Backpacking Background:

Along with my two sons – ages eleven and thirteen, I am very active with our local Boy Scout troop. I’ve been involved with Scouting as an adult for the past ten years. Besides being the Committee Chairman, I’m also the High Adventure Leader. As such, one of my responsibilities is to teach the young people about the "Great Outdoors". I especially love to teach them about hiking, backpacking and canoeing.

Product Arrival:

The Danalco Sealskinz ChillBlocker Socks arrived via UPS, shipped in a cardboard box and secured with packing paper. The socks were folded together and placed in a plastic clamshell package, ready for display in any retail store.  The socks were easily extracted from the reusable clamshell package.  Also in the clamshell were two pieces of literature, a quad-fold product brochure of the Sealskinz  product line and a foldout brochure on Polartec Power Stretch fleece.

First Impression:

As I unfolded the socks, I was rather surprised at their appearance.  They reminded me of thick dress socks!  They have a rather smooth, professional finish, like a dress sock, complete with an elastic band at the top to keep the sock up.  They are thicker than dress socks, but not as bulky as some of my ragg wool or synthetic hiking socks.  They are uniformly black in color, both interior and exterior.  Construction appears first rate.  I found a small thread pull on one sock up near the elastic band at the top, but it didn't affect functionality at all.  Outside of that, I could not find any flaws. 

The Outside: The outside is covering of the sock is made from a blend of nylon and Lycra spandex.  This offers a tough exterior, as well as flexibility.  There are NO seams in the foot area, and only one at the top of sock where the elastic band attaches. The Sealskinz logo, size (in this case "LARGE"), and the letters "USA" are woven into the fabric in red, white and blue across the front of the sock, just below the toes.  The Sealskinz label appears just above the ankle only on one sock.  If it is assumed that it is meant to be seen, then this sock would have to be worn on the right foot to put the logo on the outside of the calf.  Technically, there is no difference between either sock, and they can be worn on either foot.  

The Inside: The inside of the sock is lined with a layer of double veloured Polartec Power Stretch Fleece. The lining is soft to the touch and gentle on my feet.  The fold-out brochure on Polartec fleece found with the ChillBlocker socks states that Polartec Power Stretch Fabrics not only offer body-hugging 4-way stretch, but  they keep your feet dry and warm as well.  The fleece is constructed with a two-layer system itself.  The soft, inner layer pulls moisture away from your skin, and the outer layer offers protection and provides dissipation surface.  The seam of the interior layer can be found running along the middle of the sock.  It can only be seen by turning the sock inside out.  The only place I could even detect it was on the bottom of my foot. 

The In-Between: The layer between the inner fleece layer and outer nylon/spandex layer is where the heart of the MVT technology resides.  Herein lies the waterproof membrane that allows water vapor to pass through yet blocks water droplets.  I can only catch a glimpse of the MVT membrane when studying the outside layer through the outer material.

The Fit: I found the Sealskinz ChillBlocker socks comfortable right out of the box.  There is ample toe room.  I do not find them at all binding, except for the elastic band at the top of the sock.  I think this is to be expected, as almost all new socks tend to fit me tightly along my calf.  It's not too tight, and I expect they will stretch with time.  Sealskinz promotes these socks with "seamless" construction.  This is really only of the outer layer, and maybe the membrane, but not the inner layer.  The fleece inner layer has a seam running through the entire sock, although it's found in an unusual location.  It runs down the middle of the sock, right down the middle bottom of the foot.  If someone was to "dissect" the sock by cutting down the length of the sock to create two symmetrical halves and then sew them back together, they would end up with a seam in the same location found running through the inner fleece layer.  At first, I found this rather annoying, as it created a sensation on the bottom of my foot I wasn't used to feeling from a sock.  But, after wearing them for a short time, I quickly forgot all about it. 

Beginning Tests

In the first week of testing, I've been out wearing the Chillblocker socks three times.  All times were out in snow, with temperatures around 20F (-7C).  So far, I've been impressed with their comfort and the warmth they've provided.  In fact, I found them to be too warm to wear around inside the house!  Each time, there was some extraneous "fuzzies" attached to my feet when I removed the socks.  I will monitor this in upcoming tests to see if this is from their "new" condition or if the fleece lining will continue to shed.

Test Plan

The test period will include winter, spring  and summer conditions. I plan to test these socks extensively, with tests running several times a week.  I am anxious to see how the ChillBlocker socks fare through the cold, wet slush of the spring melt.  It looks like I may have the opportunity to test them while canoeing in Algonquin Park in Canada in June as well.  Since I find them to be too warm in the house, I plan on monitoring the effects of temperature while hiking.  I will attempt to identify a point where I find them to be too warm to wear.  I will test them in hiking boots, running shoes and my sandals.  Their waterproofness will be thoroughly tested along with their durability.  

Comments on the Website:

I found the SealSkinz website easy to negotiate and very informative. Danalco offers a large variety of Sealskinz products to fit different hikers' needs.  I found that it was easy to find what I was looking for.  The website is laid out logically. The socks were pretty much what I expected based on my research on the Danalco website, although I was surprised with the outside finish on the socks and their resemblance to dress socks. 

Nice, warm socks that are comfortable too.  If they're as waterporoof and breathable as they claim, and durable, they will be awesome.

Tim