Yak wool featured in new kora fabric
UK-based technical baselayer producer kora claims that the yak wool used in its latest fabric range offers better properties than merino wool. The company claims the wool offers an extremely soft handle and advanced technical properties, as well as being harvested in an ethical way.
Its latest fabric, Hima-Layer, uses yak wool that is sourced directly from nomadic communities in the Himalayas via the Qingmei Rabden and the KeGaWa Co-operative.
According to kora’s tests, Hima-Layer is 40% warmer than merino wool weight for weight and it is 17% better at transporting water vapour than merino. It is also said to offer 66% greater air permeability than merino.
Company founder Michael Kleinwort spent months in the Himalayas testing prototypes and meeting the nomadic communities from which the wool is sourced. A keen traveller, photographer, skier and endurance athlete, he has trekked through some of the most remote, high-altitude mountains in the Himalayas with explorer Jeff Fuchs.
“Nomads use yak hair for tents, ropes and carpets,” said a company statement. “Yak hair is the longer, thicker permanent fibre that stays with the animal all year round. Yak’s wool, on the other hand, is an inner layer of fine wool on the animal that grows each year to insulate against the cold. It is very soft.”
