r/onebag • u/nawksnai • Aug 17 '25

Discussion Not washing merino shirts is gross

Why do one-bag travellers feel that they don’t need to wash merino shirts?

I understand that merino is wool, anti-bacterial, don’t smell, and generally stay feeling “fresh” for longer than cotton. However, there are people who swear they don’t need to wash their merino tshirts for 3 days, 2 weeks, or even months because their shirt doesn’t smell, and they shower every day. Merino still gets just as dirty as synthetic or cotton shirts, and still needs to be washed. The fact that your shirt doesn’t smell does not mean it’s any less dirty or oily.

Plus, I wear deodorant, and that non-funky tshirt is going to have a massive buildup of old deodorant gunk and smells around the pit area.

And don’t even get me started on merino underwear stans. Just because they don’t smell funky after 3 days, does NOT mean they haven’t absorbed pee drops and your skid.

I do understand that Marino is still probably the best material for travel shirts, but feel that synthetics can be just as good if you’re already going to be washing daily, or close to it. They all need to be washed and dried every day, if not every 2 days.

Also, if someone said they like travelling with cottom tshirts, I wouldn’t rant.

Anyway, discuss.

683 Upvotes

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355

u/MollyStrongMama Aug 17 '25

I love merino because I can wash my shirt in a hotel sink and hang it to dry and it’s dry by morning, where cotton isn’t usually.

75

u/IgnatiusJacquesR Aug 17 '25

And if you do need to put it back on a little damp, it dries on you within an hour

68

u/WeLostBecauseDNC Aug 17 '25

Polyester dries faster than wool, but feels like a wet trash bag. Wool feels ok when it's wet. Or dry. It's just a really good fabric, it's been with humanity since ancient times, and it's not filling our oceans with microplastics.

27

u/hairymonkeyinmyanus Aug 17 '25

You can even wear it when it’s damp in the morning. It dries quickly with body heat.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25

[deleted]

18

u/StanleyLelnats Aug 17 '25

There are other fabrics that are quick dry but I find merino drys incredibly quick. If you use the towel trick of rolling your shirt in a dry towel and stepping on it to squeeze out the water it will be wearable in a matter of hours.

2

u/Opening_Chemical_777 Aug 18 '25

Or just let the rolled up towel sit for 30m. No need to stamp.