Robinio Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 It's smart to have 2 pair of socks, becuase if you they get wet/sweaty its going to be that for a while and when they are wet they get cold. I use ordinary cotton socks, but they are thin as hell. Drop your cocks and grab your socks hehe. Link to post Share on other sites
Azulsky Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 I havent tried some of the other types of socks, but i have no qualms about my smartwools, they freaking hold up great and my feet thank me later Link to post Share on other sites
rifleman Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 How about just two pair of plain white jockey socks. Two pair equals comfort and no blisters. Cotton socks are no good - once they get wet they don't dry out and the moisture causes them to rub. I've always used Woolpower socks by a Swedish firm called Ulfrotte AB. They're 80% merino wool, available in 200 gsm, 400 gsm, 600 gsm and 800 gsm and unlike a lot of wool products they can be machine washed at 60C and tumble dried on low temperature as the wool is pre-shrunk at the factory. Most comfortable pair of sock I've worn. Link to post Share on other sites
ev1436 Posted June 10, 2008 Report Share Posted June 10, 2008 as they say in America, "cotton kills". cotton is horrible for any type of activity that doesn't involve sitting around the house. It shrinks when its wet. It does not retain heat when wet like wool and synthetic will. they also take forever to dry. if you get your cotton socks soaked, theyll be wet for the rest of the day. if you get synthetic socks wet, theyll dry in under an hour(at least with my experience) Link to post Share on other sites
Chimpy Posted June 11, 2008 Report Share Posted June 11, 2008 I use ordinary cotton socks 90% of the time. Otherwise Smartwool socks for me. I generally find badly fitting, not-broken in boots are the worst for giving me blisters. Last week I walked 150km carrying food, water, tent and clothes for a week in normal M&S cotton socks using Merrell Moab Mid GTX boots (link). Mind you those boots are more like trainers in fit which may help a lot. Also my scabby calloused feet are great protection. Link to post Share on other sites
doc_newstead Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I wore 1000-mile socks when I did a 63-mile march from Poland to Germany, and they were pretty comfy. However, they do get a bit warm and my mate didn't fancy them at all, preferring to wear a pair of normal sports socks under his issue ones. Saying that, some people's feet blister casually strolling down the road, so I fear it's very much a personal issue. I just found the 1000-mile ones very 'soft', and easy on the feet, like little slippers Link to post Share on other sites
immutep Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I only ever bu these, they're good in hot or cold comfy in rough ground or slogging on concrete! http://search.stores.ebay.co.uk/Valiant-Su...8867270QQsofpZ0 Link to post Share on other sites
The Crunchy Bunny Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I just use normal grey socks. Like the kind you get in bags of 12 for $8. And occasionally some off brand Merino Wool socks I get at my local sporting goods place. Link to post Share on other sites
immutep Posted June 20, 2008 Report Share Posted June 20, 2008 I just use normal grey socks. Like the kind you get in bags of 12 for $8. And occasionally some off brand Merino Wool socks I get at my local sporting goods place. Thats a bit of a Blazz'ay attitude mate, the first thing you need to do is look after your feet! I know i'll be going a bit off topic but i feel what i'm about to say is important so. . . . . 1) Wear good boots, this doesn't nessacrily mean go spend £150 on a pair of altbergs but you need the following features. Anlke support, + good insoles gortex is a bonus 2) Wear good socks, the ones i linked to further up the page are good socks, they have the double lined sole for comfort 3) change socks regularly, now this won't apply to the average days skirmish but for long events take plenty of spare pairs 4) Foot Powder! Use it on your feet before and after long durations of walking it has anti-bacterial properties that can prevent trecnhfoot, atheletes foot, veruccas ect. And it also helps absorb moisture thus helping prevent cracked skin Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Foxhound Posted June 21, 2008 Report Share Posted June 21, 2008 I would NOT reccomend normal socks with boots. Bad idea. I fell into a pudde once and my boots where soaking wet, but my feet where dry because of my socks. Use socks made for boots or military socks. Theyll keep your feet dry and blister free. Link to post Share on other sites
pumba1504 Posted July 5, 2008 Report Share Posted July 5, 2008 just get some od or black thick army socks Link to post Share on other sites
Fatal Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Try this, some normal white socks ( black ones suck! ) and a nice sheet of mole skin. These people telling you to wear to pairs at once... nonsense. I would wear normal white socks in Iraq that got up to 142 degrees. They work fine, bring an extra pair in case you want to jump in a lake or something and that mole skin will save lives. Don't bother with some 20 dollar pair of socks. Link to post Share on other sites
Erik_MAA Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 UnderArmor works really well for me, even in extremely hot weather. Before UnderArmor had been invented, my go-to was US Army issue green wool socks. Worked great in all environments and dried out quickly when wet. One note about dryness - if you are going into an environment where it's likely your feet will get wet, check your footwear. The new "suede" and "tactical" boots really are not designed to get wet, and once they get wet, they stay wet. For wading and crossing water, I recommend US jungle boots or something similar. Link to post Share on other sites
pjones Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Try this, some normal white socks ( black ones suck! ) and a nice sheet of mole skin. These people telling you to wear to pairs at once... nonsense. I would wear normal white socks in Iraq that got up to 142 degrees. They work fine, bring an extra pair in case you want to jump in a lake or something and that mole skin will save lives. Don't bother with some 20 dollar pair of socks. I don't think you've done the math on this one. A pack of three sheets of moleskin from CVS costs $4. Now, I'm assuming that you only put it on the balls of your feet. This takes up about a sheet of the stuff, so that's two sheets per day. That means that every three days you run through two packages of the stuff. After six days you would have spent $24 dollars on moleskin. Doesn't seem very cost-effective. Link to post Share on other sites
