I bought a pair of paddling socks just because they were pretty cheap. At the worst I can use them for bicycling in the rain. Anybody take them on mountains? Have any experience with them in snow?

As I understand it, they add more insulation than regular socks if they are fitted loosely but they will block all vapour, which may or may not be a good thing. I was thinking of pairing them with my old leather Nepal Tops to add some more cold weather protection. I was thinking of perforating them somehow (hole puncher) to let them breath a bit, but that might just ruin them.

The pair I got were $10 which is cheaper than hiking socks. They are made out of 3 pieces of material, 1 for the front, 1 for the bottom, 1 for the back, so the only seam I would be worried about is the one on the heel. But either way it's not a big deal if they get torn up. I'll try wearing them for a regular day when it's not too warm sometime.

I remember reading a couple of years ago about a group of Seattle hikers being stranded in the mountains because of deep snow and being rescued. One of the guys had a sever frostbit to his feet (it was pretty serious with possible amputation prognosis). It was contributed due to his wearing neoprene socks (snow got inside maybe?).

welle wrote:I remember reading a couple of years ago about a group of Seattle hikers being stranded in the mountains because of deep snow and being rescued. One of the guys had a sever frostbit to his feet (it was pretty serious with possible amputation prognosis). It was contributed due to his wearing neoprene socks (snow got inside maybe?).

I would imagine they were too tight. I went up almost 3 sizes to get a fit that didn't squeeze my foot at all. I imagine for paddling or swimming you need them tight to help squeeze the water out.