Integral Designs Hot Socks, Long Term Report

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Carol Crooker

Age: 44

Gender: Female

Height: 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)

Weight: 160 lbs (73 kg)

Shoe size: men’s 10.5 to 11, women’s 11 to 12 (43 or 44)

Integral Designs Hot Socks size: large

Email: cmcrooker at att dot net

City, State: Phoenix, Arizona

Date: May 24, 2004

Backpacking background: For the past 7 years, I've backpacked about 30 days each year. Most of my trips were three to six days long, and were in Arizona, the High Sierras, Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Pennsylvania and New York. My three-season base pack weight varies from 12 lbs (5 kg) to 8 lbs (4 kg). I use a tarp for shelter in all four seasons.

PRODUCT SYNOPSIS

The Integral Designs Hot Socks are insulated socks with abrasion resistant Cordura on the sole. Integral Designs states that they are designed to be put on after wet and sweaty socks are removed so that feet never have a chance to get cold and that the Hot Socks can be worn inside huts and tents and a sleeping bag. They are insulated with Primaloft Sport and have a Powerstretch back panel. See my Initial Report for a more detailed description.

Manufacturer: Integral Designs

URL: http://www.integraldesigns.com

Year of manufacture: 2003

MSRP: $35 USD

Listed weight in catalog: 4.7 oz (135 g) for size large

Listed weight on web site: 4 oz (113 g) with no size specified

Weight as delivered: 4.5 oz (128 g) for size large

Listed packed size in catalog: 7” x 3” (18 cm x 8 cm)

Listed packed size on web site: 6” x 3” (15 cm x 8 cm)

Packed size as delivered: 6.5” x 3.5” (17 cm x 9 cm)

Listed loft: 0.5 in (1 cm)

Loft as delivered: Loft was difficult to measure accurately. I measured the Sock as being a little over 1” (2.5 cm) thick which included both the left and right sides of the Sock and some space in between the layers.

Weight of stuff sack: 0.3 oz (9 g)

SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS

I found the Hot Socks to be warm and comfortable for walking around camp, lounging, and sleeping.

I loved that I could use the Hot Socks as camp shoes on snow, dirt, gravel, sand, and forest duff.

They stayed warm even after I’d worn them in damp overboots for midnight forays outside my tarp.

The Cordura bottoms did not show any signs of wear after six months of testing, including 11 nights as sleep socks and 16 days of gentle use as camp shoes on snow, dirt, forest duff, and sand. There were no worn spots in the shell fabric or loose stitches.

Before I tested the Hot Socks, I used thin down booties inside thick down booties for winter camping in 15 F (-9 C) to 0 F (-18 C) temperatures. I plan to use the Hot socks on my future winter backpacking trips to replace both booties down to about 10 F (-12 C). Below that, I’ll supplement the Hot Socks with extra insulation such as the thick down booties or overboots.

What I like:

- The Hot Socks are soft and warm.

- Easy to pull on and take off.

- Fairly lightweight.

- Pack small.

- Can be worn inside damp overboots for short periods without wetting out or losing loft.

- The soles are tough, provide enough traction, and are padded enough so the Hot Socks can serve as camp booties.

What I don’t like:

- Nothing!

OBSERVATIONS

See the Field Information section for more data on the trips listed below and the Field Report for more in-depth information on the first two trips listed.

Northern Arizona

Daytime temperatures were in the 70’s F (low 20’s C) on my first, four-day backpacking trip with the Hot Socks. When I pulled into camp each night my socks were moist with sweat. The first night I pulled off my wet socks and stuck my bare right foot into a Hot Sock. I pulled a thin wool liner sock onto my left foot before inserting it into the other Hot Sock. That first night I found that the foot with the liner sock was a bit warmer than my bare foot. Also, the Hot Sock slipped part way off my bare foot when I pulled my feet out of my sleeping bag. I wore liner socks on both feet inside my Hot Socks the rest of the trip and had no problems with the Hot Socks slipping off my feet.

I used the Hot Socks to walk around camp. Campsites were on sand, forest duff, and dirt. The bottom of the Hot Socks has thin insulation like the rest of the Sock, but the outer fabric is Cordura rather than Pertex. This combination was enough to provide a minimal amount of protection to my feet from twigs and small rocks.

My feet were cozy as I slept in the Hot Socks in a sleeping bag with a nicely lofted foot section rated to the lowest ambient temperatures I experienced.

Northern Arizona, winter

Temperatures were much lower on my second, three-day trip. The first evening temperatures ranged from 10 to 25 F (-12 to -4 C). My toes were cold by the time I had camp set up. I pulled boots and socks off my moist feet and put on thin liner socks and the Hot Socks. When I climbed into my 30 F (-1 C) rated sleeping bag to cook dinner, the temperature was around 10 F (-12 C). My feet warmed up and stayed warm as long as the sleeping bag was resting on a foam pad and not directly on the snow.

Sleeping temperatures throughout the first night were between 10 and 20 F (-12 to -7 C). I stayed warm enough inside my bag. I wore very thin liner socks and the Hot Socks on my feet. I beefed up my normal body insulation with a synthetic parka (Integral Designs Dolomitti) and synthetic insulated knickers (Army surplus pants liners). I was very surprised to be able to get by without adding a down liner to my sleep system. My feet, which usually are the first things to get cold, stayed warm. The 30 F (-1 C) rated sleeping bag I was using, a Mountainsmith Wisp, had a nicely lofted foot box, which helped, I’m sure.

