Socks (1 Viewer)

[tom24]

2-3 Months ago i bought 2 pairs of walking socks for a fiver at a local Tesco.They're excellent value for money and can't be faulted.Can't see them in the shop at Ayr today though.
Also got much the same deal in Matalan at the same time,however these socks are lined,again excellent v.f.m.
The Brasher sock offer at Millets is great too.
Think i've a pair for every day of the month now...
Any other comments on such an important issue?

 

[Keith Dickinson]

Only comment I would make is that you can't beat a hand-knitted pair for durability and comfort. I have bought machine made socks before and they were not very good and didn't last more than 2-3 walks before the heel went through. With hand-knitted ones I have a pair that is at least 10 years old and just starting to go through at the heel. I am at the moment looking for a wool shop to get some more material for another pair of socks. As they are individually made I can have them any length I want, which is great as I can have pairs for use with shorts, slightly longer than normal, or trousers, slightly shorter than normal.

 

[Otto McDiesel]

Wool is best.

 

[Karl J]

yes the milletts offer on the brashers is excellent, they also sell Peter storm which seem pretty good as well

(the tescos ones i had were ok while they lasted. Unfortunately that wasn't very long)

 

[Tim Hall]

Bridgedale for me...

 

[Karl J]

hmmm - i might be wide of the mark here, but i'm fairly sure milletts also had some Bridgedale socks reduced in their sale

 

[JohnnyH]

hmmm - i might be wide of the mark here, but i'm fairly sure milletts also had some Bridgedale socks reduced in their sale

Yep you're right Karl, the Bridgedales are BOGOF as well at Milletts.

John.

 

[barry robson]

Talking of socks, I've just got a pair of waterproof SealSkinz - wool outer, waterproof centre and merino wool inner - any one had experience of these? At least they are keeping my feet dry Made the mistake of buying a supremely comfortable pair of Berghaus boots that turned out to be 'water resistant' rather than waterproof -even half a tin of Nikwax cant stop the water coming in. Mind you, when I bought them I was living in the relatively dry comfort of Suffolk, but I'm now living up on the Cumbrian Fells - a tad wetter!

B

 

[Keith Reeder]

I've been using Porelle Drys (which are much the same thing as Sealskinz) for a couple of years now.

I would not be without them.

They're as warm as any of my thermal walking socks, and they really do mean that the choice of footware is far less critical - and therefore cheaper!



As you say, you can make comfort your primary concern and let the socks keep your feet dry.

A couple of points:

I don't care what they say, these "membrane" socks don't let your feet breathe particularly well - if they're hot, they'll sweat and can feel damp;

if you really immerse your foot, it might feel like water is getting through the sock. It ain't - it's just the cooling effect of the water wetting out the outer layer of the sock.

 

[London Birder]

socks are an uneccessary accoutrement for the modern birder and merely illustrate a hedonistic trait borne out of the unbridled joy brought to us all by our encounters with 1996 American Coot .... go sockless fellas : if it's good enough for the birds etc

 

[Keith Reeder]

Aye, sockless is OK in the soft South, I suppose...

 

[London Birder]

lol fair point

 

[Keith Reeder]

Actually, it doesn't work!

"Sockless" should be OK for us tough Northerners, shouldn't it?

Softy Southerners would be the ones that need the socks.

OK, I'm going to shut up now..!

 

[baillieswells]

2-3 Months ago i bought 2 pairs of walking socks for a fiver at a local Tesco.They're excellent value for money and can't be faulted.Can't see them in the shop at Ayr today though.
Also got much the same deal in Matalan at the same time,however these socks are lined,again excellent v.f.m.
The Brasher sock offer at Millets is great too.
Think i've a pair for every day of the month now...
Any other comments on such an important issue?

Bridgedale or Thurlo for me. There doesn't seem to be much difference between them to me. However, to keep ones feet comfortable and blister free it is esential to were a light-weight inner sock, and here the best I have come across are Thurlo Coolmax liner socks.
In my student days when I used to spend my summer vacations as a guide walking the fells of the Lake District, I always wore woollen hand knitted socks, lovingly knitted by a great aunt. I still gave some of them, but have to admit that the modern hiking sock with different materials in different parts, and with different tensions, cannot be beaten. Boots are a matter of choice, originally I had leather boots made by a bootmaker in London, whose name escapes me. I believe they made the boots for the 1953 Everest expedition. Now I wear a much lighter Italian boot made by Aku, lined with Gortex. Very comfortable. Look them up on the web

 

[Otto McDiesel]

I can't believe that is is a subject for discussion.....

By the way, my wife wants to know what bra she should use when counting shorebirds in winter. Should it be a different one than what she uses when surveying raptors in summer?

 

[Keith Reeder]

I take it you won't hurry back here then, Otto?

Shame, because I live for your approval...

Oh, and congratulations on being appointed Birdforum's Thread Subject Acceptability Arbiter - dunno how we've managed without you for so long.

 

[baillieswells]

Jaysus,
I can't believe that is is a subject for discussion.....

By the way, my wife wants to know what bra she should use when counting shorebirds in winter. Should it be a different one than what she uses when surveying raptors in summer?

If you have ever been at the summit of Lochnagair looking for ptarmigan, and a blizzard comes down, as happened to me on one occasion, what you are wearing (including socks) is of considerable importance. Your life may depend on it.

 

[tom24]

I can't believe that is is a subject for discussion.....

By the way, my wife wants to know what bra she should use when counting shorebirds in winter. Should it be a different one than what she uses when surveying raptors in summer?

One with a nice warm lining in winter and probably cooler to go without in summer.Maybe a new thread for that topic though?

 

[London Birder]

Actually, it doesn't work!

"Sockless" should be OK for us tough Northerners, shouldn't it?

Softy Southerners would be the ones that need the socks.

OK, I'm going to shut up now..!

lol Keith, maybe I could start a new trend for galoshes !

actually, and more seriously, once my feet get cold that's me finished for the day ... I cease up and become useless, saying that however I'm one of those blokes that charges around me local patch in Stan Smiths and a denim jacket! Although, not when looking for a Ptarmigan in the wilds of Scotland