Why everyone should be wearing alpaca wool this fall — Paka Apparel review

In college, I didn’t have a very extensive wardrobe. Once the weather got below 55 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City, I would break out my trusty Rocky Mountain National Park hoodie and wear it every single day until the spring. That cotton hoodie was cozy and warm, but it was bulky and heavy, and after such persistent use, it would start to smell. Years later, I’ve found a much better hoodie that’s lighter, warmer, odor-resistant and made by a sustainable clothing brand I’ve fallen in love with: Paka’s The Hoodie.

I’ve tested The Hoodie and various other items from Paka’s catalog for nearly an entire year now, and it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan. If you try any of Paka’s products, I think you’ll love them too, which is why I sat down with Paka’s founder, Kris Cody, to learn more about the history of the brand and its products.

What I liked about it

Paka centers around using alpaca wool straight from Peru to create incredibly lightweight and warm apparel. This combo is attractive enough, especially for outdoorsy types, but Paka’s clothes are also some of the softest I’ve ever felt and extremely odor-resistant, too. Whether you want an ultra–cozy hoodie to nap in or need a high-performing layer for outdoor adventures, Paka is for you.

Alpaca fiber is extremely versatile and soft

The more Paka clothes I try, the more I believe alpaca wool is one of the best materials in the world. It’s lightweight yet warm, soft yet durable and so incredibly odor-resistant you’ll barely have to wash it. After testing several items from Paka, the piece that best showcases how good alpaca fiber can be is the brand’s staple hoodie.

The Hoodie was my go-to layer last fall and winter, and I wore it for everything from Zoom calls in my cold office and morning dog walks to hikes and days snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains. The temperature range where I felt comfortable in just this hoodie and a T-shirt underneath was quite astonishing. Alpaca fibers have a hollow core that gives the material its outstanding thermoregulation properties, meaning I could wear it on crisp 40-degree mornings in the fall and warm 65-degree afternoons in the spring without getting too hot or cold.

Not only is Paka’s Hoodie warmer than a standard cotton one, but it’s also lighter. My Hoodie weighs about 14.5 ounces and is quite thin, which means when the temps dropped below 35 to 40 degrees and I needed another layer, it was super easy to throw a jacket over without feeling restricted. And thanks to its loose-fitting, unisex design, it’s comfortable enough to move around in too.

While its warmth and weight are impressive, I kept hearing claims about its odor resistance, so I decided to put it to the test last winter and wore it every day for 30 days straight without washing it. And I’m not just talking about wearing it around the house. I went snowboarding three times, went on several hikes and even wore it to the climbing gym. After 29 days, it still smelled completely odor-free, so as a final gauntlet, I wore it without a shirt underneath and did a high-intensity, 30-minute Peloton ride to ensure it got sweaty. Afterward, I laid it out to dry in my garage and the next morning took a big whiff. Still no stink.

In the nearly one year I’ve owned this hoodie, I’ve only washed it three times because it doesn’t ever really smell, and I probably washed it more than I needed to. Its infrequent need for cleaning is also great because it can be a pain to wash (more on that later).

Of course, The Hoodie isn’t the only item Paka sells, and its other pieces are great as well. I’ve fallen in love with the brand’s socks and underwear and would love to replace my entire drawer with alpaca versions. I also tested Paka’s sun hoodie alongside many others this past summer, and while it isn’t as lightweight and breathable as options made from materials like nylon or polyester, it still performed quite well in the heat and was by far the softest one I tested.

If you’re browsing Paka’s site and wondering which product to try, I’d recommend going for The Hoodie or The Original Crew. I asked Cody the same question and he also suggested The Hoodie, however, he says if you don’t want to spend as much, you should try the socks to get a feel for how impressive alpaca fiber can be. A good tip is to look at the material details of each piece, as that will give you insight into how high-performing it will be.

For example, the Everyday Base Layer uses 85% Tencel and 15% alpaca, which won’t be as warm, odor-resistant or versatile as the Thermal Top, which is 85% alpaca and 15% Tencel. If you’re looking for a more lifestyle, cozy piece, either will work, but if you want the alpaca wool to work its wonders, opt for the higher percentage.

