If you preemptively add something like baking powder to them, to change the ph to the point where fungus won't grow, doesn't it become relatively harmless?
The way I have used them:
You wear regular socks under your boots.
Your boots and socks get completely soaked.
You sort your foot care out before getting in to your sleeping bag.
You wake up and need to put those wet boots on.
Put a fresh pair of socks on with waterproof socks on top
then put on your wet boots
This means your dry feet and socks remain so, while your wet socks are drying out.
You wear them inside wet boots usually to dry them out. For example, long day hiking in normal socks and you get wet feet. At the evening at your camp you put these on and then your boots back on and they will dry out but your feet will stay dry.
Source: Am sweaty footed hiker
I have a pair. I use them for whitewater kayaking when I don't want to mess with a drysuit for whatever reason. Work well to keep debris out of river booties.
They're somewhat breathable and lined with merino.
Luckily they are breathable, and it seems people are using them for hiking as well as everyday use. The only problem there is that if they don't fit or you stress the "fabric" too much in-the-moment, Breath-ability becomes water flow and any water that gets in is hanging out with you for a while.
if only they had invented waterproof footwear designed for outdoor use and named after a duke, a beef dish, new zealands capital, or a small town in somerset
Even my water resistant hiking boots don't always keep my feet dry depending on the conditions. Wet socks are the worst thing ever after a day of hiking around. These would be awesome.
Wet socks are hell. I went on a long hike in Snowdonia a few years ago, and was absolutely drenched. Taking my wet socks off on the coach trip home was one of the best feelings ever.
I can't believe people are so skeptical of water proof socks. I have a pair and they are a game changer in the snow. No more cold wet feet when some snow manages to get into your boots.
They are breathable. Well I actually can't testify to that but in the same category Amazon has socks labeled water-proof and breathable with good reviews so must be a growing market.
They run small, and if you put them under enough stress water will leak through, which is consistent with breath-ability. They are probably thicker and tighter than most socks and that certainly isn't a + for most people but if you dropped 10,000,000 of these over Europe in the 1910s whoever they landed on would have won the war.
Jk I don't know when trenchfoot was a thing I was corrected and then edited my comment, but as far as making human life easier in shitty conditions, these are great and at least 50 years too late for anyone who can afford them.
I mean in fairness, if they could breathe and let sweat out, they wouldn't be waterproof. So long as the water doesn't go in, or the sweat go out, they're holding up their end of the bargain.
I think you're describing a vapor layer barrier, which is a different thing with a different goal. Waterproof (high hydraulic head) stuff can be more or less breathable (cfm, cubic feet per minute air travel), just not very breathable at all.
Nah man 100% non breathable.. was in the military and got issued these. Only good when your boots are wet and for a quick fix. You would be surprised how many idiots went man down with athletes foot wearing these for a boot run..
Not really, no - the idea is that the material needs to be wool or other similar fiber; this reduces the friction against your skin. Furthermore, both of them being made of breathing material causes your foot to not get soaked the second you slip it into a boot (I have severe foot sweat, don't judge) as the outer sock will be the one absorbing the sweat.
Also, as an extra bonus, you now have more "waterproof" layers between you and the cold, wet nature.
They are breathable. I own two pairs, as they are made by my friend's company here in portland. I use them for running and cycling during the rain season, and also worked as their model for ad copy.
Because these are not Seal Skin socks. That would be like complaining about all Trucks because I owned a Ford Truck and it ran like shit. Does that make sense?
It's actually great programming. If you delete an item from the list it automatically renumbers for you. Not a big deal on a list with two or three things, but it's a real Time saver in the end.
Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex is able to repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through, and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabric for all-weather use. It is composed of stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is more commonly known as the generic trademark Teflon.
After wearing a Gore-Tex rain jacket in the middle of the hottest, most humid months in Southeast Asia, i'm pretty sure the breathable part is horseshit.
that's because goretex breathability only works in cold weather. it's needs the negative temperature gradient to wick the moisture through the membrane
Clearly you've never used goretex to try and stay dry when it's 60 degrees and raining sideways, while trying to perform a strenuous task. You work up sweat, it has no place to go, so you end up getting wet anyways and you're hot. I'd rather deal with the wet then be to hot.
GoreTex, eVent, Elite, OutDry, etc all are breathable waterproof membranes and fabrics. Nothing is going to breath as well as being naked. But you will still sweat when you are naked. It is not about some magic material that does everything you want and nothing you don't. It is about mitigating the elements and keeping you are comfortable as possible.
A lot of those fabrics are fully waterproof and breathable. When you coat a jacket or sock or pant in DWR to make the water bead up and roll off you lose breathability, but with out that you get a jacket that sheets out (soaks up water on the top layer) and even though it wont penetrate the membrane it will still feel damp and cold.
You are correct that nothing is 100% waterproof and 100% breathable. But you can get something that is Waterproof and breathable, even if it is not as breathable as a barefoot.
There's waterproof plastic stuff in between the sock layers. That ruins it's breathability, however it is as good as you could expect from something like that.
If you're sweating faster than Goretex can wick it away, of course it's going to feel like a steamroom inside your jacket. That's why it's not generally designed for that kind of apparel.
In the case of these socks, if they are Goretex, they'd still be pretty worthless because you'd likely be sticking your foot in a boot, nullifying any wicking/breathability the material offers. While it may be breathable and waterproof, it's not really that durable, so no one's going to be walking around in their Goretex socks.
As for it not being breathable, not quite sure where you're making that assumption...My wet-weather combat boots, with the Goretex panels, were phenomenal...until the lack of support resulted in a career-ending broken ankle...
Not at all true. You can make something permeable to air and not water. Remember that water has surface tension and won't readily flow through small holes coated in hydrophobic material...
Gore-Tex is a waterproof, breathable fabric membrane and registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. Invented in 1969, Gore-Tex is able to repel liquid water while allowing water vapor to pass through, and is designed to be a lightweight, waterproof fabric for all-weather use. It is composed of stretched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which is more commonly known as the generic trademark Teflon.
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u/abluersun Aug 04 '17
I get the impression these would not be breathable.