Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Taking a more leisurely lead up to Coast to Coast this year, and knowing that I am only doing half, has seen me enjoy all of my training, but left me slightly under-trained for the event!

Instead of slogging away with early morning starts, lunchtime training sessions, and weekend brick sessions like last year, this year I’ve relied almost entirely on gentle lunchtime runs, the occasional ride around the bays (on nice days, heaps of those in Wellington!) and a few weekend “long” runs.

Hopefully though, my Coast to Coast training “cramming” long weekend two weeks back has set me up to get through the run and cycle in one piece!

This was how it went:
• Friday - 12k run in Christchurch - wearing my favourite Icebreaker GT 150 Dash zip
• Saturday - 100k cycle from Queenstown to Glenorchy and back - wear testing our soon-to-be-released bike shorts and the same Dash zip
• Sunday - gentle trot along the shores of lake Wakatipu - again in the same top
• Tuesday - Coast to Coast run leg - yep, still in the same Dash Zip (which I also slept in Monday night)
• Wednesday - hobble around the office… then 2 hour massage

Fingers crossed that will do the trick!

Even after all of that, my Icebreaker top was still smelling sweet!

Just ask my flatmates, who I threw it at when I got home. “Ew that’s gross” quickly turned to “oh my god, it doesn’t smell. At all!”

- Kimberley Gilmour, HR Manager, Icebreaker Head Office

I am writing to thank Icebreaker for making high quality clothing that also looks great.I graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina last summer and on July 4th made the decision to pack up my car and tour the USA. One month later I was standing on the side of the road in San Jose, CA staring at my totaled car wondering how I was going to continue my travels. How would I get there? What was I going to do with everything I had packed for the journey?

I decided to sell my things, buy a backpack, and keep going. I knew that if I was going to keep going with no clear plan, I should travel as light as possible. While researching travel clothing, I read a review on Icebreaker products and decided to take a chance on a Long Sleeve Bodyfit 200 shirt.

When I tried it on I was pleased to find that in addition to not being itchy or hot in the summer weather it also looked great on me. After wearing the it for only a week I had already received many compliments on how nice my shirt looked.

One month later, the shirt was keeping me warm when it was cold and comfortable when it was warm, whether I was standing at the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii or walking down the street in Savannah, GA.  When I got drenched at Niagara Falls, I found that the warmth didn’t leach out of my body like it would have with a cotton shirt. An additional benefit was that it dried incredibly quickly.

One year later, I had traveled across 25 states, 4 Canadian provinces from September 2008 to September 2009 and worn my Icebreaker shirt every day. Despite the long and frequent wear and washings, the shirt still fits like a glove, looks good and is in great shape.

Never in my life have I been so completely satisfied with a clothing purchase. I am now living in Los Angeles and looking for permanent work, so I have to wear working attire but as soon I can get some income together I am going to purchase more icebreaker shirts so that I can be comfortable and look great in my off time.

Thank you so much for making such a great shirt. I don’t normally write to companies about their products, but this purchase experience was so good that I felt compelled to do so in this circumstance. I have never made a clothing purchase that has impacted my life is such a positive manner and I appreciate it.

I am including pictures of myself in the shirt in a variety of the locations that I traveled to. Some of the locations are more urban than your typical client might travel to but I think this speaks to the versatility of the shirt.

- Drew Buzzell, Icebreaker Fan, Los Angeles, CA

The Speight’s Coast to Coast traverses the South Island of New Zealand from Kumara Beach on the Tasman Sea to Sumner Beach on the Pacific Ocean. Over either two days (individuals or two person teams) or the one-day event (individuals only), competitors cycle 140 kms (three stages of 55km, 15 km and 70 km), run 36 km (including a 33 km mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and kayak 67kms of the grade two Waimakariri River through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.  Icebreaker is sponsoring this event in 2010, and a bunch of us are competing.  Here’s an excerpt about the lead up from one of our team members:

So why am I doing the one day Coast to Coast?  Mainly I believe, because it is a fantastic opportunity to learn about myself.  I know that to get there I have to push myself to my physical and mental limits.

