Anyone use Sealskinz socks before and got any feedback? I've been having some bad cases of cold toes recently but I can never seem to get on with a pair of neoprene wetsocks; they always seem to have raised stitching in weird places and I blister easily.

I've got my eye on these - not the cheapest things in the world but christmas is coming up and they could probably do dual-duty for snowy hikes. Any feedback from anyone who's used them or similar, or any alternative recommendations, much appreciated.

AlexSheppard said:

Anyone use Sealskinz socks before and got any feedback? I've been having some bad cases of cold toes recently but I can never seem to get on with a pair of neoprene wetsocks; they always seem to have raised stitching in weird places and I blister easily.

I've got my eye on these - not the cheapest things in the world but christmas is coming up and they could probably do dual-duty for snowy hikes. Any feedback from anyone who's used them or similar, or any alternative recommendations, much appreciated.

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...and there was me thinking they were actually made from sealskin......

.

Might be worth asking the question on one of the fell running forums.

You could always make your own neoprene socks, with no internal stitching. It's not too difficult and I suspect you'll find neoprene will always be warmer in wet caves.

Or - have you tried wearing thin fabric socks under neoprene socks to reduce chafing?

But - if the neoprene socks you've tried are made with seams stitched through with several lines of stitching and incorporating a nylon fabric tape on each side, these are rubbish. (They do chafe - and they also leak, so always cold.) I have a pair of those long Beaver neoprene socks (the 3 mm variety) and they're nice soft neoprene with virtually no internal stitching that would be likely to cause chafing. Best pair of neoprene socks I've ever had for routine caving.

I have a few pairs for winter fell running. I have the long ones. Super super socks as long as the water doesn't come over the top. Once the water gets in it stays in. I nearly ended up with Frost bite on the high peak marathon after falling in a big because of them. Personally for caving I wouldn't use but that's each to their own.

I have no experience of the socks but I have tried two pairs of the gloves.  Stupid I know, but I got the second pair because I just couldn't believe how bad the first pair were!  Surely they must have been seriously faulty?
Second pair were just as bad.    Sometimes having faith is not a good thing!

Not even remotely water proof and not anything like as warm as you would expect them to be.

Never again.  I'm a slow learner but I learn good )

Good and warm in general use
The sealskinz ones I have are fine if the water is below the top of them but if water goes above that there is ingress past the elastic (maybe less if they were really tight but I don't think that would be comfortable). Once water gets in they aren't nice at all....feel heavy and feet quickly get cold without constant movement.
...for seriously wet stuff I prefer neoprene ones (warmbac) as the thin film of water inside those remains warm. I too blister faily 'easily' but haven't had a problem with warmbac socks...in fact the cushioning of neoprene has helped prevent blistering on a trip where I was favouring one foot due to a rock impact.

topcat said:

I have no experience of the socks but I have tried two pairs of the gloves.  Stupid I know, but I got the second pair because I just couldn't believe how bad the first pair were!  Surely they must have been seriously faulty?
Second pair were just as bad.    Sometimes having faith is not a good thing!

Not even remotely water proof and not anything like as warm as you would expect them to be.

Never again.  I'm a slow learner but I learn good )

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I've never owned a pair of Sealskinz gloves; nearly bought some for fell running a while back but heard bad stories about the lining not being attached to the outer, so when you pull them off the inner lining comes out of each finger and they're difficult to get back in (especially with cold wet hands) before you put the gloves back on again.

I can't vouch for the truth of this; it's merely second hand information. But I did have a different brand of glove with this problem in the past, which was a right pain. (As I type I can't remember what sort they were.) The only way to render them usable again was to feed the inner bit back into each finger by pushing them in with a pencil, which was very fiddly and time consuming. In extreme conditions you might go so far as to suggest this is actually dangerous. To my mind that's just shoddy design.

Sorry, this topic's about the socks. I'll shut up about gloves.

Ben Shannon and ILT: thanks for your comments about the socks, for fell running. That's useful to know.

Again, I've not used the socks, but I have had Sealskinz gloves. The lining not being attached to the outer is a problem and results in you having to feed the fingers back in place one by one. They are good and keep your hands dry, right up to a tipping point, when they saturate, after which, the insulating properties are dreadful. They worked well for what I bought them for, but wouldn't use them for winter hill walking, without a back up pair of gloves that could be substituted if the lining gets tangled, or they become soaked. I suspect their socks would get and stay cold once water gets past the seals. I'd stick with neoprene for caving.
Jen

Sort of by accident because we had them, I started using much lighter shorter wetsocks for caving. 2.5-3mm. Works much better I find. I also put a simple insole in the wellies and that helps.

https://fellrunningguide.co.uk/rooster-sailing-neoprene-sock-review/

Palm, the kayaking outfitters, and others, do some nice, thinnish, stretchy neoprene socks that don't cause any rubbing problems at all when I have worn them for a couple of hours at a time coasteering and in the kayak for several hours.

I used to suffer with cold feet when wet caving. Tried a variety of short neoprene socks which helped and also sealskinz which didn't! The turning point was getting a pair of the long Warmbacs big enough to wear some liner socks under to stop the chafing - been toasty ever since!

I have been wearing Sealskinz for many years. I discovered early on that I could wear them on their own (no socks underneath) and never seem to get blistering. Very comfortable to wear indeed. I wear them in my walking boots but have worn them caving as well. Highly recommended as are the gloves.

PS I usually wear the long Warmbacs for most caving - excellent if pricey.

I used to get the odd blister from wet socks and also found they wore out quickly at the toes.

I now wear a very light weight liner sock and a ?16 a pair  waterproof sock off ebay (cheap version of sealskinz which I've found are actually better imho)

I wear these for both caving and cave diving and dont get cold feet at all.

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk

I've had a pair of beaver fleece lined wet socks for a couple of years, comfy and warm. Never had an issue with seams

AlexSheppard said:

Anyone use Sealskinz socks before and got any feedback? I've been having some bad cases of cold toes recently but I can never seem to get on with a pair of neoprene wetsocks; they always seem to have raised stitching in weird places and I blister easily.

I've got my eye on these - not the cheapest things in the world but christmas is coming up and they could probably do dual-duty for snowy hikes. Any feedback from anyone who's used them or similar, or any alternative recommendations, much appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hija, I worked for Sealskinz for many, many years - indeed was shown the first prototype sock - and sold 1000's of pairs of socks and gloves in my time....

My thoughts on Sealskinz are - they are great for use in Mulu (Borneo) at keeping leeches, mulu foot and in my case ants (to which I am horribly allergic) at bay.

In the UK they are Ok in dry caves, but to be honest you may as well wear a good pair of walking socks and would be great in a wet cave if you could guarantee you wouldn't be in deep water, only up to the waterproof part of the sock - impossible I know so don't bother. 

If you suffer from cold feet, get a pair of long warmbac neoprene wetsocks -just keep trying until you find a pair that fits, Sealskinz will get wet on the inside in a wet cave and then your feet will be cold.

The ONE time I stupidly decided to not bother with wetsocks and go caving in winter in walking socks my feet turned to stumps and it was awful - never, ever did it again!

Sealskinz are great for walking, for which they are designed, esp in boggy terrain and when using cold wet boots with a clean dry pair of sealskinz - perfect.  The gloves are also excellent.

I have a pair somewhere still in the packaging - might offer them in a quick competition......

Cheers, Jane

Win yourself 2 pairs....

https://ukcaving.com/board/index.php?topic=27199.0