...water management...

[7SFCW4]

Good Morning, does anyone have any experience they care to share with GORE TEX socks? My go to Belleville 590's are slackers in the water repellent department.

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[Joe13]

Never tried them. I just keep my leather boots oiled and they've yet to let any moisture in.

 

[7SFCW4]

...ah ha...wow, you are not kidding "MTPockets" those puppies are expensive. For most days, I like the Bellville 590's but, yes they are not my only pair of boots. Thanx!

 

[7SFCW4]

In the olden days of youth, other than changing socks once or twice a day on patrol I never bothered, now...I guess I am wiser (I am certainmly older), those old Tiger Stripes fit kind of snug and that bothers me, a lot...but you can teach an old dog.

 

[Matt15]

I don't have experience with the gore tex socks, but in my experience typically any wool, poly, or blend of the two will do a pretty good job of keeping wet feet comfortable and warm.

 

[Grunwald]

there

I don't have experience with the gore tex socks, but in my experience typically any wool, poly, or blend of the two will do a pretty good job of keeping wet feet comfortable and warm.

You hit the nail right on the head. All those high priced magical socks are just marketing schemes.
Just like Underarmor - expensive polyester for the stupid.
I remember the days where we would make fun of anyone in polyester and then some marketing geniuses used jocks to advertise it and target a generation that was too young to remember and bam, billionaires.

 

[The Heretic]

I am 60 and I use "polyester" clothing - preferably Capilene. So you must be my parents generation running around in droopy soggy woolies?

I really don't pay much attention to anybody who makes fun of what I wear.

 

[Grunwald]

No, I am about a decade behind you, which puts you right in the disco generation and polyerster suits and shirts and me the younger crowd that wore t-shirts that said "Disco Sucks".

I don't really care if you wear polyester or not. I personally would not be caught dead in it. Not anything that touches my skin anyway. The stuff does not breathe and is a fire hazard.
By the way polyester does not wick away moisture. Its another marketing ploy. It simply does not absorb moisture. You get water in your boots and it does not matter what sucks you are wearing. Your feet will be wet. Only difference is that cotton will obsorb that moisture and hold it while polyester will not. You can take you boots off dump the water and wring out the socks and you'll be somewhat dry. Cotton, while a great fabric when dry, will stay wet no matter how much you try wringging it, and your feet will suffer.

 

[The Heretic]

Correct - to a point.

Most polyester is something of a fire hazard in that it will melt, possibly catch on fire, but at least melt. It melts in the dryer.

Whereas cotton simply goes up in a ball of flame - I had that happen to me this morning when I was tending the woodstove in a terry cloth cotton robe (I wear over everything when home to keep warm and absorb the food I drop on myself - I am getting old a senile after all); a spark came out of the stove, hit the sleeve of my robe, and before you can say Jack be quick, my arm was a candlestick engulf in flame.

Wool, not near as bad for either water or flame, but heavy and scratchy (I am borderline Aspergers and no wool, no matter how soft, is comfortable against my skin - none, zip, nada).

Capeline, is a brand of polyester that is soft, doesn't pill as much as some polyesters, doesn't retain odor as much, and doesn't hold water. It also doesn't melt or catch on fire. It is safe in the dryer. It is more expensive, but it is lighter and warmer and keeps me drier.

Yes polyester gets wet, but doesn't hold near the amount of moisture as cotton or wool. Then your body heat causes the smaller amount of moisture nearer your body to migrate away from it in the form of vapor - this is the "wicking" marketing speaks of. It happens with other clothing material too - but polyester holds much less moisture so you lose much less heat from the process.

 

[3MTA3]

I wear a soft thin liner followed by wool or synthetic sock. The liner keeps my foot dry and the outer sock gets the moisture. I'll look into capeline.