But more importantly for us bikers who usually wear sealed up boots and submit them to typhoon force winds, wet socks can mean freezing or boiling feet depending on the season. The goal here is to have a layer against the skin that pulls the moisture away and keeps a dry insulating barrier over the skin to assist the skin’s natural heat regulation. Actually, merino wool did pretty well at the wicking and insulating but special washing needs, fit and longevity of that fit was lacking, unfortunately.
Prowling around a big Mont Bell store several weeks ago, I stumbled upon their Wikron socks and thought I’d give them ago. With an acrylic 69%, nylon 19%,  polyester 11%, wool 8% and polyurethane 1% construction I wasn’t sure what to expect as I’d had limited success with synthetics previously.  However, after several rides from several to 32hours and a lot of sofa time  :biggrin: , I’m sold! No prune toes or frozen to numb digits and they fit well and have continued to do so after 10 in-with-the-rest machine washes.

I chose the 5 toe socks as I’ve worn nothing else since a rabid case of SE Asian athletes-foot several years ago and they are comfy and breathable. Also, I always wear a Goretex lined boot on long or wet rides to keep the wet out. Goretex is a breathable membrane and typically has a [i]very thin[/i]  wicking protective inner layer. For comfort we need something between our skin and that thin protective layer. Keeping a wicking layer between the skin and the Goretex liner is necessary to continue the transition of water vapour(sweat) from skin through to the pores of the Goretex do let it do it’s thing.

Well, there you have it. Give them a go if you suffer from cold feet or prune toes.

btw – I have nothing to do with Mont Bell other than lurking around there ooo ing and aah ing from time to time  :later: