Topic
These new sock shoes – 5.6 oz for the pair
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › These new sock shoes – 5.6 oz for the pair
- This topic has 12 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 5 months ago by Paul McLaughlin.
-
AuthorPosts
-
Sep 27, 2016 at 10:15 am #3428294
What do you think? Candidate for water shoes or camp shoes? 5.6 oz for the pair.
Sep 27, 2016 at 10:31 am #3428296$40 seems steep price wise. Also, I don’t really desire to walk around wooded camps in what look like essentially socks. Would be uncomfortable for me personally I think
Sep 27, 2016 at 10:53 am #3428304. HERE is a thread from July, some who bought them should be receiving them in Nov. so you could ask them once they receive them
Sep 27, 2016 at 11:34 am #3428312I would totally do these. I’ve walked around camp bare footed, but dislike getting my feet damp, muddy, or dirty. Not to mention the risk of picking up a splinter.
They certainly win in the compactness department. How to they compare to Crocs or flipflops in terms of weight?
Sep 27, 2016 at 12:10 pm #3428316I could be wrong, but those do not appear to offer much (if any) real protection for the bottoms of your feet. I’d opt to carry ~2oz more weight in trade for a more substantial sole…Sockwa G4, the original VivoBarefoot Ultra or the liners that came with them, etc.
Sep 28, 2016 at 1:06 am #3428425They look like a sock version of gorilla grip work gloves.
Sep 28, 2016 at 6:38 am #3428436Lack of protection? The site shows a guy wearing them and standing on broken glass.
Sep 28, 2016 at 7:38 am #3428437The site shows a guy wearing them and standing on broken glass.
While in that case they may prevent you from being cut (which I’m having a hard time believing) they make to claims as to how comfortable such a stance might be.
Sep 28, 2016 at 8:38 am #3428444One of the long standing core tenets of the ultralight philosophy is that once one transitions into a comfortable hiking shoe (e.g. trail running shoe) and away from an uncomfortable, stiff, hiking boot, then the need for camp shoes is limited.
In my own experience, I concede that I’m not a huge fan of schlepping around in wet shoes in camp (as my hiking shoes often are after wading in rivers, hiking in rain, etc.), and I’m as addicted to the sensation of warm dry socks as anyone.
I’ve resigned to taking along a pair of Rocky Gore-Tex socks in these situations and wearing them inside my wet shoes when I get to camp, with new socks (usually a thin wool liner) underneath the Gore-Tex socks. The GTX socks are 1.9 oz/pr.
There is another camp that wishes for their feet to be free and breathe and out of shoes when in camp. I’ll concede that this too is a fine sensation! In those case, take a look at something like a Xeroshoe sandal, mine are only 5.1 oz/pr (for the Umara Z-Trail).
I can’t think of a case where the sock thing above would be a better replacement for either of the two cases where I wan’t a “camp shoe alternative”, but I’m open to consider what your interest in them is!
Sep 28, 2016 at 8:59 am #3428445Here’s my thing (and I started a thread about this): I’ve found that on many hikes my lightweight trail shoes no matter how breathable are often very wet at the end of the day and stay wet through the night. In that case, I like to have dry feet that can breathe. Sandals don’t work for me because I don’t want to scratch my feet or stub my toes. So, I have been using my Minimus shoes. They are sold as trail runners and weigh about 10 oz for the pair. There’s not much to them, but my feet can breathe and are protected. I can use them for creek crossing if I really need to protect my dry shoes, or I can hike in them if I need to because my primary shoes have some issue.
However, I’d like something lighter than 10oz or something more compact. But so far I really haven’t found that.
I’m not sure I’d want to hang around camp in these socks, but I’ve seen people do so in neoprene socks and they seem to be happy…
Sep 28, 2016 at 10:37 am #3428456…Xeroshoe sandal, mine are only 5.1 oz/pr (for the Umara Z-Trail).
//snip
@ Ryan:
Are you sure of the weight? Asking because the manufacturer states this on the web site:
“Men’s size 9 sandal averages 5.4 ounces each”
and has a video demonstrating the total weight of 3 pairs @ around 35 oz….
Sep 28, 2016 at 1:32 pm #3428479I wear mesh shower shoes like these that weigh one ounce a piece. These allow my feet to dry. I can see two advantages to these socks. First, they can fit in your pocket. Second, they obviously work well as socks. So it isn’t really fair to compare these to those sandals, as you are almost comparing them to a sock/sandle pair. At that point, they are certainly competitive. But I wonder how well they work in that regard. If your main socks are wet, then if you get these wet, you can’t wear a dry pair to bed. If you only use them for around camp and hiking, then how do they compare to other hiking socks? My guess is, though, that the foam on the bottom of the sandals (as thin as it is) still offers more protection than this. Very promising thing I’ll probably check out sometime, but I doubt it will change my routine.
Sep 28, 2016 at 10:10 pm #3428545AS a guy who has used a lot of work gloves with coated palms. (buy them by the dozen pair), I’ll say that the soles on these (judging from the photos) look like the palms of the heaviest coated gloves I use. Those palms are pretty thick. plenty tough, and would definitely offer some protection form the usual sticks and rocks of the campsite. Still I’m not sure these are better than the sprint aquatics that Ross mentions – I have a pair, pretty good and 2 oz.
Of course, you could look a lot cooler in these than the sprint aquatics which definitely have a geezer vibe.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Forum Posting
A Membership is required to post in the forums. Login or become a member to post in the member forums!
Our Community Posts are Moderated
Backpacking Light community posts are moderated and here to foster helpful and positive discussions about lightweight backpacking. Please be mindful of our values and boundaries and review our Community Guidelines prior to posting.
Get the Newsletter
Gear Research & Discovery Tools
- Browse our curated Gear Shop
- See the latest Gear Deals and Sales
- Our Recommendations
- Search for Gear on Sale with the Gear Finder
- Used Gear Swap
- Member Gear Reviews and BPL Gear Review Articles
- Browse by Gear Type or Brand.