“Another travel brand?” I asked myself as I weeded through the Paka Apparel website. Was this one any different from the other products from well-known sustainable travel brands that I had packed for all my trips?

The day I got my Paka Apparel joggers in the mail, I found one thing to be unique: they were hand-signed on the tag by a woman named Ana. She was the artisan in Peru who helped make them.

And what about the strong yet soft fabric in all my Paka Apparel gear? Are these clothes different from the loads of others on the market?

In this review, see what I’ve learned about Paka Apparel and why my Paka clothing feels different from other travel clothes.

Paka Apparel quick pros & cons

Pros:

  • All my Paka Apparel clothes are incredibly well-made, with strong fabrics and great stitching.
  • The company is highly sustainability-oriented, with a B-Corporation certification and part of the Best for the World Community.
  • Paka is innovating with alpaca fibers in the fabrics, and it’s the first company I’ve heard of doing this. They also employ woman textile weavers in Peru and provide work for these communities.

Cons:

  • Reflecting the fair labor practices, natural fibers and sustainability practices, some consumer may find the costs a little more prohibitive.
  • The company currently does not provide specialty sizing like Petite nor Tall sizes (but they do provide sizes in XS-XXL in women’s, which is inclusive).

The Paka Apparel products I tried

I have tried a few best-selling products from Paka Apparel:

The products that Dan tried in Men’s are the men’s joggers, men’s pocket tee and the socks, which are unisex.

Review of each Paka Apparel product

I have a variety of Paka products, so here’s a run-down of what they are all like, from my wearing, feeling, testing and washing.

Women’s Everyday Joggers (and Men’s)

Size I got: XS; Size Dan got: M

We’ll start with the Women’s Everyday Joggers, which are joggers I wear both in the house and outside of the house in winter. I’ve worn them on road trips, and I wore them on flights this year.

Here is a basic summary of why they’re some of the best women’s travel pants and best men’s joggers we’ve tried, to date.

  • My favorite part of them is the strong and thick waistband. These are high-waisted joggers and I find them flattering and feel-good.
  • I like the zippered back pocket, which is a nice plus on a pair of joggers.
  • Overall, I compare them to a similar pair of joggers/sweats that I got at H&M years ago because they’re black and look the same, but the quality is light years beyond my cheap-y black H&M pants.
  • Because my Paka joggers are thick, I’ve worn them out of the house to do errands and they’ve been comfy to wear in transit.

Women’s Tri-Blend Shorts

Size I got: XS

I tried the Women’s Tri-Blend Shorts next, and they were my first dive into what Paka can make for warmer-weather products. The “Tri-Blend” is tencel, pima cotton and alpaca fibers, for those wondering.

I wind up wearing these shorts around the house. While the joggers feel structured and thick, these shorts are naturally thinner, and I feel the style is best for at-home wear.

That doesn’t mean I’d never wear them out of the house: I just feel like they’re very casual, almost like pajamas, so I’m less likely to wear them out in public.

Summary:

  • They are super comfy. They’re the shorts I reach for when I get out of the shower and I’m going to lounge around for the rest of the night.
  • Just like the joggers, the back zipper pocket is clutch, and it’s not something I see on women’s shorts all the time. It gives them a step up in the best travel shorts for women.
  • These shorts are soft enough to sleep in, or do some light yoga in. I bring them on trips for lounging around my Airbnb or hotel.

Women’s V-Neck Tee

Size I got: XS

The women’s V-neck tee is one of my top travel shirts. I packed it for our trip to Colombia, where I knew we’d be in a range of temperatures, from high 70s during the day, to mid-50s at night, and of course, airplane cabins that were wildcards.

Summary:

  • This is a well-made tee: no doubt. It has some of the strongest stitching and the best fabric feel out of most of the travel fees I own (and I own quite a few).
  • I really like the fit in the shoulders and the chest. I mainly wear petites, and Paka does not yet make petite sizes, so this shirt runs long on me, but I hide that fact if I wear black bottoms (like in these photos).
  • The shirt claims to be odor-resistant and thermoregulating. I put this to the test when I wore it on a plane, and then wore it on another flight two days later. It turned out to be a great addition to my best women’s shirts for travel.
  • I like the casual go-with-anything look of it and it’s going to come on more trips with me.

Women’s Pocket Tee (and Men’s)

Size I got: XS; Size Dan got: S

The newest tee from Paka for both men and women is a traditional pocket tee. I think my best advice to know about it is that it is certainly thicker and sturdier than a regular cotton tee that’s lightweight.

While I’m not about to wear it on a 90-degree summer day, I would definitely put it on after a shower when I’m ready to go out to dinner on a spring or summer night. It’s also a good “travel day” shirt, just like the V-neck I tried and tested above.

The fit is roomy and relaxed, not fitted and tight, in both the women’s and men’s versions. If you know Dan at all, you know that on any average day, you can find him in a strong pocket tee!

Helpful Tip

My note: I used Wair, the size calculator that you may see on clothing websites (including Paka’s product pages) these days and it calculated that I wore a size S with my responses. I wear a size XS in Paka products, and a S would run too big. Keep this in mind if you’re in between sizes, to consider sizing down or buying two sizes and returning one.

The Hoodie & The Original Crew (Unisex styles)

When I laid my hands on both these unisex sweaters, I couldn’t believe how soft they were. The “softer than cashmere” certainly lives up to the hype with these handwoven unique alpaca fiber knits.

Both styles are equally cool for men and women; to that end, we should mention the fit. Dan got a M, and I got an XS. He found that his ran small, and mine ran large. My best suggesiton is to use PAKA’s size calculator, which actually sized me as an XXS, and may have sized Dan as a L, if we had used it. We reordered and got much better fits in a unisex XXS (for me) and a unisex L (for Dan).

