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Reviews > Clothing > Socks > DeFeet Classico > Kevin Hollingsworth > Test Report by Kevin Hollingsworth

DeFeet Classico Socks
TEST SERIES BY KEVIN HOLLINGSWORTH
INITIAL REPORT
March 29, 2007

CLICK HERE TO SKIP TO THE LONG-TERM REPORT

TESTER INFORMATION 

NAME: Kevin Hollingsworth
EMAIL: kholling55@yahoo.com
AGE: 42
LOCATION: Williamsburg, Virginia. USA
GENDER: M
HEIGHT: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
WEIGHT: 200 lb (90.70 kg)

I started backpacking and camping when I was in the Scouts. I spent 20 years in the military, which curtailed my personal outdoors adventures. I have mostly gone camping and then day-hiking in the surrounding area, but have been on a few multi-day hiking trips. While day-hiking, I normally carry a light load, a waist pack with mostly food and water, with a few other things. On three to four day trips, I will carry a pack weighing about 45 - 50 lb (21 - 23 kg). I have been hiking in Colorado, Korea, Egypt, and most recently Shenandoah.



INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer:  DeFeet
Year of Manufacture:   2006
URL: http://www.defeet.com

 Listed Specifications:
Weight (Large):  Unknown

 Note: All measurements are mine (unless otherwise specified)
Weight:  2.5 oz (71.7 g)
Size: L (also comes in sizes S –XL)
Color:  Gray/White (also comes in Scarlet/White)
Warranty: One Year against manufacture defect
MSRP: $12 US

Classico

The Defeet Classico socks are a four season Merino wool performance sock. According to the DeFeet website, the socks are aimed for “cycling, running, Nordic skiing, hiking, or just moving around town in a pair of clogs.”
 

The Classico was shipped in a shipping envelope through USPS. The socks were in the retail packaging, which is made from light cardboard and has a large quantity of information printed on it. The back has the product description, warranty information, ingredients, a sizing chart, and washing instructions, in both English and French.  The DeFeet Fall 2006 catalog was also included in the package.

sock

The socks are made in the USA and are supposed to “fit better, dry faster, last longer and feel better.”  The socks are made from 48% wool, 6 % CoolMax+ Fresh FXTM, 43% Nylon, and 3% Lycra®. The sole of the socks are constructed of what looks like normal wool material. The top of the foot portion of the sock is constructed of an Aireater® mesh. There is a compression band located between the end of the toes area and heel that wraps around the sock. Starting at the ankle there is a 5.5 in (14.0 cm) “No-Slip Cuff”. The DeFeet logo is sewn into the cuff and the size is sew on the right of each sock, just below the heel.. At the top of the cuff, there is a .75 in (1.9 cm) elastic band.

 The cleaning instruction for the socks are machine wash cold, tumble-dry low with no chlorine bleach.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS 

My first impression of the socks was that they felt thin, not like the wool socks that I am used to, but more like a pair of light sport socks. The socks were not rough feeling to the touch, but rather smooth and soft. The socks did have a “wooly” smell to them. They were stretchy but retained their initial shape after a good stretching. I normally wear a size 11 shoe, so according to the DeFeet sizing chart I should wear a large, which I ordered.   When I put them on, the socks felt snug on my feet but not constricting. My heel fitted into the heel of the sock, and my toes were held naturally together. The top of the socks fitted comfortably around my calf, but the elastic band did not squeeze my calf. For an initial fitting, the Classico socks were very comfortable to wear. 

SUMMARY

The DeFeet Classico socks fit me well and are comfortable to wear. I am looking forward to testing these socks out.

I would like to thank BackpackGearTest and DeFeet for the opportunity to test the Classico socks. This concludes my Initial Report. The Field Report will be amended to this report in approximately two months from the date of this report . Please check back then for further information.

 


FIELD REPORT 

January 08, 2007

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS 

I took a couple of the multi-day trips to Shenandoah National Park. The weather was normally clear with the coldest recorded temperature being 23 F (-5 C) after sunset. The normal daytime temperature was 30 to 40 F (-1 to 4 C). The terrain was mountainous with the elevation around 3000 to 4000 ft (900 to 1200 m). I used a 3930 cu in (64 L) pack weighing approximately 50 lb (23 kg) initially and a waist pack with food and water for some day-hiking.

I took a ski trip to a resort in West Virginia. The weather was clear and gusty with temperatures around 20 F (-7 C).  The elevation was 4900 ft (1500 m). The resort was producing snow during the day, so there was blowing ice/snow all over the trails.  

