Reviews > Clothing > Socks > Integral Designs Hot Socks > Kelli Wise > Initial Report

Personal biographical information:
Name: Kelli Wise
Age: 43
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 0" (152 cm)
Weight: 140 lb (64 kg)
Shoe Size: US Women's 7.5
Email: ciyd@comcast.net
Location: Western Washington, USA
Date: October 29, 2003

Backpacking background: I've been car camping and hiking for 20 years and sport climbing for 10 years, but am new to backpacking. My backpacking style is not ultralight but lightweight and I am striving for a suitable compromise between safety and comfort. I have started going for overnight and short trips with the goal of doing an extended trip next year. The majority of my hiking experience is in Western Washington so I get a lot of wet weather experience.

Field information: Western Washington, coastal, lowlands and summer alpine hiking below 6000' (1829 m).

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Integral Designs
Model: Hot Sox
Year of manufacture: 2003
URL: www.integraldesigns.com
Size: Small
Color: Red
This product is available in 4 different unisex sizes: Small, Medium, Large, and X Large. All weights and measurements are for the size small.

Listed weight: 4.2 oz (120 g)
Measured weight: 4.4 oz (124 g) with stuff sack, 4.1 oz (115 g) alone
Listed packed size: 3" x 7" (7.6 cm x 17.8 cm)
Measured packed size: 3.5" x 6" (9 cm x 15 cm)
MSRP: $35 US

Features: The Hot Sox are designed to be used in camp and while sleeping to keep feet from getting cold. The shell material is Pertex Microfibre and the insulation is 4 oz (95.3 grams/square meter) Primaloft Sport. This provides 0.5" (1.3 cm) of loft around the foot in a water repellent shell. There is a back panel made of a double layer of stretch microfleece that makes the Hot Sox easy to slip on and keeps them snug around the ankles. The footpad is reinforced with 330 denier (D) cordura.

First Impressions
The Hot Sox were shipped via UPS and arrived on October 22, 2003 in a corrugated box with the Integral Designs logo printed on the outside. Inside the box were the Hot Sox, a catalog and a price sheet. The Hot Sox were in a silicon impregnated nylon (silnylon) stuff sack and was packed down to a size of 3.5" x 6" (9 cm x 15 cm). The stuff sack is constructed of gray silnylon. The seams of the stuff sack are well sewn and are not seam sealed. The product's tag is sewn to the side of the stuff sack and the drawcord closure is a small elliptical barrel type. There were three hang tags attached: Pertex, Primaloft Sport, and the product hang tag describing the materials used, the product's intended use and the sizing, weight, and colors available.

While the packed size of the product as received was similar to that listed in the catalog, with minimal compression applied, I could reduce the volume to 3.5" x 5" (9 cm x 13 cm).

Removing the Hot Sox from their stuff sack, I noted that they were a bright red color, my first choice, with black footpads and black fleece panel. There is a tag sewn to the ankle band of each sock with the Pertex logo and a very small tag with the size sewn under that. The stitching was even, straight, and there were no loose threads or thread tails. Turning each sock inside out, the liner material is black and the stitching was, again, top notch. There is Primaloft insulation under and around the foot except for the microfleece back panel and ankle cuff. In these two areas, a double layer of stretch fleece is used. The 330 D cordura on the footpads is textured and should help prevent slips.

I slipped the Hot Sox on over a pair of cotton athletic socks. The fit was a bit long but that will be nice when I'm using thicker wool socks inside the Hot Sox. The elastic is just enough to keep the Hot Sox snug but without being constrictive and blocking blood flow.

I walked around the house in the Hot Sox for the evening on both vinyl and carpeted floors. With the Primaloft insulation in the soles of the Hot Sox, I noticed that the bottoms of the Hot Sox tended to slide around under my foot. This will require a little care on my part as I am not the most graceful person. I did adjust to this and found that the Hot Sox kept my feet warm without being hot.

I decided to try the Hot Sox as my sleeping footwear for a night spent sleeping outside. The weather forecast was for clear skies, night time lows of 40 F (4.4 C), and calm winds. I sleep cold and my summer bag, rated at 35 F (1.7 C), does not keep me warm at 35 F (1.7 C) without a bag liner and 2 layers of clothing, one of which must be midweight fleece. I placed a 25" (64 cm) wide Ridgerest on my wood deck and placed a bivy sack on top of that. Inside the bivy, I placed a 25" (64 cm) wide, 3/4 length Therm-a-Rest and my 35 F (1.7 C) Primaloft insulated sleeping bag. A side note: my 3/4 length Therm-a-Rest is nearly as long as I am tall and only my feet hang off the bottom when sleeping, so I consider it to be a full length sleeping pad for me. I wore cotton sweat pants, a long sleeve cotton shirt, cotton socks and Integral Designs Hot Sox. The nighttime low temperature was 36.1 F (2.3 C). My feet only had the Ridgerest underneath them and, while the bivy sack added quite a bit of warmth, it would not have kept my feet warm without the Hot Sox. My feet were comfortably warm all night without being too hot. The fabric of the Hot Sox did not stick to the sleeping bag material or cause any damage that I noticed. The back panel and ankle elastic fleece kept them in place on my feet.

Test Plan:
Even the shortest production sleeping bags for women are made for women 6" (15.24 cm) taller than me and that means I have a lot of extra room in the footbox of my sleeping bag. On cold nights, my feet are unable to warm the extra room and so they get cold. Since I don't pack a lot of extra clothes, in order to keep my feet warm I normally wear a spare pair of hiking socks. The problems with the socks are that they seem to collect dirt, which is immediately released into my sleeping bag, and they readily absorb water. The Integral Designs Hot Sox look like the perfect solution to this problem.

I'll be testing the Hot Sox as my sleeping footwear on all of my backpacking trips this fall and winter. I'll be looking to see how they perform against my Smartwool socks. Will they keep my feet warm even on the coldest nights? Will the double layer of stretch microfleece on the back panel and ankle provide as much warmth as the Primaloft? While the Hot Sox are only advertised as being for use in a tent or hut, the web page shows them being worn in the snow. I will be testing them for suitability as my only footwear during those middle of the night nature breaks in snowy or dry conditions. Can I wear the Hot Sox outside of the shelter for a brief period of time? Will they get too wet to wear back into the sleeping bag? Failure to be suitable for this use is not a failure of the product, but since the materials used are all known for water repellency, if the Hot Sox can be used for this, I would consider it to be a huge bonus. Putting on ice cold boots in the middle of the night is not something I look forward to. I'll also wear them around the house to keep my feet warm and test them for durability. How do they hold up to extended use on carpet and vinyl floors?

My current planned trips include a trip into the Hoh Rain forest, which is at approximately 850' (259 m) above sea level which receives an average of 12' (3.7 m) of rain each year. Due to recent storm damage, I may have to amend this trip to a different part of the Olympic temperate rain forest system. I'm also anticipating trips to the Washington coast (sea level), and some yet to be determined trips in the Southern Cascades.

I am also anticipating my first trip snow camping. This is where I expect the Hot Sox to shine. Will they keep my feet warm? Will they stay dry? Will I be the envy of all my friends?

I would like to thank Integral Designs and BGT for the opportunity to test the Hot Sox.

Read more reviews of Integral Designs gear
Read more gear reviews by Kelli Wise

Reviews > Clothing > Socks > Integral Designs Hot Socks > Kelli Wise > Initial Report