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SealSkinz® ChillBlocker™
Socks
Field Report by Rick Allnutt
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Manufacturer: Danalco, Inc.
Year Manufactured: 2004
Manufacturer's Link: Danalco
MSRP: $49.95
Size: Large
Color: Black
Listed Weight: NA
Measured Weight: 4.8 oz (135 gm)
Review Date: 29 April 2004
PERSONAL BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rick
Allnutt
50 Year old male
6' 0'' (183 cm) in height
198 lb (90 kg) in
weight
Shoe size: 11 US
Email address: ra1 (at) imrisk (dot) com
I live in Dayton,
Ohio
BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
Over the last
18 months, I have gone from being a heavy-weight (2 Duluth Pack) canoe camper to
a three-season base pack weight of about 9 lb (4 kg) and skin out weight of 20
lb (9 kg). I have completed 7 ultralight section hikes on the AT with a total
mileage of over 250 miles (403 km). I am an ultralight hiker, a gearhead, a
hammock camper, and make much of my own equipment.
REVIEW
My
initial report contains a detailed description of the socks.
Let me just start from the beginning and say
that I have had some problems with the ChillBlocker socks. The description
below points out the good and the bad of my experience so far.
The socks were waterproof when I first tested them in a bucket of water. They
look great, and feel just fine. There is a seam along the centerline of the
sock on top and on the undersurface of my foot, but this seam has caused no
discomfort in walking.
They work as advertised in allowing sweat from my feet to pass through their
material. I have worn them while working around the house and while eating out.
I have worn them to church. I have worn them for 12 hours stretches in warm
conditions. The whole time, my feet have remained reasonably dry.
Occasionally, I have had a bit of a moist sensation in the sock, but never has
either of my feet felt wet. Enough moisture escapes through the sock to keep a
liner sock or the felt lining dry to the touch.
The whole time I've used the ChillBlocker Socks, I have used them with Chaco
sandals. In these sandals, my foot is well protected from the rocks and sticks
on the ground, but my foot rolls around a good deal during a walk. When I put
my foot down on a sloping surface, I use friction between my foot and the foot
bed to keep from sliding off the sandal. This is not the way I walk in shoes.
In shoes, I usually allow part of my weight to be supported by the side walls of
the shoe. There is less friction and less movement of my foot on the foot bed.
Soon after getting the ChillBlocker socks, I went on a 15 mi (24 km) hike.
During the hike, I walked through streams an 1-2 in (2.5-5 cm) deep. It was
midway through this walk that I first felt a gathering of material under my
foot. At first, I thought the lumpy feeling was due to my liner sock gathering
under my foot. However, I when I took the socks off, I found that the inside
felt lining under my foot had separated from the shiny layer to which it is
usually attached. The layer was no longer attached across virtually the entire
sole of the foot, though it seemed to still be attached at the midline seam.
The sock was also leaking a small amount. I could not tell it was leaking when
I crossed the streams, but the lining felt and the bottom of my liner sock was
wet.
I contacted Danalco customer service and talked the situation over with
Michael. He sent me a replacement set of socks by overnight UPS and a return
tag for me to return the pair which had separated. He said that the production
crew would like to look at the failed pair to see if anything can be done to
improve their production and avoid the problem in the future.
I immediately put the new pair into testing. I checked them with the bucket for
leaks. I wore them to a number of events after work. I wore them in snow,
discovering that it does not work for me to wear the socks/sandals in fresh
snow. (My feet were warm, but the snow bunches up under my toes like pieces of
gravel.) Finally, I wore them for a nice long 5 mi (8 km) day hike in the
rain. It was during this hike, that I again felt material bunching up under my
toes. In addition, I began to feel wetness soaking the lining of the
ChillBlocker socks and soaking the liner socks I was wearing inside.
When I took the socks off, it was again clear that the felt lining was separated
from the shiny layer of the sock and the felt was stretched and bunched up under
my toes. This time, the felt lining was separated all the way across the bottom
of both socks, including the midline seam.
So, twice both socks failed in about the same way. They also slightly leaked,
and the lining became separated from the waterproof layers of the sock. Each
time the sock failed, I had walked not much over 20 mi (32 km) in the socks.
Clearly this would be a problem for a thru-hike situation.
The leaking was not severe. It was like several pinholes had been opened in the
bottom surface of the sock. Perhaps a small sharp rock or piece of wood had
lodged between my foot and the sandal. I did not feel anything like this, but
it could easily happen without my knowing it. If the lining was not made of
felt, I could have changed out the liner sock at the end of a rainfall and
continued, however the felt lining of the sock made this less practical,
because it was soaked too. A fresh pair of socks just became soaked by the
bunched up and wet liner.
I discussed the situation with Michael (Danalco customer service) again. This
is a fellow with the patience of Job! It is very clear that Danalco will stand
by their product, regardless of the obvious fact that something in the way I am
using the socks makes them fail quite quickly. After a long discussion, Michael
persuaded me that there was at least one thing I could do to lessen the chance
of separation of the felt liner. He suggested I always use a thin liner sock to
decrease friction between the felt and my foot. And he again offered to send me
another pair of socks.
As of this report, I have been waiting that pair of socks for several days.
TEST PLAN
My plan for the long term test is to use the ChillBlocker socks for several
section hikes, mainly in wet morning dew and in rain showers. I will use a thin
pair of nylon liner socks with the ChillBlockers. I will use the socks for cold rainy weather,
especially with my hiking sandals. Early morning dew on grass may be cause
to pull the socks out of the pack to avoid wet skin that can lead to blisters.
The items important to me for evaluation continue to be:
- overall comfort - feels good to my skin
- feel of the socks in shoes and in sandals
- do they keep me warm?
- do they keep me dry?
- do they breathe and let moisture escape?
- what kind of socks (if any) works best inside the SealSkinz socks?
Read more reviews of SealSkinz gear
Read more gear reviews by Rick Allnutt
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