Tuesday, January 06, 2009

Happiness can be Found in Wool Socks

Temperature at departure = 25° F (-4° C)



For the last three winters I've read about the advantages of wool socks but not paid attention because a double shot of cotton socks had worked for me. This Christmas, my wife gave me a pair of Cannondale wool socks and I tried them for the first time today. Love. Them.

In this temperature range I would have normally had on two pair of cotton socks and my toes would have been a bit chilly by the end of the ride and the rest of my feet would have been a bit sweaty once I hit the office.

With the one pair of wool socks today my feet stayed warm for the first five miles and then were just a touch cool after that. I was comfy enough for the whole ride and my feet stayed nice and dry. Okay, I'm sold.

9 comments:

Arleigh Jenkins said...

Wool socks are very very happy.

Anonymous said...

Cool, I'll have to give them a try. I trust there's somewhat lighter weights available for less wintry climes. :)

Josh Mitchell said...

Wool = Awesomeness

And, yes, merino is available in light (and super light) weights for warmer climates. Smartwool has long been my favorite. However, that's recently been supplanted by 1) Injinji Outdoor (70% Merino, 30% Synthetic) Tetrasocks, and Keen(yes the 'sandal maker')

Wool + Fitted = Super-Awesomeness

MELI. said...

im a icebreaker and smartwool junkie. love love
-
nice blog, found you via cyclelicio.us

karen said...

I'm an old fashioned wool lover too!

bikesgonewild said...

...'earth, wind & rider' (google 'em) makes a great pair of wool winter riding socks...warm, comfortable, durable...i love mine & use 'em all winter...

...i tend to wear a lot of synthetics for riding but cold weather = wool socks, no doubt...

...wool doesn't soak up body odors like synthetics do...you can get a few good rides out of 'em before washing is needed...

bikesgonewild said...

...gosh...after that build-up, i went over to 'earth, wind & riders' website & i don't see the wool socks listed now...got mine direct at 'sea otter' several years ago & i guess i was lucky...

...check out their site for neat wool jerseys though...good folks...

Anonymous said...

Wool socks are too hot. I can't take that.

Josh Mitchell said...

wholesale socks,

I'm not surprised you don't like wool considering you don't sell them. Also, I suspect you've never worn a pair of ultralight wool socks from Smarwool, Icebreaker or Keen... they actually let your feet regulate heat (aka, stay cool in the summer) far better than cotton.