I live outside a small town in northeast Alabama. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, canoeing, and most other outdoor activities. Backpacking is my favorite pastime. I consider myself a knowledgeable backpacker but I am not an expert. I enjoy hiking with my friends and family or solo. I limit my hiking to areas fairly close to home, usually within a day’s drive of home. I hike throughout the year and actually hike the least in the hot humid months of summer. My style is slow and steady and my gear is light. However I will sacrifice weight for comfort and durability. A typical 3-season load for me is around 20 lb (9 kg) not counting food or water. I usually sleep in a hammock and cook with an alcohol stove. My backpacking trips are usually 2, 3 or 4 days in length.

Product Information

Test Item	SealSkinz® ChillBlocker™ Socks
Manufacturer	Danalco, Inc.
Manufacturer URL	http://www.danalco.com/
Year of Manufacture	2004
Size	Large (matches men’s shoe size 10-11)
Weight	not listed
Weight Verified	4.8-oz (136 g)
Color	Black
MSRP	$49.95 US

Product Description
Just looking at the ChillBlocker™ Socks laid out flat it is obvious they are shaped to fit a foot. Picture the letter L. They are substantially thick and a little stiff feeling. However, they are quite stretchy. At the top of the socks is a stretchy, single-layer fabric cuff. After holding them in my hands and then putting them on I would describe them as a cross between normal socks and neoprene booties. Laid out flat, the socks measure 11 in (28 cm) from the heel to the top and 10.5 (27 cm) in from the heel to toe. The socks are joined in the center with a visible seam showing inside and out. The seam runs from the front of the socks, down to my toe crossing at about the middle two toes, continues on under my foot and back up the back side of the socks. The outside layer of fabric is close in appearance to a black dress sock while the inside layer of fabric is fleece but bunched up so that little wave patterns are formed. I can stretch the sock out and make the fleece appear smooth. The ChillBlocker™ Socks are waterproof but breathable. See my Initial Report for a more detailed overview of the technical features of the sock.

Testing Locations and Conditions
The weather has been a major factor in the past four months of testing. To put it bluntly, it has been too warm to test the ChillBlocker™ Socks while hiking so I have limited my testing to wading around in a creek below my house. The air temperatures have been anywhere from around 75 F (24 C) to well over 90 F (32 C). The creek water is spring fed and cold but I did not take any actual temperatures of the water. I do know that I can swim in the creek about 15 minutes before I start shivering. The elevation at the creek is around 1000 ft (300 m). The longer distance hiking I did in the socks up to the Field Report has halted, but I also wore the socks several more times just puttering around the yard when the dew was still on.

Long Term Test Results
I try to take good care of all my equipment, whether it's avoiding rocks when running a chain saw or dodging a limb when wearing a backpack. However, one piece of gear which I always seem to be rough on is socks. OK, add shoes to that list. I have not figured out a way to baby footwear other than sitting on the couch. So, why would I mention this? Well, I'll just say the ChillBlocker™ Socks are no longer waterproof.   The socks started out waterproof but by wearing them with sandals on several hikes before hot weather arrived, I may have damaged the membrane with grit and trail debris. I imagine that even had I always worn shoes or boots, the sock would still be subjected to a lot of stress. It's just the nature of trail socks that they see lots of action.

I can honestly say that my feet felt warmer in the cold creek when adorned with the ChillBlocker™ Socks than anytime previously, in any type of footwear. However, my feet did not remain dry because, every time I wore the socks in the creek, I invariably would get water inside the socks, mostly from around the top. The socks are just not designed to keep water from entering from above. However, by being real careful and just letting my feet dangle in some shallow water I determined that the ChillBlocker™ Socks were indeed leaking as I still got water penetration in both socks, albeit, very slowly. Walking around in shallow water, again being real careful not to get water above my ankles, would speed up the wetting process.

Once summer arrived I quit hiking in the ChillBlocker™ Socks but did wear them with my sandals in damp grass around the yard. They did keep my feet dry but I did not walk a lot and would remove the socks before the day got very hot. The outside layer would become soaked but when I turned the socks inside out, the inside layer would be completely dry. Another good thing is that the socks continue to hold their shape well. On my last hike of more than a few miles the socks stayed up and did not bunch up under my feet.   The socks just fit well. Unfortunately, I do not plan to wear the ChillBlocker™ Socks on any long distance hikes anymore. Perhaps in bitter cold weather I would hike in these socks and be glad to have them. I say I won't be hiking long distances in these socks because conditions I normally encounter in the winter don't warrent a pair of socks this warm.

Given the fact that the ChillBlocker™ Socks are meant for wintertime wear I would like to comment on my impressions of the socks for that purpose. The ChillBlocker™ Socks are very warm and even when wet inside and out they retain very good insulating qualities. I found them too warm for hiking in weather just above freezing. They were great for times when I did very little walking and spent long hours sitting in the cold. It is my opinion (under the conditions I encountered) that these socks are best suited for moderate activity because on long hikes they were just to warm. In fact, they make great sleeping socks, especially if I took precautions to keep them dry beforehand.

One reason to keep the ChillBlocker™ Socks dry is because once wet they take quite awhile to dry back out. If I only got the outside wet I could dry them in a few hours if it was hot and the sun was shinning brightly. Getting them wet inside and out required most of a day to dry completely. On cool cloudy days the socks would remain wet until they soured a little. This is not a good thing for sure and one of the deciding factors in how I will continue to use the ChillBlocker™ Socks in my outdoor activities.

I will continue to carry the socks when hiking in the winter but only plan to wear them after arriving at my destination. I spend longer hours in the wintertime just sitting around before bedtime due to the shortness of daylight hours. I have found it helps tremendously to keep my feet warm before bedtime. The ChillBlocker™ Socks will fill that role handily. Then after piddling around camp fixing supper etc, I will wear them inside my sleeping bag when I turn in for the night. I have found that my feet are sensitive to cold and the ChillBlocker™ Socks help me sleep much better. I realize that winter camping in Alabama is not akin to arctic camping but I have found I can push the limits of my 30 F (-1 C) summer sleeping bag a few more degrees which allows the one light sleeping bag to serve me in all four seasons. When the temperatures do drop much below freezing I will take a warmer bag but still use the ChillBlocker™ Socks to make sure my feet stay warm all night. Call me a sissy but I like to sleep without cold feet.

Conclusions
I am somewhat disappointed that the ChillBlocker™ Socks are no longer 100% waterproof. I am not disappointed in their ability to help keep my feet warm. I was skeptical until early on during the test I saw I could wear my sandals with the ChillBlocker™ Socks, when normally I would be wearing insulated boots and thick boot socks. And finally I would recommend using these socks for light duty hiking in shoes instead of sandals. This will keep grit away from the socks, which should help them last longer and perhaps stay waterproof longer.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank BackpackGearTest and Danalco, Inc. for the opportunity to test the ChillBlocker™ Socks. I have learned a lot and hope my findings will be of benefit to anyone reading these reports.

Read more reviews of SealSkinz gear
Read more gear reviews by Coy Ray Starnes

Long Term Report

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