How to Incorporate Yak & Camel Wool into Your Uniform

We’ll admit it: With so many products and fabric weights, it can be hard to figure out which ones complement and perfect each part of your uniform and combat gear. But don’t worry—that’s what we’re here for. We, too, have spent many days in the Bundeswehr’s field uniform and therefore know exactly what matters.

Below, we’ve explained in detail everything you need to know about your gear and our products—or you can simply click here to see a clear, concise table showing which mission scenarios our products are suitable for and how they compare to the Bundeswehr’s issued gear and to Woolpower products.

1. General Information

Yak wool is a high-performance fibre from the Himalayas. Adapted to the extreme climate and hostile landscapes of the Central Asian high mountains, where temperatures can drop to as low as -50 °C, yak wool not only provides excellent insulation but also offers outstanding breathability, a superb warmth-to-weight ratio, and high resistance to wind, weather, and precipitation even at the lowest temperatures.

These properties make yak wool an excellent choice for mountain and winter combat. We therefore recommend yak wool for military use during daytime and combat duty in winter, for combat duty in autumn and spring, and for year-round use in high mountains—the dark brown colour is particularly suitable for achieving a camouflage effect in the vegetation of Central and Northern Europe; in Southern Europe, we recommend the light brown colour.

By contrast, the camel wool we use comes from Bactrian camels in the steppes of Central Asia. Camels there face extreme temperature fluctuations: during summer days, temperatures exceed 45 °C, while winter nights drop to as low as -40 °C.

Camel wool therefore stands out for its uncompromising temperature regulation. It can be worn just as comfortably in the depths of winter as in the heat of summer, where it pleasantly cools the wearer. We therefore recommend camel wool for daytime duty during the European summer, spring, and fall; for daytime and combat duty in summer and in high temperatures; and for military operations in Africa, the Near and Middle East, and Central Asia.

2. The Right Underwear

In the current equipment concept of the Bundeswehr and many other armed forces, underwear plays only a minor role. But that’s a mistake: If you wear the wrong underwear, it can't wick moisture away from your body. Then even the best base layer won’t help you much.

The right underwear wicks moisture and excess heat away, prevents chafing and pressure points on your feet and between your legs, and helps prevent unpleasant odours. Our men’s boxer shorts, women’s boyshorts, and bras are ideal for this. Made from 100% yak wool, they’re super soft, wick moisture away quickly, and prevent friction against the skin. This way, they offer maximum performance during combat duty and the highest level of comfort during daily duty.

Our 100% yak wool socks are midweight, keep your feet comfortably dry, and reduce blister risk. For winter, we recommend our super-warm, heavyweight socks made of pure yak wool, which keep your feet comfortably warm even on the coldest days.

For our underwear, we use exclusively yak wool—which offers greater abrasion resistance than camel wool. Because your underwear covers only specific areas of your body and yak wool regulates moisture even better than camel wool, you won’t get too hot in it, even in the height of summer.

3. Base layer

The base layer is the foundation of any successful military and combat gear setup. You can’t do without it. It should effectively regulate your body temperature, provide basic protection against the cold, wick away moisture and excess heat, reduce friction against the skin, and protect you from UV radiation and unpleasant odours.

The German Armed Forces and many other military forces use two types of functional shirts: the sand-coloured tropical undershirt made from a cotton-polyamide blend and the olive-green undershirt made from 100% cotton—the latter is now only familiar to older service members, as the German Armed Forces have issued only the tropical undershirt as the standard undershirt since 2014.

Both shirts are poorly suited as base layers: the polyamide in the tropical undershirt traps body heat, causing you to overheat quickly, especially during physical activity. At the same time, the cotton content soaks up moisture—and since cotton dries slowly, you’ll quickly start to cool down as soon as you stop moving. In addition, a cotton-polyamide fabric is prone to odours and offers no flame protection.

Our base layers are different: Our 100% camel wool T-shirt keeps you comfortably warm on cooler days, while in summer and during sweaty activities, it cools you comfortably by supporting your body’s natural temperature regulation and keeping you dry at all times, even during the most physically demanding activities. Designed for the relentless heat of the Arabian deserts, it uses camel wool's unique properties to cool your body even in extreme heat, up to 45 °C. And yet, its thermal performance returns immediately during sudden cold snaps. This guarantees maximum performance in every season.

