Socks?

[Steve Prokopiw]

Some things are indeed worth the money.Here in the Silver Valley,former home of the world's richest silver deposits, silver ion and silver thread products are well known and believed in.A local store carries a brand called X-Socks,but they are only 18.00.I am going to have to see if they are one and the same as the brand in the link; probably not but the local miners swear by them and the long underwear and shirts.

[Neil Gendzwill]

hanes long work for me:biggthump ive got two requirements, they have to be thin (that way they dont bunch up and cut off the circulation) and they have to go up to my shin (taking on and off boots has the potential for ripping hair out of bare legs... not fun). other than that i really dont think a "high performance sock" is going to make me a better carver

Not a better carver, just a more comfortable one. Here's how I learned about wicking socks: I was skiing at Sunshine years ago on a cold day (-30C) and came in at noon with very cold feet. Went into the shop looking for warmer socks and the clerk talked me into a pair of silk socks rather than the cotton gym socks I had on. My feet were warm the rest of the day and I've never had a problem with cold feet since. I never thought it would be possible that the thinner sock would be warmer, but they were warm on a -30 day.

Cotton holds the moisture, and that moisture against your feet is what makes them feel cold. The sock also provides a layer between you and the liner, which is where the moisture ends up, so I don't think you want no socks at all.

Now we have polypro, which works better than silk and is cheaper and more durable as well. I don't think you need the $50 socks, but $10 in a pair of modern socks is well worth your while.

[skategoat]

Last year, I couldn't find a pair of clean ski socks so I threw a pair of wool dress socks in the bag. Thin, dress socks. They worked just as well as $30 ski socks. I was in the sock aisle recently and noticed a lot of dress socks made of bamboo fibres. Claimed to be anti-bacterial and have more wicking properties than wool or cotton. At $15 for a pack of three, I'm going to give them a try this season.

[Fastskiguy]

Last year, I couldn't find a pair of clean ski socks so I threw a pair of wool dress socks in the bag. Thin, dress socks. They worked just as well as $30 ski socks. I was in the sock aisle recently and noticed a lot of dress socks made of bamboo fibres. Claimed to be anti-bacterial and have more wicking properties than wool or cotton. At $15 for a pack of three, I'm going to give them a try this season.

Now that is a good idea, I'm sure I have some of those laying around here somewhere.... They're wool, fitted, and thin. And can be cheap (or expensive). Cool.

[skategoat]

Just make sure they are the long ones that go almost to the knee. The kind your Dad would wear.

[willywhit]

Ok, this may seem like a stupid question,

Socks can be your best friend...or your worst nemesis

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[felix]

X-Socks aren't too bad if you got too large boots.:lol:

In boots that are large I wear them too, otherwise its plain Nylons for me. Nylons make it easier to get into those damn tight boot that fit just right. But well, only got skiing boots that are so tight that there's no more chance to put on proper socks. Without nylons or with other socks there is pretty much now way to get into my skiing plugs when the plastics are a bit colder. The thinner the socks, the better.

For my normal day snowboard boots I just cut away the front 3cm of the liner so my feet fit in there. It's only cold when touching the wet plastics which happens when taking a bigger jump in the park to impress the kids or sometimes in the BX too. That's why I started wearing waterproof cycling socks. Makes it warmer and more comfy in those boots that are just, well maybe a bit too short for my feet. They are punched out already to allow for a bit more room after one of my toenails got lost in there. I was gonna sew a very thin toecap for the liners but thought it unneccessary with waterproof socks. Having a bit of airflow in the boots is really a nice thing, no more swettin, Yiehaa. Even at -15° C. it was allright, though I thought about buying those boot gloves you get for skiing plug boots that are notoriously cold too. Maybe they would solve the leakage problem of the Raichles too.

[kjl]

I actually really liked Burton snowboarding socks from a few years ago; maybe they are all like that now - I don't know. They had thin material around your toes so your toes could move around and be warm, a more angled ankle to supposedly cut down on the bunching up of material on the top surface of the ankle, and extra thick material on the front of the shin to reduce shinbang. I don't know how much for the last two points really made a difference and how much was just marketing copy, but at least it made sense in theory and in any case they were pretty nice socks, aside from the short lifetime before they started getting holes in them.

These days I buy any kind of wicking snowboarding socks and they all seem fine, except that after a few days of riding (even after washing them) they seem to load up with sweat and stinky extra fast.