Note: Minus33 provided this item for review.
Minus33 sent me the Kearsarge Polo in Azure Blue to try out. This is a merino wool pool which comes in a few different colors at a really solid price. I’ve recently become a pretty big fan of the value proposition/quality that Minus33 offers, and this polo is a perfect example of that.
I’m a big fan.
Materials
This is a 100% merino wool garment made from 17.5 micron merino at a weight of 170gsm. This makes it a decently lightweight shirt, and thus the UPF rating is at 25 per Minus33. The material itself is less pique polo style, and more jersey polo style — which is to say it’s more like a t-shirt fabric made with a collar and such.
That’s not a slight, it’s a nice material. I find the 17.5 micron merino a really nice balance of comfort and price and I don’t think many will notice a practical difference between it and something more fine like 16 micron. All in all, the material is thick enough to not be see through, but lightweight enough to breath well.
Fit & Style
This is made to be an untucked polo look, and it pulls that off well. The Azure Blue color is quite bright, but there are other color options as well — I do like the brightness of this. The collar is also really nice, as it stays put and in decent shape overall.
I found the fit to be tailored, as best I can put it, with the sleeves being slightly more relaxed. All in all this is a solid polo shirt cut, leaning slightly more casual because of the styling on the collar. It’s good stuff, nothing overly remarkable (which is basically what I want out of a polo). Minus33 does put a discrete tag on the side hem, I’ve not tried removing it, but I do wish it wasn’t there.
Performance
We’ve written about merino wool here a bunch, and this being 100% merino wool there’s nothing different. It has remarkable odor resistance, very good wrinkle resistance, and dries quickly given both the material and the weight of the material.
I’ve worn it quite a few days in a row without it smelling or looking any worse for wear. I’ve also never found a need to steam it, I wash it, hang it to dry, and toss it back on. Even in the humid heat I get in Houston, this has wicked moisture away quick enough as to never be a concern.
The one performance factor this is lacking on is the UPF rating, especially for a shirt you would find yourself wearing for a day out in the sun. This is more a merino wool fault, than anything else, but worth noting.
Overall
I absolutely love this shirt, and at $75 it offers a very competitively priced item, with some really nice materials and solid finishing. I’ve been looking to add more polos to my closet, and this one quickly found a spot as one of my most worn items. It’s the perfect weight, in my favorite shirting material.
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