The joy of socks (let's talk about socks, baby)

[Ratlet]

Do any of you have any recommendations for decent high quality socks.  I'm looking for cozy and hard wearing.

The other half is starting to take a dim view of my astro purchases, but I think some fancy socks might slip under the radar.

[cajen2]

I was at a star party and forgot to take socks 🙄. So I rushed to the nearest suitable shop and the only thick ones they had were JCB! 😆 They proved to be very warm and comfortable so they're my first choice now for cold nights.

[Guest]

Its hard to beat good old fashioned wool socks.  

[Captain Scarlet]

Thin socks: Falke Airport. Thousands of colours, lots of wool so your feet don’t get shredded by overly high cotton content by the end of a day. I swear by them.

Magnus

[Budgie1]

I've recently got a couple of pairs of Horizon Heritage Workwear socks for general use. Thick & very warm, 65% wool.

I was out in the obsy the other night in -3°C. I had a pair of these & Crocs on my feet, no problem with the cold.

 

[ollypenrice]

The key thing about any socks, from a warmth point of view, is that they need the shoes around them to be large enough, which is likely to be a size up on your regular size. Thick socks in tight shoes don't work, they restrict circulation when what's needed is the opposite.

If you want the warmest socks on earth, I'd suggest Dachstein wool. I'ts a shrunk, felted wool of remarkable density.

https://www.sweaterchalet.com/dachstein-woolwear/dw-5111-adult-socks/

Olly

[Ratlet]

Cheers folks.  This should be me some time since I do need socks.  Little does the wife realise that I'm actually looking at astronomy gear (who am I kidding.  She knows)

I don't think I'd risk wearing the crocks in the frost.  Big fan of them from offshore where they help stop you getting trench foot with wearing boots for 12 hours then swapping to trainers 🤮.  Although I do wish the missus didn't get me pink ones, once I wore them once I couldn't stop wearing them because that would be admiring defeat.

Boots are suitably large.  Again thanks to the offshore I make sure to get a slightly larger pair.

[ollypenrice]

3 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Cheers folks.  This should be me some time since I do need socks.  Little does the wife realise that I'm actually looking at astronomy gear (who am I kidding.  She knows)

I don't think I'd risk wearing the crocks in the frost.  Big fan of them from offshore where they help stop you getting trench foot with wearing boots for 12 hours then swapping to trainers 🤮.  Although I do wish the missus didn't get me pink ones, once I wore them once I couldn't stop wearing them because that would be admiring defeat.

Boots are suitably large.  Again thanks to the offshore I make sure to get a slightly larger pair.

Crocs are lethal round here. You'd end up with something sharp and pointed right through you foot in no time.

Olly

[Ratlet]

10 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

The key thing about any socks, from a warmth point of view, is that they need the shoes around them to be large enough, which is likely to be a size up on your regular size. Thick socks in tight shoes don't work, they restrict circulation when what's needed is the opposite.

If you want the warmest socks on earth, I'd suggest Dachstein wool. I'ts a shrunk, felted wool of remarkable density.

https://www.sweaterchalet.com/dachstein-woolwear/dw-5111-adult-socks/

Olly

Looking at the price of these in the UK, it'll cost as much ay some of my eyepieces lol

Edited January 3, 2023 by Ratlet

[apaulo]

after seeing the price of the socks, my toes curled up.  cured the frost bite though.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, apaulo said:

after seeing the price of the socks, my toes curled up.  cured the frost bite though.

Nothing good is cheap lol, but you only have one pair of feet so you might as well pamper them. 

[ollypenrice]

43 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Looking at the price of these in the UK, it'll cost as much ay some of my eyepieces lol

They are more like shoes than socks, though and they last forever. At least, I know the mits do because I've had a pair for forty years. I also noticed that a lot of mendacious outlets sell poly-cotton socks which they call Dachstein. 

If it ain't shrunk wool, it ain't Dachstein.

Olly

[apaulo]

i wonder, mmmm if we spent 50% of the time standing on our hands, would our feet get only half as cold. lol

[RT65CB-SWL]

Darned if I know! 🤣

The 'Caterpillar' or 'JCB' branded ones I wear/use for work. 

