Yak Poncho | Nepal | Ladies | One Size

Yak Poncho

Yak wool and acrylic blend women’s hooded poncho with pocket. Snug and incredibly soft, this hooded Nepalese poncho is contemporary and stylish. width 104cm length from front of neck 84cm length from nape of neck 97cm weight 400g It will give you an extra layer of warmth on a cold evening and is perfect for a festival, travel, camping or hiking. This is a fair trade item sourced in Nepal. Pattern may differ.

Size: One Size will fit Small to Large

We sell many ponchos including more in Yak, Alpaca and Baby Alpaca Wool. 

Background

Yak fiber is the term commonly used to refer yak fiber wool produced from the coat hair of yaks (Bos grunniens), a long-haired bovine mainly found in the Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau, and some areas of Mongolia and Central Asia.

Yak fiber wool has been used by nomads in the Trans-Himalayan region for over a thousand years to make clothing, tents, ropes and blankets. More recently the fiber has started to be used in the garment industry to produce premium-priced clothing and accessories.

Yak wool has similar properties to other animal fibers, including breathability and static-resistance, but has been proven to outperform sheep wool in a number of areas.

Warmth: In woollen garments, air pockets are created between the fibers that reduce the rate of heat transfer. This property combined with lanolin (a hydrophobic grease present in wool fibers) allowing wool to keep you warm when wet. Yak wool is rich in myristic acid, a type of hydrophobic fatty acid.^[3] Independently conducted tests on yak down suggest that it is warmer than Merino wool. Nonetheless, claims vary on how much warmer it is with values ranging between 10 and 40 per cent.

Softness: Cashmere is known in the textile industry as one of the softest wools with a fiber diameter of less than 18.5.^[4] The diameter of the down fiber of the yak also ranges 16–20 microns making its softness comparable to that of cashmere. Species-specific DNA probes have been developed to identify yak, which is used to quantitatively test yak-cashmere blends.^[5] Although cashmere has already been firmly established in the market, yak wool has potential to be sold as a luxury product due to its softness and the (currently) sustainable and eco-friendly means used for gathering the fibers.

Breathability: In general, wool’s comfort comes from its thermo-balance characteristics. The breathability factor of a material depends on its ability to absorb moisture relative to its weight and then release it into the air. The higher the absorption value the better the textile is at adapting to humidity level changes. Wool can absorb over 30 per cent of moisture, greater than cotton (25 per cent) and far greater than polyester which can absorb only 1 per cent of its weight.

Odor-resistance: Contrary to popular belief, yaks do not have a strong odor. Unless combined with the bacteria that live on the skin, sweat is odorless. The anti-microbial properties of yak fibers prevent bacteria from living on sweat thereby considerably reducing odor.^[

more info on yak wool can be found here