The second night, evening and sleeping temperatures were about 10 F (-12 C). My feet got overly cold tromping through snow on my trek to my campsite. In camp, with my feet in Hot Socks and thin liner socks inside my sleeping bag, I couldn’t get them warmed up. I added hand warmer packets to both Hot Socks during dinner. When I went to sleep, the hand warmers were still cooking away. I slept chilly, but fine until 6:00 am when my feet became too cold. The hand warmers had probably died out about an hour before that. I added a down liner to my sleep system and was toasty until I got up an hour later. Again, I was very surprised to even get close to using a 30 F (-1 C) bag in 10 F (-12 C) temperatures.

I used the Hot Socks as my camp booties in the snow. I removed the insoles from my boots and put them into the Hot Socks to give a little added insulation. That worked great! I could go out onto the snow for a midnight pee run and not start shivering at 15 to 20 F (-9 to -7 C). At 10 F (-12 C), my feet would start to get cold if I took too long (too many layers to try to unbutton and unzip!). I did not notice any difference in warmth at the back of my ankle where there was Powerstretch fabric instead of Primaloft insulation. An added benefit of wearing my boot insoles inside the Hot Socks was that the warm insoles made it a lot easier to put my feet into cold boots when I broke camp in the morning.

The Cordura bottom of the Hot Socks provided some traction in the snow. I had no problems with slipping when I was walking in the area around my tarp that I had stomped down and left to consolidate.

Eastern Arizona, winter

This was a three-day backpacking trip on snowshoes in January. Evening temperatures got down to the low 20’s F (-5 C). I wore the Hot Socks with SmartWool Light Hikers sitting in my bag the first evening and my feet stayed toasty warm. During the evenings and nights, I put on slightly damp Brooks Ranger Low overboots over the Hot Socks for calls of nature. The synthetic insulation of the Hot Socks was very reassuring to me. I didn’t worry about the socks losing loft inside the damp overboots, and they didn’t as far as I could tell. My feet did start to get cold by the time I headed back to my tarp when it was 15 F (-9 C) out.

The first night I slept in a 30 F (-1 C) rated bag with a down liner for an approximate 20 F (-7 C) rated sleep system. The low was 12 F (-11 C). The liner slipped off my feet and my feet felt cold, but not enough to keep me awake. I was wearing SmartWool Light Hikers with the Hot Socks.

The second night I wore very thick socks, SmartWool Mountaineer socks, with the Hot Socks and my feet were warm all night with a low of 22 F (-6 C).

Montana, spring

On this four-day snowshoeing trip in the Beartooths, temperatures reached the low 20’s F (-5 C) in the evenings. After the first day of snowshoeing wearing only mesh low-top hiking shoes, my feet were cold when we pulled into camp. I was very glad to remove my shoes and socks and put on the Hot Socks and Brooks Ranger Low overboots. The Hot Socks, overboot combination worked perfectly as camp shoes. Once my feet warmed up, they stayed warm all evening whether walking around or sitting in camp.

I wore the overboots over my hiking shoes the next day and they were damp on the inside by evening. In camp, I again put the Hot Socks on over bare feet, and into the overboots. I hoped the synthetic insulated Hot Socks would not lose much loft inside the damp overboots (and they didn’t seem to). The low that evening was 22 F (-6 C). My feet were cool, but not cold. They felt clammy, and I reconfirmed that I prefer to wear socks with the Hot Socks.

On the coldest night, the temperature got down to 20 F (-7 C) inside my pyramid tarp and 16 F (-9 C) outside. I wore SmartWool Light Hiker socks with the Hot Socks. My feet were cool, not cold inside my appropriately rated sleeping system. That was a good result for me, since my feet are the first parts of me that get cold.

Northern Arizona, spring

This was an overnighter near a gushing spring in a pine forest. Lows did not reach freezing. I wore the Hot Socks to sleep in and as camp shoes in the morning. As usual, they kept my feet nice and warm overnight.

I wore them in the morning to walk about 100 yards (90 m) to a spring. Surprisingly, the Cordura bottoms gave me enough traction to carefully make my way down, and then back up the steep dirt path to the spring. After my trek the Pertex shell fabric was dirty in some spots where the shell was sewn to the sole. The Hot Socks don’t have a rand to protect that area and I wouldn’t expect the shell fabric to hold up as well as the Cordura to walking on dirt.

FIELD INFORMATION

Since my Initial Report, I’ve gone on five backpacking trips with the Hot Socks along. See below for more detail on those trips.

Northern Arizona

Four-day backpack trip in early December in the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness in northern Arizona. Elevations from 6600’ (2000 m) to 4,600’ (1400 m). Temperatures were unseasonably warm, with highs into the low 70’s F (low 20’s C) and lows to just below freezing.

Northern Arizona, winter

Three-day snowshoe backpack trip in late January on San Francisco Mountain in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness near Flagstaff. Starting elevation was 8000’ (2400 m) and turn around point elevation at Doyle Saddle was 10,800’ (3300 m). The terrain was snow covered with day time temperatures up to the 60’s F (16 C) and night time temperatures down to near 0 F (-18 C).

Eastern Arizona, winter

Three-day snowshoe backpack trip in late February on Mount Baldy in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Elevations from 9000’ (2750 m) to 10,000’ (3050 m). Temperatures ranged from 60 F (16 C) to 12 F (-11 C).