Sustainability and mission

Beyond its top-notch products, a huge reason I’ve resonated with Paka is that sustainability is intertwined with the brand itself. Yes, it has the things you’d normally look for in sustainable outdoor brands, like a B corp certification and recyclable and compostable packaging, but Paka’s sustainability mission runs deeper than that.

“I realized people have no idea where their things come from, who made them, what they’re made of,” said Cody. “I started to have a revelation of how disconnected we are.” To combat this, Paka’s roots in Peru can be found throughout the brand. It was Cody’s source of inspiration when he went on a backpacking trip in 2015, but nowadays, Paka employs more than 200 weavers to create handwoven “Inca IDs” that can be found on every product except for socks.

Every piece comes with a QR code so you can learn more about where your new socks, hoodie or other apparel came from, and some of Paka’s pieces are still handwoven and handmade. Its Inca Collection is made by the same family that originally taught Cody how to make sweaters from alpaca wool, and some pieces like the Hoodie and Crew are hand-sewn together (but not handwoven from scratch).

To further connect with and give back to Paka’s roots, it partnered with the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations in Cusco, Peru, between 2017 and 2019 to “find women from difficult backgrounds that needed jobs,” says Cody. “We offered free training for people to learn knitting and sewing practices and covered meals.” Nowadays, Cody says the brand partners with Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC) to “support a Saturday school for kids to learn Quechua weaving practices,” and with Peruvian Hearts for its Paka Scholars program that sends 1% of the brand’s annual revenue to fund education for underprivileged Peruvian young women.

On top of all the good Paka does in its community, using alpaca wool means the brand is sustainable at its core. It’s a natural fiber and, according to Paka’s website, alpacas produce much more wool than goats, so you need fewer animals to make more sweaters. Cody also mentioned that alpaca wool is inherently sustainable because the fabric is so versatile and durable. You can invest in one Paka hoodie instead of buying five sweaters for different conditions. “You need one sweater that will last you forever and is your companion in all climates,” he said. “Paka solves that need innately with the alpaca fiber in that it can work. You can bring it and know it’s going to be there for you.”

After testing The Hoodie heavily for one year, alongside other items like the Apu Lightweight Puffer, the Sol Hoodie, Trail Crew Socks and more, I’ve experienced minimal durability issues, and the ones I did experience were completely my fault (more on that below). The versatility and durability of these products live up to the hype, however, if your Paka socks wear down, the brand has a lifetime guarantee and will replace them for free. Other pieces on the site have a 30-day return and exchange policy.

Innovation

While Paka’s hoodies and socks are fantastic, the brand isn’t stagnant and has been innovating new products consistently since its inception. In 2021, Paka launched its Breathe collection in partnership with SeaLegacy, which was the first alpaca activewear according to the site, and in 2023, Paka created an insulation made from alpaca wool named Pakafill for its outerwear, which is incredibly warm for its weight and even won an ISPO award.

The entire mission of all this innovation is to find new and exciting ways to disrupt the norm in the fashion and outdoor apparel industry. “We’re trying to present a natural alternative that functions better than petrochemical, fossil fuel textiles,” says Cody. “You can build something made from nature, but if it doesn’t work better, people aren’t going to buy it.”

The Apu Lightweight Parka with Pakafill was one of the best pieces I tested from Paka. It was extremely warm while still being lightweight and packable. With just a T-shirt underneath, I was comfortable walking my dogs in the morning right around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and when I wore the Apu jacket with the Hoodie underneath, I was warm down to about 20 degrees. If you want even more warmth without as much packability, check out our full review of the puffier Paka Apu Parka.

What I didn’t like about it

Nearly every piece I tested performed as advertised. They were soft, lightweight, ridiculously warm and held up over the past year of testing. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you invest in alpaca clothes, as well as a few updates to the products and Paka’s website I’d love to see.

Washing and care

The most obvious downside to Paka’s clothes is the care instructions. They vary by product, but for its most delicate pieces with high alpaca content like The Hoodie, hand-washing and laying them flat to dry is recommended. According to its care instructions, The Hoodie and other sweaters can be thrown in the wash, and over my year of testing, I washed the Hoodie three times (in cold water on the delicate cycle) and had no issues. However, during my latest wash, I washed it on cold and accidentally set the washer on the regular setting instead of delicate, and the sweater shrunk. Alpaca wool seems even more prone to shrinking than traditional sheep wool, so I recommend being extremely careful when washing pieces with high alpaca percentages. In a deleted Reddit post, one user even experienced shrinking when washing The Hoodie on cold in a delicate cycle.

