca wool 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 alpaca wool 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 alpaca wool is built for. Every alpaca fibre is completely 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

Alpaca wool will also stop you overheating in higher temperatures as it simply releases its warmth if you’re getting too hot. Alpacas have to stay cool even under the intense heat of high-altitude sun, so their fibres naturally absorb the moisture from sweat and disperse it to start releasing heat.

Fast drying and insulating even when wet

Once the hollow structure of an alpaca fibre has trapped body heat, it uses this heat to repel water so that the wool never reaches saturation point. While sheep’s wool absorbs over a third of its weight in water, alpaca wool will only ever absorb a tenth of its weight, so it dries out faster. And any moisture which it does soak up is spread over a large surface area so that it evaporates at high speed to keep you dry.

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. Alpaca wool is naturally odour resistant. Odour molecules are absorbed and locked into the centre of the fibre of the wool 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.

Nomads know what it takes to survive

From arctic tundra to arid deserts, nomadic communities have always lived in some of the most remote and inhospitable places on Earth. Guided by the seasons they make the most of scarce resources by simply packing up their homes and moving to new ground, only leaving a faded patch of earth behind them. But as our climate becomes more extreme and resources become scarce, their lifestyle gives us a glimpse of what our future might hold if the next century doesn’t turn out quite as planned.

Size + Fit

The Nomad Sweater has a regular fit. If you prefer a looser fit, you can go a size up like we’ve done in the photos here.

Size XS S M L XL XXL
Fits chest 83 - 90 91 - 98 99 - 106 107 - 114 115 - 122 123 - 130
Fits waist 71 - 76 76 - 81 81 - 86 86 - 91 91 - 96 96 - 101
Size XS S M L XL XXL
Fits chest 33 - 36 36 - 39 39 - 42 42 - 45 45 - 48 48 - 51
Fits waist 28 - 30 30 - 32 32 - 34 34 - 36 36 - 38 38 - 40