I’ve seen a few folk recommend neoprene (wetsuit) socks for riding in but has anyone tried latex (drysuit cuff) socks? I’d imagine they’d get very sweaty but wondered if it would be warm. Something merino inside them too perhaps?

Never tried/heard of but the wicking of the merion would just push water to barrier then let it soak back through? Same as a seal skin?

Yeah, it’d be VBL socks but less chance of external water getting in as the latex sock is such a tight fit on the calf.

I might experiment….

Would you not be better with waterproof socks or boots and just slip on a replacement cuff over the top to prevent water running in the big ‘ole

this is what the fashionable kids are wearing this season mate.

https://www.roostersailing.com/pd/Hands-and-Feet-Bundle_105373.htm

How are they for flexibility? i.e. Can you operate brakes/shifters ok?

they are very thin and flexible.

Certainly for me they would be horribly sweaty and uncomfortable.

Certainly for me they would be horribly sweaty and uncomfortable.

and how do you come to that assumption when you have not worn them?

sometimes appearances can be deceiving.

I thin knew you were going to be immersing your feet and it was guaranteed to be wet then they could work. Wouldn’t be my choice though. Latex overshoes are sold in the road world but while the aero advantage is good people complain they are fragile and sweaty in the summer – velotoze if you aren’t aware of the brand.

You can get wetsuit socks cheap so I don’t see what the advantages would be of latex. If you are looking for alternatives you could try chillcheater (gimp socks).

ton – because I have sweaty feet and even in breathable waterproof footwear I get wet feet from sweat – even when its cold

The only way this works is that you have to have an insulting layer between you and the sock. I have quite a bit of experience working in dry suits and they do not keep you dry, because you sweat, but they do keep you warm.
You need to have a wicking/insulating layer between you and the cold water that you are immersed/inc contact with to stop the thermal loss. A liquid-latex-liquid connection will still loose heat pretty quickly, but it is probably safe to assume that you are not in water the whole time. As long as you keep some heat in the sock and don’t loose it all then they may work for you.

I have to say that a good winter boot and wool socks works for me, but I have riding mates who lose all feeling in their feet in October and don’t get it back until April no matter how much they spend. If you go one step further you find people with Reynard’s syndrome and they blood supply cuts of to the extremities. If I had that I would be going with heated gloves and socks!

My ploy to get through winter on the cheap (road specifically, don’t suffer on MTB so much) is gaffer tape all the vents on the bottom, a line of bacofoil under the standard shimano insole some LG toe covers kept on permanently and woolie socks in the dry or Aldi waterproof socks in the wet.

S’working well so far, it’s not got below freezing yet but I’ve not had to get the proper overshoes out yet.

I have some of the rooster hotsocks and a hot top for sailing and they are very warm, but you have to wear something wicking under them or you would drown in sweat. They are also quite difficult to get on and you would need shoes at least a size bigger, but they are very effective and if I were doing a snowy ride I’d wear them.

I have some gloves like them, neoprene with a rubbery lining from Decathlon and if you wear them with no liner you can pour maybe 30ml of sweat out of them at the end of a ride.

As for latex socks, I have them on a drysuit and wouldn’t want to wear them otherwise. You would need warm socks under them and they add no insulation but are completely unbreathable so your feet end up a little wet regardless. They are also very sticky, so difficult to get into shoes which means that they end up tight and restrict circulation making feet colder.

The latest Sealskinz have a 1cm-ish gripper strip / seal inside the cuff to reduce water getting in from the top. No idea if they work, but it seems like a step in the right direction – I’ve always had bad experiences with the things. I’ll try and report back… promisingly wet out 🙂

The latest Sealskinz have a 1cm-ish gripper strip / seal inside the cuff to reduce water getting in from the top. No idea if they work, but it seems like a step in the right direction

I have a pair that I’ve only used once or twice – they;re definitely an improvement over my old ones. Much of that improvement comes from the longer length that I bought. The silicone cuff isn’t right at the top, so if water is running down your leg it’s still got a small gap to pool in before it seeps through.

A better solution, of a cuff sticking out at the top would be more effective until it was inevitably damaged.

Use the mid length sealskinz Hydro stop for damp days and work really well if you have meaty legs, not sure for those with chicken legs tho. 😉

For full on wet days knee length sealskinz socks, not the greatest look but who cares.

a guy i ride with uses the velotoze latex overshoes

velotoze latex thingies

he does say his feet get kinda sweaty when it’s warm out but work very well @ keeping his feet dry.

wouldnt use them for mtb tough
the wear out pretty fast

Have not tried them myself
I mainly enjoy watching him struggling to get the things on 🙂