Hi, I’m Doga（@DogadogaTv）.
Finally, the day has come. It’s been 1 month since I started wearing a THING that I bought through Indiegogo.
That is…
Unbound Merino T-shirt
Well, it looks like just a regular black T-shirt, huh? However, it’s an ultimate travel-hack T-shirt because, surprisingly it DOESN’T smell, even if you don’t wash it!! It’s a smell-free T-shirt.
You don’t know how long and how excited I was waiting for the day to be able to write a review article of this bizarre product.
I came to know more about this T-shirt when I contributed an introduction article of it in a web-media called heaps.media. (It’s a Japanese web-media site.)
Back then, I just felt like “Wow, it’s hilarious!!” and didn’t think anything more than that. But, soon the T-shirt was always in my mind and I couldn’t forget about it even after the article was published.
Here first, try watching the product introduction video below!! Can you believe that this cool dude wore his black T-shirt for at least 46 days in a row? It is insane, isn’t it?
However, I’m sure that this video helped you understand well why I got so deeply interested in this product.
Yes, I was completely attracted by this mysterious T-shirt and I wanted to test it by myself to check if this T-shirt really doesn’t smell or if it’s just full of bullshit!!
So I made the decision to order the T-shirt and started wearing it on 16th Nov 2016. And finally today is 1 month since then. Yes, I literally tried wearing it for 1 month in a row. I’m serious.
So I want to review this product and give you my 1 month report. It became such a precious experience for me because (of course) it’s my first time to keep wearing the same T-shirt for 1 month…
Note: Normally speaking, the perception of smell can vary from person to person. So please proceed on to this article with the acknowledgement of the fact.
目次
Introduction of the company “Unbound Merino”
The company that invented and provides this T-shirt is “Unbound Merino” which is an Apparel company based in Toronto. Yes, It was a coincidence that this company is from Toronto where I’m currently living in.
Apparently they don’t possess physical stores and focus on online selling only. They have their own website, although I had to place an order through Indiegogo when I bought it.
This company was founded by three young men who were obsessed with traveling. They were thinking about how to cut the amount of baggage they take when traveling and ended up creating this Unbound product by themselves.
Their website also says below…
“WE’VE CREATED THE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS THAT WILL BRING OUT THE TRUE MINIMALIST IN YOU.”
What I personally liked is that they created the product purely for making everybody’s trip much lighter and easier. This product is the best item for travel-lovers. (Well, this minimalist value might have been added to reduce the reluctance of wearing the same T-shirt without washing it, in terms of marketing…)
This is the story behind the product.
Introduction of the product
They have a V-neck type and a Crew type with the color variation of black and grey. I bought the black V-neck type.
They also sell socks and boxer briefs. I wasn’t courageous enough to order them and try wearing them for 1 month… However, I strongly recommend you to try them if you are a REAL travel-hacker!!
As I mentioned, the speciality of this T-shirt is that it doesn’t need to be washed. That’s simply because it doesn’t smell. It’s not that it doesn’t get dirty, ok? Please don’t misunderstand that part. This T-shirt is just SMELL-FREE.
Secret behind the product
First of all, the main cause of smells is a build-up of bacteria inside the fabric of the clothes. Bacteria lives on our dead skin, sweat and dirt on the clothes. This is the basic mechanism.
However, this T-shirt is made of “Merino Wool” which reduces the increase of bacteria by vaporizing the sweat off the T-shirt quickly. So theoretically this T-shirt doesn’t meet the conditions to smell! Cool. huh?
This is the secret behind the T-shirt.
Best for travel-lovers
Logic: Smell-Free ＝ No-Wash ＝ Wear it everyday ＝ No need to pack more underwear
This is how this T-shirt benefits you.
I’m sure that many people have had the difficult experience to choose what to wear on a trip and how to pack everything in the first place.
With this T-shirt, you don’t need to worry about all of that!! Just take one Unbound Merino T-shirt and it will cover your whole trip.
In addition, clothes made of Merino Wool don’t easily get wrinkles, so you don’t have to worry about wrinkles when it’s in the suitcase or backpack.
I love it.
It can be worn in winter as well.
Ok, now you might be thinking like… “Nobody wears T-shirts except in summer, asshole!!”
Don’t worry. This Merino Wool is superior to cotton or other fabrics in terms of warmness too because Merino Wool is composed of very delicate and elastic wool. It’s good at regulating your temperature.