My hoodie didn’t shrink a ton (it basically went from a loose-fitting medium to a tight small), so I soaked it in lukewarm water with hair conditioner and managed to stretch it back to basically its original size. I’m glad I was able to stretch it back, but I’ll be hand-washing the Hoodie from now on to avoid any risk of shrinking.

When I was stretching it back to normal size, I also accidentally ripped a small hole in a seam at the shoulder. I was pulling and stretching way too hard, so I attribute the hole to my boorish testing and not the sweater. I wouldn’t expect holes from just wearing the sweater, and during my year of heavy testing before this, there were no frays or holes from regular use.

My hoodie has also pilled a good amount (probably from throwing it in the washer multiple times), which isn’t a big deal to me, but if you care about unpilled sweaters, hand-washing will be even more important.

The Hoodie requires some delicate care, but I’ve thrown my sun hoodie, socks and underwear all in the washer without any negative results. I lay the sun hoodie out to air dry, but I throw the underwear and socks in the dryer on low and haven’t experienced any shrinking or damage.

The extra care is definitely Paka’s biggest con, but luckily, the products are so odor-resistant that you probably won’t have to wash them all that often anyway. I washed The Hoodie more than I probably should have over the last year, and even then it was only four times total. Most of the time I wash my other pieces more because I feel like they need to be washed rather than because they’re actually starting to smell.

Product and site improvements

I tried the Pakacloud Fleece and while I was in love with it at first, it sheds a lot of wool. The shirt I’d wear underneath would have little pieces of blue fuzz covering it, as would the couch after sitting for even just a few minutes. The fleece also has the most restrictive care instructions (hand-wash only), which, along with the shedding, makes it too troublesome in my opinion.? I would love for the Pakacloud Fleece to be a better piece in the brand’s lineup, especially since traditional fleeces shed microplastics, but for now, I can’t recommend it.

Another small improvement I’d love to see is in The Hoodie’s hood. It felt too small to me and it kept falling off the back of my head when I’d have it up. Paka says it has updated the hood since the version I have, so it shouldn’t be an issue for new customers.

Another big miss in my opinion is Paka’s warranty policy. A lifetime warranty on the socks is fantastic and falls in line with other popular hiking socks like Darn Tough and Swiftwick, but there isn’t much of a warranty on any of the brand’s other pieces. Beyond its 30-day return and exchange policy, Cody said the company will work with customers directly on any issues. “We ensure our product quality on an individual basis through customer service,” he said. “If someone breaks a trim on our jackets, a seam pops, or their sweater pills, we take care of it — whether by funding a repair, manually sending a pilling comb, or even replacing it. If your product doesn’t hold up beyond normal wear and tear, we’ll resolve it.” This is a great sentiment, but I still wish it were written in an official warranty somewhere on the website.

Lastly, Paka does an okay job outlining its sustainability efforts online but I wish it was easier to find information. For example, while there’s a page outlining Paka’s return and exchange policy, the lifetime guarantee of the socks is a little hard to find. There’s a banner at the bottom of the socks pages, but the details are in the FAQs. I would also love to see more current information on the brand’s work with communities in Peru. It was great to learn about both old and new initiatives when talking with Cody but I’m sure potential customers would appreciate having the most up-to-date information easily accessible on the website. Paka’s sustainability efforts are there, but sometimes it feels like a treasure hunt to find all of them.

Bottom line

It’s rare to find a brand I resonate with as much as Paka. Its sustainability efforts are top-notch and holistic, and its products are actually amazing at what they do. There are some extra care instructions you need to consider before investing, but I think the extra hassle is worth it for long-lasting clothes I want to wear daily.

Whether you get a sun hoodie for summer runs or layer the classic Hoodie under the Apu jacket to bundle up this winter, I’m sure you’ll also love Paka. As long as you make sure to wash pieces with high alpaca content by hand, you’ll be impressed by just how versatile the materials are. And if you’re anything like me, once you try it, you’ll want to wear alpaca 24/7.