Fatal Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 I don't think you've done the math on this one. A pack of three sheets of moleskin from CVS costs $4. Now, I'm assuming that you only put it on the balls of your feet. This takes up about a sheet of the stuff, so that's two sheets per day. That means that every three days you run through two packages of the stuff. After six days you would have spent $24 dollars on moleskin. Doesn't seem very cost-effective. I really haven't looked up the price because my corpsman gave me a sheet the size of desktop computer. But none the less, your feet will not be as hot as wearing 2 pairs of socks. Link to post Share on other sites
HaVoC Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 SmartWool or Merino Wool for me. I love those things. Summer or winter, they keep your feet at the right temperature, and they pull sweat away from your feet a bit as well. Sometimes I'll put a CoolMax liner under there if it's really warm, which helps. They thin and slippy so they move the friction to being between the two socks, rather than between the sock and boot (thus preventing blisters). Shoes make a hell of a difference, too. I got a HELL of a pair of blisters on each foot during my first couple of days in Japan. I was walking mostly on tarmac, walking quite a long way, and walking quite fast. I wore some trainer-like Merrell Chameleon Stretch IIs and within 2 days my feet were screwed. It took about 2 weeks of gel blister pads (worth their weight in gold, by the way - moleskin can f*** right off) to sort that out. I switched to my Scarpa hiking boots, though, and never had a problem again. The support and cushioning that they provide did my feet a world of good. Not to mention, those boots are lovely after being worn every day for 3 months... I wore 1000-mile socks when I did a 63-mile march from Poland to Germany, and they were pretty comfy. However, they do get a bit warm and my mate didn't fancy them at all, preferring to wear a pair of normal sports socks under his issue ones. Saying that, some people's feet blister casually strolling down the road, so I fear it's very much a personal issue. I just found the 1000-mile ones very 'soft', and easy on the feet, like little slippers I tried a pair of these and the things never lasted anywhere near 1000 miles. Got holes on the toe, ball of my foot and the heel pretty quickly (on the outer, thicker layer). I know they're warrantied, but frankly I couldn't be bothered. Link to post Share on other sites
Spacemonkey Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Glad I'm not the only one who doesn't get anywhere near 1000 miles... I used to swear by Bridgedales as everyday wear as they were the only easily available socks in UK size 11/12s and very comfy when in boots. Then I got 50 odd pairs of desert issue socks. Oh yes... these are quite simply the best socks for my feet and boot combos. I have long skinny feet and these work great with desert Lowas and Danners as well as trainers in all environments. For what it's worth, my feet get very sore and inflamed with synthetic liners. I might try merino/Smartwool liners one day though as I love Merino wool. Link to post Share on other sites
Harmless Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Another vote for smart wool and merino base layers. Spending a fortune replacing expensive synthetics with expensive natural fibre! Link to post Share on other sites
Spacemonkey Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Ahhh.. but your feet will love you forever... Oh yeah- my dessie socks show absolutely no sign of wear or stretch. They rule by the way... Link to post Share on other sites
immutep Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Somoe posted earlier about not wearing two pairs of socks, just thought i should add that i agree. As a noob, i tired this once it's a mistake i never plan to replicate! The inner pair ended up sliding down my foot with prolonged movement thus causing blisters and general discomfort. Link to post Share on other sites
SwatMP5man Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I wear a pair of white sports socks inside the standard british army issue socks. I found over many months that even through day to day wear in issue boots the stocks become to abrasive and ended up causing blisters. Since using white socks underneath i havent had as much movement, or rubbing in my boots. Sean Link to post Share on other sites
darrenjs92 Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 i wear two pair as the outer pair always get damp Link to post Share on other sites
The Waco Kid Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 All good brands I've never had a problem with: Thorlo - military and mounatin ranges are espeically good in the cold 5.11 - excellent general use and summer or as an inner USMC issue - very cheap and lasted longer than my 1000 milers... Seal Skinz - I find them too warm usually but they are very useful spare pair if ypur boots get wet out in a river crossing for example. Bridgedale - Thorlo clones Brasher - Very good but pricey as they say in America, "cotton kills". cotton is horrible for any type of activity that doesn't involve sitting around the house. It shrinks when its wet. It does not retain heat when wet like wool and synthetic will. they also take forever to dry. if you get your cotton socks soaked, theyll be wet for the rest of the day. if you get synthetic socks wet, theyll dry in under an hour(at least with my experience) Yes cotton socks are suitcase. On the cotton front: My smock is 100% cotton and is completely (more so than goretex) waterproof even without a membrane and highly breathable. UK issue aircrew immersion suits are made from the same stuff because it doesn't melt onto you in a fire either. Link to post Share on other sites
Spacemonkey Posted August 1, 2008 Report Share Posted August 1, 2008 Ventile for the win as they say.. I have an SASS SAS smock and '95 trousers in OG ventile and they rule in all weathers. Link to post Share on other sites
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