What’s gorgeous about these sweaters when we put them on is that they allow for a full range of motion in your arms, and they’re not bulky or big. They have super casual chilled-out feels, which is great for travel, camping and being on the road. The navy color is timeless, the handknit details are beautiful and of course, we like the handmade unique Inca ID. I’ve seen that travelers wear them for overnight camping trips (to sleep in, and then wear the next day).

Helpful Tip

Huge note about the sizing and care: As these are unisex sizes, women will find that they run big; this was the case for me! The brand suggests washing these handknit sweaters in COLD water (use a delicates bag if you are worried about damage) and then AVOID the dryer, or they will shrink a LOT. Size down when ordering if you’re in between sizes, and expect a boxy relaxed fit.

Quarter Performance Socks

Size I got: M; Size Dan got: L

Dan took to wearing his Paka performance socks more immediately than I did, although I think they’re a great product. Dan is more likely to wear quarter-height socks than I am. He likes to wear socks that height with pants, shorts and whatever else.

Ready for the summary?

  • They’re made of a blend of “baby alpaca fiber,” tencel, nylon and spandex.
  • While they look and feel like lounge socks, they’re also ideal for hiking, outdoor activities, keeping warm, traveling and running. I categorized them as “lifestyle socks” in the best socks for travel.
  • I was surprised to see that they have a cushion aspect and compression at the arch, which I like to have for my flat feet and sensitive arches.

I think I’ll be wearing these unique socks more with leggings and pants, or to pair with hiking boots.

Men’s Mountain Crew and Women’s Mountain Crew

This crewneck sweater is the newest from Paka Apparel, and it’s so popular that it nearly sold out after its launch. We each have one in a women’s XS (I’d say it runs big, and it does not come in XXS like the original Hoodie) and Men’s L (runs true to size, for Dan). The material feels bouncy and stretchy, and it’s actually a big difference from the Hoodie and original Crew, which feel more like cashmere.

If you’re seeing that the Mountain Crew being sold out in all colors and sizes, I recommend taking a look at nice alternative sweaters at all women’s sweaters, because there are some I didn’t even know about!

What’s the Paka Apparel “Unique Handwoven Inca-ID?”

As you may have seen in my photos, all Paka clothes (aside from accessories like socks) have a “Inca-ID.”

In my joggers and shorts, this little piece of cultural deco is located on the back zipper pocket. On my V-neck tee, it’s a loop on the side edge of the shirt. On the Pocket Tee, it’s on the pocket itself.

While I can’t find too much about the “Inca ID,” I dug deep into the Paka website and found that it’s related to the Quechua bracelets that the company sells, which are traditional Inca designs made with natural dyes. So, the Inca ID is like having a part of this design on your clothes. It makes Paka clothes different from the rest.

By the way, about those handwoven bracelets: it’s the Paka product that gives 100% of profits directly to the Quechua-Peruvian weavers who make Paka clothing in the Andes Mountains.

How does the claim about “traceability” work?

When I’ve received my Paka products in the mail, I’ve noticed the small business card-sized piece of cardboard included in the product packaging.

It’s part of the Paka promise of “Traceability:” strengthening the connection of showing consumers like me where exactly their garment came from.

Because I’m writing this review, I had to get into the nitty gritty and I held my phone up to the QR code, which led me to a full-terrain satellite-view map of Peru, showing red pins where the alpacas for my Pocket Tee are located. I haven’t seen other clothes companies do that!

I read more about it at the Journey to Full Traceability page.

How to wash Paka Apparel clothes

For my Paka clothes, I’ve never put them through a full dryer cycle.

The Paka Apparel website suggests hand-washing Paka garments, but I do not enjoy hand-washing anything, nor do I have the time! So, I run my Paka shirts, joggers and shorts through a regular washer load and then I hang them to dry on my rack.

For specialty items like the fleeces and knits, I’d reference this care page to see the suggested method of cleaning those items.

Worth your investment?!

Paka Apparel has made some of my favorite travel clothes to date, and that says a lot. When I think of travel-focused brands with great sustainability records, commitments to the environment and to giving back to local communities where resources come from and strong ties to the Earth, I think of Paka.

I think I feel this way because I’ve been to Peru twice, and the second time, I spent a month there, practicing Spanish, talking to locals and seeing more of the beautiful land and culture. So, for me, surfing the Paka Apparel website and seeing incredible photos of the alpacas in their natural environment up in the Andes Mountains is a wee bit sentimental.

Many travelers might feel this way, and so for that reason, I think shopping with Paka Apparel is a nice way to connect a love of travel to a company that makes nice clothes (ones that should last for decades, if washed correctly) and employs women artisans locally to make them.

Their prices reflect a lot of product development, a sound supply chain and healthy practices. I’ve been happy with my shirts, pants, shorts and socks, and Dan has also been a fan of the Paka clothes he has tried.

How to buy

Paka Apparel clothes are basically only available on the Paka Apparel website, which is where you get free shipping on orders of $150+.

As the Paka Apparel website will clearly remind you, “When you purchase a Paka product, you are supporting 100+ women artisans in Peru.”

If you feel the need to shop elsewhere, like if you have a discount code or a gift card at another retailer, I’ve seen Paka products available at Huckberry, but only in men’s styles. And on sites like Huckberry, you may only find one Paka product, and it comes in just one color, and it’s only available in one size. So that’s not worth it, to me.

When you shop through the Paka Apparel website, like I suggest, you’re getting the authentic real deal of the products, all the colors available, all the sizes and the full story behind the brand.

Plus, I have to tell you: the Paka site is easy to use, with gorgeous photos, cute photos of alpacas, visuals of the Quechua artisans and inspiring scenery. I’m also following the brand on Instagram.