So with only weeks separating me and the start line, do I feel ready?  Well yes I think I do, but I am sure there will be some nerves and doubts…  But that is part of why I’m doing it really.  We face challenges because they test us and make us stronger.  In the act of thinking about the question of “am I where I want and need to be?”,  I have to reflect on where I was when I was told I would be on the Icebreaker Team.  I was nowhere fit enough (7kg heavier than I am now), and I had no kayak or decent road bike.  All I really had was a desire to find a new challenge and a giant opportunity.

So now here I am, metaphorically putting the last strokes of the first rapid that we call preparation.  The next rapid is more of the same but longer and I know from experience that to do well in a race, a rapid or life in general you need to be prepared, relaxed and focused on where we are going.  Bring it on!

- Dave Tait, Speight’s Coast to Coast competitor - Team Icebreaker

Last week we opened our first independent Icebreaker store in Europe - in the heart of Chamonix centre. Check out the pics of our opening celebrations - and if you are nearby come and visit:

21st Avenue Michel Croz
Chamonix
Mont-Blanc
France

Hey guys - we love hearing your Icebreaker stories and checking out pictures of you in our gear.

Feel free at anytime to send your comments, stories, ideas and photos to: blog@icebreaker.com   We’d love to share it on our Blog and with other Icebreaker-ites.

Don’t forget to sign up to our fan page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter too.

The Tararua forest looms (literally) on my doorstep, and is one of several mountain ranges in the North Island of New Zealand which form a ridge running parallel with the east coast of the island between East Cape and Wellington.

Bringing in the new year discovering another hidden wonder of our country was exhilarating.  Tramping through lichen covered ancient forest at 4000 feet, and trying to withstand the powerful southerlies our wee country has to offer was just a few highlights of the trip.

My next challenge has already been put to me - to get a deeper understanding of this forest; what new challenge will you be taking on this year to open your mind to the wonderment of nature?

-          Jeremy Moon, Founder & CEO - Icebreaker

Hi Team Icebreaker,

In September last year we were the recipients of some Icebreaker garments from your “Share the Love” initiative.  “Share the Love” gives Icebreaker to people who are making a difference to nature and to each other.  We took our two new merino garments to the Californian High Sierra on a 300km long expedition following the ridge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Our aim was to use the trip as a vehicle to explore and communicate (through an educational package we designed) the many branches of science that can be experienced when spending time in nature.   Both of us have spent years working in New Zealand’s wild places and both feel a strong connection to the physical environment around us.  The dream of creating an educational package where participants learn in a multi disciplinary way while undertaking an expedition was the real nuts and bolts of our trip.

We wanted to say a big thank you for providing the most dependable garment of our wardrobes!  We stayed warm, cosy and happy throughout the trip and especially appreciated the fantastic warmth to weight ratio of our tops.

We have attached some photos from our trip showing the garments in action.

Thanks again for supporting our adventure.

- Andy Clifford and Ness Smith

Hi guys - another year is ahead of us!  We’re back from a nice restful break over the holiday season, and are planning to make this year one of the best years in Icebreaker history.

We’re all thinking about what we want to achieve in the months ahead, and what new experiences and skills we want to discover not only for Icebreaker, but for ourselves personally.  What’s motivating you this year?  What new things do you want to discover?  And how are you going to make this year memorable and exceptional?  We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Check out a few of our staff members on the Xmas and New Year breaks, we love to get out and experience new and wonderful places, sometimes we even do it together - proving that Icebreaker is not only a great clothing system to wear, but an awesome culture to be a part of.

- Brooke Riley, Global Web Project Manager

Twas two weeks before Christmas, when all through the office;

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the couch with care;

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there…

Here at Icebreaker we know how to party and last weeks Christmas party was no exception!!!

All the Icebreaker Head Office staff were split into teams and challenged with dressing up as either Good or Evil.

In the Good corner we had a team dressed as Hell’s Angels, a S.W.A.T team, The Goodies, and the All Whites. On the Evil side we had a team of the living dead (Elvis’s), the Kubrick 8, the Spawn of Satin, and Movie Mayhem. Some of the costumes were very inventive!

What a night!