Both alpaca wool and merino wool are highly regarded natural fibres, but each offers unique benefits.
Softness
Both fibres are known for comfort, however many people find fine alpaca softer, which comes down to fibre diameter and a smoother fibre surface — the cuticle scales on alpaca sit lower than those on wool, around 0.4 microns against 0.8. Fineness is what you actually feel, and a fine merino and a fine alpaca of the same micron will both sit well under the roughly 30 micron mark where fibres start to prickle.
Moisture
Alpaca holds less moisture than sheep's wool, around 8 percent regain against roughly 16 percent, so it feels less damp in wear and dries faster than a comparable merino garment. Merino has the stronger published data on moisture buffering, so which suits you depends on what you are doing in it.
Breathability
Both are breathable natural fibres. How breathable a finished garment feels depends as much on the knit and the weight as on the fibre itself.
Durability
Alpaca tests more resistant to abrasion than wool of a similar diameter, which helps garments hold their appearance over time. Merino has more elasticity and better recovery, so it holds its shape through more wear cycles — that is a real point in its favour, and it is why alpaca is often blended.
How much is actually known
It is worth saying plainly: merino is the far better-studied fibre. The Australian wool industry has funded decades of testing on merino performance, and there is nothing comparable behind alpaca. Where we quote a number for alpaca we will tell you what it is; where the honest answer is that the data is thin, we say that too. Anyone selling you alpaca on the basis of dramatic performance claims is filling a gap in the evidence with enthusiasm.
Sustainability
Both alpaca and merino wool are renewable, biodegradable natural fibres. Alpacas are often praised for their lower environmental impact and gentle grazing habits.
Which Should You Choose?
If you want fineness against the skin and something that dries quickly, alpaca is worth trying. If you are after the most tested performance fibre for hard activity, merino has more data behind it. Both are good, and plenty of people own both — including us.
Our own fibre is grown on our herd at Mulgoa, New South Wales, and we can tell you the micron of what you are buying.
Where our fibre comes from
Our fleece, yarn and carded bumps are grown on our own herd at Mulgoa in western Sydney, shorn here and sold undyed. We can tell you which animal grew it and what it tested at. The knitwear and socks we sell are made in Peru and Australia and we always tell you which — we do not blur the two.
- Raw fleece for spinners — from $36 for 200g.
- Yarn and carded bumps — undyed, from $36.
- The sock range — every composition published.
- Compare every sock we sell, with real fibre percentages.
Questions about micron or composition? Email us — we answer every one ourselves.