Yak wool brand launches in US
Baselayer brand Kora has launched its yak wool products in the US.
Michael Kleinwort founded the company in 2013 to generate a reliable income for the yak herders in the Himalayas.
He said: “Having evolved over thousands of years to protect these animals in the extreme conditions of the Himalayas, yak wool is an incredibly advanced material.
“Between the high performing properties of the wool and the opportunity to support economic development in the nomadic, herding communities, the birth of Kora is a tremendous new offering in the outdoor community.”
A study by the UK’s Sheffield Hallam University compared the yak wool baselayer against merino and polyester base layers. They found that when running in cold weather, a Kora baselayer maintains core temperature better than merino or polyester garments, according to Kora.
It adds that Hima-Layer is 40% warmer, has 66% greater air permeability and 17% greater water vapour permeability than merino wool fabrics because while merino sheep graze at around 1,000 metres, yaks live at 4,000 to 5,000 metres and have evolved to survive the extreme cold at that altitude.