I took a few day hikes in the local parks. The temperatures were
between 45 F (8 C) and 65 F (18 C). The terrain is wooded, with a few small hills with elevations around sea level. I carried a daypack with food and water.

 I also wore the socks at home, around town and to work. I wore them with light weight casual shoes and with leather boots.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

I mainly wore the Defeet Classico socks with a pair of leather hiking boots. They fitted snugly on my feet and were comfortable to wear. They were not scratchy or too constricting, but were soft and quite stretchy. They never bunched up, either at my toes or around the heel area. At times, it would feel like the sock slid down my heel, but when I took off my boot to check, they were still in place. This feeling only happens with my leather hiking boots and not with any other type of footwear. The only problem I did experienced with the fitting of the socks appeared after they were machined dried. The socks are machine washable in cold water; tumble-dry low with no chlorine bleach. I initially only washed the socks in cold water and air (hanged) dried them. They dried quickly; it only took a few hours for them to air dry. But after I machined dried them, they seemed to shrink a little, especially around the cuff. This happened only the first time I machine dried them, after that there did not seem to be any additional shrinkage.  The shrinkage did not bother me much initially. But when I wore them for an extended period of time (after a full day’s wear), I would get a red mark around my calf from where the socks were biting into my skin.  Except for the calf area, the rest of the socks fitted really well.

The sock did a great job at wicking moisture away from my feet. When the socks were damp, they did not feel cold or clammy up against my skin. Normally while skiing, I would have to change my sock at least once. In ski boots, my feet would sweat and then would start feeling cold and uncomfortable. But when I wore the Classico, my feet never felt cold or uncomfortable. Even though they did well handling moisture, the socks did not handle odor very well. The initial “woolly” smell went away after the first couple of washing. On short days, there did not seem to be a problem with odor. But after a good eight hours in the woods, I would take off my boots and the socks would smell really bad. But after a good rinsing, and air drying, the odor would go away.


Socks

 
I initially had doubts about how the socks would hold up to wear, because they are not as heavy as other wool socks that I have. But I have worn them two or three times a week and on outdoor activities and have yet to see any holes, seam separations or other type of wear. I have not seen any loose threads or material pilling around the toe area or heels. The colors have not faded or bleed into other areas.

SUMMARY

Overall I am quite pleased with the performance of the Defeet Classico socks. Except for the slight shrinkage, the socks fit well and are very comfortable.  They wick away moisture from my feet, dry quickly and haven’t shown any wear.

 This concludes my Field Report.  The Long-Term Report should be completed by 3 April 2007.  Please check back then for further information.


LONG-TERM REPORT
28 March 2007

LONG-TERM TEST CONDITIONS

I took a trip to Maryland. The weather started out with light snow but then cleared to sunny skies, with a slight breeze. The temperature was around 25 F (-4 C) during the day, and about 10 F (-12 C) at night. The elevation was 450 ft (137 m) and the terrain was wooded with some clearings.

 I completed six day hikes. The weather was normally clear or with a slight cloud cover. The temperatures were around 55 to 60 F (13 to 16 C); with the last two days the temperatures were close to 68 F (20 C). The elevation was at sea level and the terrain was wooded.

 I also wore the socks during everyday activities and with a variety of shoes.

 PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

The Defeet Classico socks have impressed me over the course of the test.  I initially had worries about the socks feeling so thin, but the socks have been quite durable. Over the course of the test, the socks were washed at least 30 times. They were machine dried approximately 25 times. The colors remained intact and did not fade, although there seemed to be a slight darkening of the white area on the cuff. The socks are still soft to the touch. There is no fraying around the cuff, no pilling or visible holes. All the stitching remained tight. There is no visible wear either in the heel area or the toe area.

myfoot 

There was some slight shrinkage from the washing and drying process, primarily in the cuff area, around the calf. Other than this, the socks have fitted extremely well. They are snug around my feet, without being to constricting. The cuff was high enough to go above my boots. They fitted better than most of my other wool/blended socks.

 The Classico did a good job of wicking away moisture from my foot, while at the same time keeping my feet warm on those cooler days.

 I am greatly pleased with the performance of the socks. I plan to continue wearing them, and will hopefully be purchasing a few more pairs in the near future.

 Summary

 I would like to thank both, BackpackGearTest and Defeet, for the opportunity to test the Classico socks.



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