Today was a not a good day for my wallet. Not only did I find out my insurance only covers a measly 12% of some recent necessary dental work, but I also got an email from Icebreaker announcing the arrival of their Spring / Summer 2011 line.

If you’ve been reading Modern Hiker a while, you know I fell in love with Icebreaker last year during a trip to New Zealand, and now I pretty much exclusively wear their tops when I hike and backpack. They are significantly more expensive than synthetics, but the tops I bought have lasted WAY longer than any synthetics I’ve owned – and not only do they not get that hikers’ funk on multi-day trips or sweaty days, but they don’t need to be washed that frequently either.

There was one thing missing from my collection, though – a sleeveless tee. Needless to say, I had a fairly impressive farmers’ tan after last summer’s hiking season – but not this year if I get my hands on one of the several sleeveless cuts the Kiwi company just launched. And if you’re not as excited as I am about the prospect of not having ghost-white upper arms come June, then maybe you’d be interested in checking out their new Run and Bike lines instead.

Incidentally, if any of you should be in the market for some top notch Merino wool gear and pick it up from these guys, you’ll be helping me pay off my dentist bill so I can afford to snag one of these bad boys for review 🙂

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by Casey Schreiner

Founder and Editor of Modern Hiker, Author of "Day Hiking Los Angeles." "Discovering Griffith Park," and "Cloud Spotting." Walking Meditator, Native Plant Enthusiast.