Scenario; new pair knee length sealskins, idea being that unlike calf length water would not get over top. Very wet conditions indeed, deep puddles, standing water, heavy rainfall. Socks worn inside leggings. After 2 hours riding feet felt very wet so took off socks and emptied out about a cup of water from each sock. Put socks back on this time over leggings, and hour later back at car another cup out of each sock. At home filled sock with water to check for leaks, despite squeezing quite tight no water came out. I find it hard to believe that so much water gathered just due to run off from clothing into socks so has anyone else experienced this before I send them back to LBS?
ta 🙁

Sweat

get normal length ones
wear thin sports socks underneath
wear trousers over them rather than leggings, you’re not ballet dancing afterall. (appologies if you are)

mine (many pairs) have never filled with water in well over 10 years of wearing them all year round.

Wierd. Mine always filled up, but thats from holes caused by my kryptonite toenails 🙁

I’ve given up on them and just started wearing woollen socks with overshoes. They’ll get wet quicker but they stay much warmer.

Edit: Actually, now I think about it, after a 40 minute walk to work with my ankle length goretex gaiters on, my trousers feel noticeably clammy under the gaiter. Multiply that by extra length of your sealskinz, assume you’re perspiring more because you’re riding, and that the outer of the sock could well be wet and therefor not breathing very well, and suddenly an accumulation of sweat doesn’t seem SO unlikely.

Taste it, is it salty? 😀

Wierd. Mine always filled up, but thats from holes caused by my kryptonite toenails

mine usually end up holey within a year too and obviously let water in then.

Try within two months GW 🙁

Yes yes, very good. 😀

Even trimmed back to the quick they find a way through Sealskinz.

Anyway, I seem to have singlehandedly made this a thread about my feet. Carry on!

do you wear socks under the sealskins?

Acid test :

dry your feet
put on socks
stand in bath of water for 3 minutes
get out of bath
take off socks

if you feet are wet they are leaking if your feet are dry you have sweaty feet

This was the suggestion which Seal Skin gave me when I called them with the same problem – unfortunately I have sweaty feet

Haha, drop it GW!

But for the record, no, I don’t, couldn’t really fit a pair of socks and a sealskin into my riding shoes, they were purty snug to begin with.

If I sweated that much (about a pint of water in total both socks) I would be seriously dehydrated having just drunk a 3 pt camelbak only—assure you Im not. Ill give the bath test a go though, and toe nails are cut 🙂

Won’t it just be water soaking through the tights and running down your legs into them? That’s the way mine get water in them.

I think Sealskinz are rubbish. My feet get colder in them than anything else. I have a pair to give away if anyone wants them for the price of the postage or free to collect in Edinburgh. I find wool socks and an unrestrictive shoe + wet feet is fine. If you really must have warm feet do what we used to do ‘back in the day’ and wear wetsuit socks, and fill them with water before you go riding. Problem solved.

seriously, a thin pair of cotton socks underneath provides enough layering/wicking to stop them getting sweaty inside, makes them more comfortable and also offers protection from scary toenails.
I have a **** foot and have to ride with an ankle brace so I buy my riding shoes big enough to fit sportsock/brace/sealskins and wear all 3 all year round. dunno if it makes much odds (with regard to sweat) but I also only ride flats off-road and wear my shoes done up loose enough to never need to untie the laces.

trailer trash, I’ll take them (if they’re the right size)
What size are they?

hmm. goretex socks for the win. riding today i did a few revolutions of the pedals through puddles that were pretty deep. if they weren’t over the tops of my boots the resulting splashes certainly were. that, and also riding along a BW that had become a stream, and plenty of other standing water, i still had dry feet at the end of the ride.
the gore socks have wide elasticated cuffs at the tops. any run-off goes over the top. like an anorak for your feet. 8)

got goretex socks too. (only use them on the roadbike with SPD shoes, but still wear thin socks underneath) prefer the sealskins by far

The most likely scenario from my experience is water getting in from the cuff and the sock simply filling with water, as they are waterproof then what gets in cant drain out.

Theres not much stretch in them so how well the socks fit you counts for quite a lot. if you’ve got big feet and skinny ankles then they are of limited use as water running down you in heavy rain will go straight in the top of the socks. I can stand in water in mine, but if its raining with any gusto then water runs in through the top of the sock as stays in there. In a sudden downpour last summer mine were full to the brim in just a minute or two, and as demonstrated above – once in the water doesn’t have a way out.

There’s 2 ways water can get in.

Through the top – either get longer SealSkinz if you’re sticking your feet in deep water, or wear something to stop water dribbling down your leg into them.

They are stretched so far that they are porous – get a size bigger than you think and wear a wicking sock as well.

As far as them being cold, my experience is otherwise. If I have to spend a lot of time in slush or water then I wear my SealSkinz with sandals. Boots often trap water in them and conduction will freeze your feet regardless of how waterproof your socks are. Sandals don’t trap water – counterintuitive, but it works.

Here’s a test I did

(Click on pic to see more)

My feet stayed dry.

Obviously when SealSkinz get old they may be worn out.

Neoprene socks are cheap and warm when wet.

Most water just dribbles in through the cuff at the top. Best cure for that is to gaffer tape the cuff to your ankle before the start of the ride. Works every time.

Reluctant – Member
Most water just dribbles in through the cuff at the top. Best cure for that is to gaffer tape the cuff to your ankle before the start of the ride. Works every time.

Neat idea. I’ll use that next time I go tramping through peatbogs. Do you have to shave your lags for it to work?

Missed that OP was using knee length socks, so my comments about length are redundant.

Further consideration leads me to think that must be due to water run off down leggings, I guess during my ride yesterday had at least 10mm rainfall, if top surface area of front of legs is 300cm2 then Im going to end up with 300ml of water runoff (judging by water pouring out of end of Buffalo sleeves I could live with this value). Ill have to try them on a dry day overhead but wet underfoot, don`t fancy gaffer tape on unshaven legs too much 🙁

Cotton socks for wicking?

my last pair of sealskins fell apart at the stitching, so now i just keep the inside water proof bag and wear 2 pairs of normal thin socks with the bag inbetween, i find they are much better like this, lets me decide how thick i want my socks to be depending on the weather and i still get the waterproofness from them.

btw my opinion on the OP is that you’ve just got incredibly sweaty feet! a cup of water ffs!

Never tried it but I have heared of someone making a seal from a pair of Marigold gloves cut so that they seal against the leg and overlap the absorbant top bit.

this is what you need

Most water just dribbles in through the cuff at the top. Best cure for that is to gaffer tape the cuff to your ankle before the start of the ride. Works every time.

+1

Top tip: cheapo rubbish gaffer tape doesn’t hurt as much when you peel it off 🙂

I use the Marigold glove ‘sleeves’ trick. You can just see the edges here…

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In this pic I’m wearing them over the Sealskins inside overshoes for extra protection as I thought the puffer was going to be super cold.

Definitely NOT sweaty feet…feet were white and numb with cold so not sweating….more likely from all thoughts here is likelihood that runoff of water down clothing

jamesb – Member
…more likely from all thoughts here is likelihood that runoff of water down clothing

Simple enough to test. Fill the bath with cold water, step in. 🙂

I’ve had SealSkinz leak, but they were a tight fit. A looser fit makes a difference IMO.