Drymax LITE Trail Running Socks, ¼ Crew, Grey/Black, size L: 7.5-9.5

Appearance

They appear moderately thick but not bulky.

Fit & Feel

They have a smooth feel to them and were a good fit with no seams or nobbly stitching.

Wear

The socks come with a very detailed and informative packaging which covers the scientific background to how the socks have been made, the way extra protection has been built into the design, fit and sizing information, the anti-blister system and details of the odour control properties and the guarantee.

There are a couple of key points highlighted that need to be adhered to if the socks are to ‘work’ properly.  Fabric softeners and chlorine bleach shouldn’t be used and skin lubricants and powders should also NOT be used with these Drymax socks.

I used the socks over a period of a few weeks and always stuck to the guidelines, although traditionally I am a lubricant-user, in order to give them a fair trial.

Typical sessions included four hour road runs in wet and dry conditions and also during part of a nine hour run along theWest Highland Way, long distance trail inScotland.

Where better to test them than on theWest Highland Way, where one’s feet our basically always wet, due to the sheer number and volume of streams, puddles and wet patches that must be coped with.

The main selling point, amongst many, are that Drymax socks keep feet drier and more comfortable than any other sock, so I was interested to see how they would perform under these testing conditions.

I was able to first try a well-known brand of waterproof socks for a couple of hours, before switching to the Drymax socks for the remaining seven hours.

My experience was that the surface of the skin on the feet remained only ‘damp’ and the foot comfort level remained high throughout, despite the soggy underfoot conditions.

At the finish there were no blisters either!

The ‘extra protection’ layer around the ankle area, which is designed to keep debris out of the shoes, certainly kept larger stones out, but for me and my preference for looser-fitting shoes, I need conventional gaiters to protect from finer gravel and debris.

Conclusion

Overall, in my experience, the socks certainly stood up to their boast of ‘keeping feet drier and more comfortable than other socks’.  In other words they worked for me and I know what I will be wearing in future wet runs.

Available in the UK from: http://www.ULTRAmarathonRunningStore.com