This fabric is often used in winter suits or outdoor jackets and mostly those are very expensive because Merino Wool is the fanciest wool!!
Let’s open it!!
I talked enough. Let’s open it!! The T-shirt is covered by thin paper. It’s a very simple package but it’s also very elegant.
Besides the T-shirt, there is only an instructional manual in the box. This manual is quite important because it directs you precisely on how to handle the T-shirt if you want to wash it. Only if you think that you want to wash, eh?
Yes, it looks just an usual black T-shirt.
Even at this moment, I was still skeptical…
The surface of the T-shirt is very smooth and it’s light. I liked the feeling of wearing it. It’s very good.
Let’s begin!!
Ok, I decided to test wearing it for 1 month in a row as I mentioned before.
I set a rule to wear this T-shirt all the time, except for in the shower and when asleep. Let’s see…
Day 1
I sniffed the T-shirt at the end of the first day. It didn’t smell bad at all and still had a typical smell of brand new clothes.
Well, of course it doesn’t smell because it’s still the first day! Duh!
I hung it and kept it in the space just like below every night. Good night.
1 Week Later
Surprisingly it doesn’t have a smell yet! I couldn’t believe it and kept sniffing my T-shirt so hard, like a dog…
And at this time I got used to wearing the same T-shirt everyday. More than that, I felt even easier because I don’t have to spend time on thinking which underwear to wear!! Stress-free, yahoo!!
2 Weeks Later
Finally the brand new smell went away. However, it doesn’t smell bad at all.
Well, it smells of myself right after I take off the T-shirt but it disappears quickly after a while.
It gets back to fresh (although I don’t know if this is the right word to use…).
3 Weeks Later
At this time, there is a small change.
The T-shirt started smelling a bit like typical “damp wool” every time I sweat. I don’t know if it had this smell even before but it became more clear.
But it’s not that BAD smell like “Eww“. Don’t worry!! It’s still fre…sh?
Well, the smell disappeared once the sweat went away. Remember? It’s Merino Wool.
4 Weeks Later
Honestly, there is no difference from 3 weeks. It still smells the same as “damp wool” when I sweat but nothing else. No one around me in the same space could perceive it and or got disgusted. (I just hope so..)
I tried sniffing the T-shirt almost every night, and I tried sniffing it extra hard especially tonight (and every part of the T-shirt) because it’s the last day of the test but… NO SMELL!! My wife is an eye.. no no no Nose-Witness! ( I forced her though…)
Result
Ok, it’s time to judge. The truth is …
This T-shirt doesn’t emit bad smells even if you keep wearing it for 1 month in a row!
Honestly, I was impressed. I didn’t know that a T-shirt which doesn’t smell without being washed really exists.
This time I wore it for 1 month because this is a test, but I guess normal people wear it only for a few weeks on their trips. (So don’t judge me!)
This product will definitely be a killer item and become very essential for those travel-lovers.
If you hesitate to keep wearing it every day, you can gently and briefly wash it in the sink before you go to bed. Leave it on a towel and boom! It’s back to fresh again!
I promise you will love this on your trip. The catchword written in their website was not a lie. It helps our trips. Let’s quote it again.
“WE’VE CREATED THE TRAVEL ESSENTIALS THAT WILL BRING OUT THE TRUE MINIMALIST IN YOU.”
I tried it on in winter this time but I’m going to test it in summer as well.
In summer, I assume that people normally wear a T-shirt alone, unlike in winter with extra clothing over the top, so I bet the sweat in the T-shirt will go away much more quickly. I’m kind of excited because theoretically it is supposed to reduce the smell more in summer.
They are shipping their products almost all over the world so I really recommend you to have at least one if you like traveling.
Especially I want somebody to try a boxer brief… What? Disgusting? Hush-hush!!
＞Official website of Unbound Merino
Who wrote this article?
Writer : Doga(@DogadogaTv)
I’m a Japanese writer/blogger who contributes to tech-companies, sales-companies and so on. My expertise is technology such as wearable devices, mobile phone/apps and any other gadgets. Through this Japanese blog, I’m trying to share not only life in Canada but also cool ideas, products, apps and trends in other countries for Japanese people. Please contact me(dogadogatv@gmail.com) if you have something that you want me to review and introduce in Japanese! I’m currently living in Toronto.