chrisjahn77 wrote:So it seems like everyone loves wool ...
No, at least not for everything. I have many merino garments, mostly Icebreaker, I used to be sponsored with a huge gear budget, so price was not a problem (note past tense). They're comfortable and mostly warm, and often even stylish. But I don't feel they wick sweat as well as synth, and usually take longer to dry. I normally only use the lightest versions, as I find the heavier merino baselayers too warm/sweaty and take far too long to dry on my body after activity.
But that depends on your own metabolism, what you are doing, and where you are doing it - like pretty much every other gear question on the internet.
For expedition use, wool has the advantage of not smelling, at least not for at least a couple of weeks. On me, synth gets smelly after several days. This may or not be a problem, depending on where you are going, who you are with etc etc. For short term active use, I would have synth as a baselayer, due to its superior wicking on me.
There is a sizable fashion element to the merino segment of the industry - it has been very well marketed, especially by Icebreaker. I think Steve House mentions this in one of his videos - merino is fine for hanging out at the crag, but not for actual climbing performance. But then he's sponsored by Patagonia, who need to sustain sales of Capilene (yes, I know they also have merino).
The other point often missed is that for baselayers to work properly and do what they are supposed to do, they should be skin-tight. This is not a fashionable look on most customers, so is hard to sell in the shop. So many baselayer garments are designed to avoid this and are thus fundamentally designed to not work properly, crazy as that seems, but it's no good manufacturing a great product if no one will buy it. You can read more about that on Andy Kirkpatrick's site somewhere.
D