[PeterStudz]

Don’t ask me. It’s been a running joke with my family & friends that, even though I’m in my late 50’s, I’ve never bought socks in my life. I rely on getting them from other people as Christmas and birthday presents. Every year I ask for them and so far so good. It’s also the same with pants. 

[ollypenrice]

What bugs me about socks is that they are made in different colours. The stupidest thing is a pack of three pairs which are different from each other. This means you have to find and match them, which you never can, and so you have to go out armed with that old joke, 'There's nothing odd about these, I've got another pair the same at home.'

Twice I have bought a large number of identical pairs and twice this has failed, after a time and for reasons unknowable, to solve the problem.  The next time I do it, I'm going to buy one hundred identical pairs and burn all the ones I have in stock!  If that doesn't work, and I have a morbid feeling that it won't, I will abandon all hope and surrender my soul (sole?) to the forces of darkness.

Olly

Edited January 3, 2023 by ollypenrice
typo

[Ratlet]

42 minutes ago, ollypenrice said:

What bugs me about socks is that they are made in different colours. The stupidest thing is a pack of three pairs which are different from each other. This means you have to find and match them, which you never can, and so you have to go out armed with that old joke, 'There's nothing odd about these, I've got another pair the same at home.'

Twice I have bought a large number of identical pairs and twice this has failed, after a time and for reasons unknowable, to solve the problem.  The next time I do it, I'm going to buy one hundred identical pairs and burn all the ones I have in stock!  If that doesn't work, and I have a morbid feeling that it won't, I will abandon all hope and surrender my soul (sole?) to the forces of darkness.

Olly

I refuse point blank to match my socks for pattern.  Life is too short to worry about odd socks (unless they are different weights)

[saac]

1 hour ago, ollypenrice said:

What bugs me about socks is that they are made in different colours. The stupidest thing is a pack of three pairs which are different from each other. This means you have to find and match them, which you never can, and so you have to go out armed with that old joke, 'There's nothing odd about these, I've got another pair the same at home.'

Twice I have bought a large number of identical pairs and twice this has failed, after a time and for reasons unknowable, to solve the problem.  The next time I do it, I'm going to buy one hundred identical pairs and burn all the ones I have in stock!  If that doesn't work, and I have a morbid feeling that it won't, I will abandon all hope and surrender my soul (sole?) to the forces of darkness.

Olly

This may help Olly. Lessons plans, now there is a new year's resolution  

Jim 

Odd Sock Lesson Plan

[andrew s]

Socks obey Fermi Dirac statistics and are fermions so two identical socks can't be found together.

Regards Andrew 

[Ratlet]

12 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Socks obey Fermi Dirac statistics and are fermions so two identical socks can't be found together.

Regards Andrew 

Ah, so that's what I was doing wrong, I should have tried paring them top to tail!

[jjohnson3803]

25 minutes ago, andrew s said:

Socks obey Fermi Dirac statistics and are fermions so two identical socks can't be found together.

Regards Andrew 

I pin mine together with old fashioned diaper pins (nappy pins in the UK?) before they go into the laundry.  Haven't had a mismatched pair since I started doing that.

[DaveS]

Whenever you put socks in the washing machine one will be exchanged for a hideous pink and green monstrosity from the planet Zog. Washing machines are the best wormhole generators known to humankind.

[Mandy D]

1 hour ago, DaveS said:

Whenever you put socks in the washing machine one will be exchanged for a hideous pink and green monstrosity from the planet Zog. Washing machines are the best wormhole generators known to humankind.

When I was a member of the IOP, I used to receive their magazine from time to time and the only thing I can now recall reading in it was a spoof about quantum tunneling washing machines in which socks tuneled to other dimensions, thus explaining why you could never find a matching pair. I wish I could find that article, now!

Found it:

https://www.mersenneforum.org/mayer/qtl.html

Edited January 3, 2023 by Mandy D
Found it!

[ollypenrice]

2 hours ago, jjohnson3803 said:

I pin mine together with old fashioned diaper pins (nappy pins in the UK?) before they go into the laundry.  Haven't had a mismatched pair since I started doing that.

Before the diapers go into the laundry?  Is this strictly essential?

😄lly

[discardedastro]

I'll throw one vote out for Darn Tough socks - they're very hard-wearing and are guaranteed for life, but still comfy and warm merinio wool. I buy mine through Ultralight Outdoor Gear, but quite a few UK stockists now carry them.