Our most versatile camel wool T-shirt works as a base layer under your field uniform in the height of summer and is also ideal under a ballistic protective vest. We recommend it as your standard undershirt for your field uniform during the summer months, whether for combat or daily duty. In terms of colour, our camel T-shirt also resembles the tropical shirt worn by the German Armed Forces and many other military forces, ensuring a perfect fit.

When temperatures start to drop at night, our camel wool long-sleeve tops are the right choice. They regulate your body temperature as effectively as our camel wool T-shirt, but their long sleeves offer extra protection when temperatures drop rapidly after sunset to near-freezing levels. Our camel wool long-sleeve with a half-zip goes one step further: Thanks to the stand-up collar and thumb loops, it offers extra protection around your neck and hands—exactly where you tend to feel the cold most easily. This means even cold autumn nights and crisp late-fall mornings won’t bother you—our camel wool long-sleeve shirts provide excellent insulation without overheating you in the afternoon, when spring and autumn temperatures often climb above 20 degrees, or during your morning workout.

We recommend our camel wool long-sleeve shirts for daytime duty in spring and autumn—depending on the temperature and your personal sensitivity to the cold, you can wear them either directly against your skin or as a mid layer over a camel wool T-shirt. The latter lets you simply take off the mid layer when you’re exercising or start to sweat in the sunshine. They replace the Bundeswehr’s long-sleeved undershirt with a zippered collar, while our camel wool long johns replace the Bundeswehr’s beige long underwear.

When temperatures and weather get truly unpleasant, we choose yak wool first. Compared to camel wool, yak wool is significantly warmer and offers the best protection against wind, weather, and precipitation. Its excellent temperature regulation and quick-drying properties also prevent you from overheating or getting soaked during physically demanding activities. Inspired by the yaks of the Himalayan highlands—which brave the world’s harshest weather conditions at over 6,000 meters above sea level and are the only fibre in the world that insulates against evaporative cooling in high mountains—it reliably keeps you warm on windy autumn days and in the depths of winter.

Like our camel wool, you can choose a T-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, or a long-sleeve shirt with an additional half-zip. Our short-sleeved yak wool T-shirt replaces the olive-green undershirt worn by the German Armed Forces and many other military forces, and is the right choice if you’re never really cold—even in winter— if you exercise in your field uniform, or if you want to protect yourself from the cold on particularly chilly days by layering up—then our yak wool T-shirt is ideal as a base layer under our equally lightweight long-sleeve shirt with a half-zip or our even warmer yak wool cardigans and sweaters. It’s also excellent as a base layer under a ballistic protective vest. If you want extra protection on the sleeves, our long-sleeve top is perfect.

Our long-sleeve shirt with a half-zip, made from 100% yak wool, is our warmest base layer. Knitted as thinly as the T-shirt and long-sleeve shirt, it adds insulation to the exposed neck and hands thanks to a stand-up collar and thumb loops. It also pairs with our yak wool T-shirt, making an excellent super-warm yet highly breathable mid layer—ideal for combat duty in winter, fall, and early spring. On cold days, you can also wear it comfortably under your field uniform during daytime duty.

Paired with our 100% yak wool long johns, it replaces the KSK cold-weather underwear from Woolpower (Woolpower 200) —in a direct comparison, our half-zip long-sleeve top made of yak wool and the matching long johns made of yak wool are not only significantly warmer but also many times more breathable, offering you equally better protection against both the cold and overheating. They also offer better protection against wind, rain, and moisture and, like all our products, even provide basic flame resistance.

All our T-shirts and long-sleeve tops are also highly antibacterial and odour-resistant—with proper care, our camel wool can be worn odour-free for an entire week, even in the height of summer and during physical activity. With our yak wool base layers, you’ll stay odour-free for up to two weeks—so lugging mountains of laundry on long-distance trains across the country, and the hassle of doing laundry on Saturday mornings, are now a thing of the past.

4. Mid layer

You’ll grab your mid layer from your locker when it gets really cold. If winter temperatures are still on the mild side or if you plan to move quickly while on combat duty, our long-sleeve shirt with a half-zip is the right choice—it’s just as thin as a base layer, but with its stand-up collar and thumb loops, it reliably keeps you warm as a second layer over our yak wool T-shirt. It replaces the Bundeswehr’s KSK cold-weather underwear.

When temperatures are around or below freezing, you need a particularly effective insulating layer. That’s where our midweight knit sweaters and cardigans come in—they’re super-warm mid layers that reliably keep you warm on the coldest winter days. Despite their insulating properties, they effectively wick excess heat and moisture away from your body, so you won’t overheat—even during strenuous combat duty—and will always stay dry. Both our cardigan and knit sweater are made from 100% yak wool and feature an extra-high stand-up collar for added warmth around the neck. This ensures uncompromising performance in extreme winter conditions.

Our midweight cardigan, made from 100% yak wool, also features thumb loops that keep your hands comfortably warm. The full-length zipper lets you open the jacket completely if you do break a sweat during particularly strenuous activities. This makes it perfect for combat duty on especially cold winter days. Our midweight knit sweater, made of 100% yak wool, is ideal for day duty on particularly freezing days—it’s compact enough to wear as a mid layer over our yak wool T-shirt and under your field jacket.

Our midweight yak wool cardigans and knit sweaters offer more warmth than a 600 Woolpower cardigan but breathe better than a 200 Woolpower half-zip. They are therefore the ideal replacement for—and improvement upon—the 400 Woolpower half-zip sweater and cardigan.

For the coldest days, our heavyweight cardigan made of 100% yak wool is a super-warm option. It reliably keeps you warm even at temperatures well below freezing and replaces a thin down jacket. For physically strenuous activities, however, it’s often too warm. Our heavy yak wool cardigan is therefore ideal for long nights in a bivouac in particularly cold temperatures—unlike the Bundeswehr’s issued thermal layer (base layer) jacket, it cannot catch fire.

Our midweight half-zip knit sweater and our midweight camel wool cardigan, on the other hand, are ideal for late summer and early fall, when a T-shirt under your field shirt is enough during the day, but it gets bitterly cold at night, and you’re looking for a super-warm mid layer to throw on that you can still pack away in your daypack or combat backpack in a space-saving and lightweight way. They also replace the 400-series Woolpower sweaters and cardigans and, in a direct comparison, offer added warmth and greater breathability.

5. Hats, Scarves & Accessories

Our beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas round out your gear. They come in lightweight and heavyweight versions, covering every conceivable military deployment scenario.

For day and combat duty in the autumn and spring, we recommend our lightweight 100% yak wool beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas. They reliably protect your head, neck, and face from cold, wind, and light precipitation. Thanks to their lightweight construction, they also offer maximum breathability and excel at regulating temperature and moisture. Whether you’re standing still or pushing hard, our lightweight yak wool beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas keep you cool, warm, and dry in any situation.

Our heavyweight beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas, made from 100% yak wool, are designed for the coldest winter days and temperatures well below freezing. They protect you from heat loss in extreme temperatures and weather conditions. However, they’re also highly breathable, so you won’t get too hot during short bursts of physical activity. For longer periods of activity, though, you’re better off with our lightweight yak wool beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas.

Our lightweight camel wool beanies, tube scarves, and balaclavas, on the other hand, are ideal for milder temperatures. Whenever it gets a little cooler, you run the risk of getting chilled around your neck—this can happen even at mild temperatures around 10–15 °C, which are regularly reached even in the summer. This is especially true when wind or rain is involved. And even in summer, the summer cold is never far away: During combat duty, you sweat. This moisture evaporates from your skin, releasing evaporative cooling. Especially when the wind picks up, your neck can get chilled even at warm temperatures, while the wind also dries out your mucous membranes. This makes it easy for nasty cold viruses to take hold. We therefore recommend wearing a lightweight scarf year-round, especially during combat duty, when temperatures are a bit cooler or the wind is stronger—our lightweight camel wool tube scarf is perfect for this. However, thanks to its lightweight construction, you can also choose our light brown yak-wool tube scarf in many situations; it offers slightly better camouflage from spring through fall in Central European latitudes. Our lightweight balaclavas, made of yak and camel wool, also work well into summer when you need to camouflage your face.

Our heavy camel wool beanie and tube scarf are primarily designed for desert climates—but depending on personal preference and specific needs, you can also wear them as alternatives to our heavy beanies and tube scarves.

6. At a Glance & Contact

Was that a bit too much information? No problem—we’ve compiled all our recommendations for you here in three short tables.

There, you can see at a glance which product is right for your needs. We also compare our products to the German Armed Forces’ standard-issue gear and to products from the Woolpower brand.

We’re also happy to answer any questions you may have at any time. Feel free to contact us by email or, even better, by phone, and let us know what you’ll be using your new performance clothing for. We’ll be happy to provide you with a personalized recommendation based on our experience and our customers’ reviews.