[Closed] Bad experience with Sealskinz socks yesterday!

Nothiing will keep your feet dry. It's the law. And Sealskinz are particularly useless as well as looking spectacularly awful. Sorry.

wear thin socks underneath the sealskins and wear trousers.

Agreed they do look completely spakky, they have the seams in the wrong place!

I've resigned myself to having wet feet on some ride. I generally only wear good quality Merino Wool Socks (Defeet Woolie Boolies). I have pretty good circulation anyway and find that even when soaked these keep my feet warm.

Had the same problem yesterday and I had Gortex boots on as well. They're great until the water gets above your ankle, then it just wicks down into the boot. Good for keeping most puddle splashes out, not so good for driving rain.

i find them good in most wet conditions, esp. if combined with waterproof trousers, which helps prevent water getting in through the tops.

run sticky tape around the top and that keeps the water out.

Jordie is right.
Seal skins have a design flaw in that they are waterproof all the way up to the nice blue line.

This line is just wool and when this gets wet it sucks all the water down into the toe via capilary action.

I was 20 miles into the Robin Hood ride last year when I felt all the water in my now soaked tights (it rained all the way there and back)suddenly get sucked into my toes like a straw, cue numb feet for the remainder of the ride.

[i]Are walking boot gaiters any good? Blacks do some goretex ones for cheap[/i]

Yes! You should ride in those.

then we can all laugh at you 🙂

but were your feet warm? i bet they were because the sealskins work in the same way as a wetsuit and stop the water moving around and taking heat away for your feet. as long as im warm i dont care if i am wet.

this brings back terrible memories of working in an outdoor store and trying to explain to complaining ninnys about the hole in their sealskins/goretex boots - the massive hole where their feet goes.

Funny but I don't seem to suffer from this with mine even in really wet conditions...

Are people putting the socks over their tights because that certainly ensures that water runs down into the socks.

One lad in our club recommends knee length waterproof socks with waterproof boots and tights to hide the guilty secret. Me, I'd rather be wet 🙂

Get some merino socks and just accept you'll get wet. Unless you've got some sort of overlapping shingles effect going on water WILL get in the big hole at the top of your shoes/socks. Personally I'd find riding in full-length waterproof trousers worse than having wet but warm feet.

I don't think I've ever had the issue of my feet getting wet while wearing sealskinz.
I've been on long rides where I have thought my feet were wet as my shoes/socks got soaked through puddles and it was flippin' cold. But when I got back to the car & took the sealskinz off, my feet were still dry, just the cold made them feel wet.

I tend to use them when the weather is on the nippy side & generally have tights on as well, so perhaps this stops the water getting in. Overshoes help massively too.

Fold them over inwards at the top, about an inch or so. This seals them (esp with boots that have neoprene ankle bits) against water running down your leg.

24 miles in the soggy Dales on Sat, including 3 stream crossings, and my feet were almost bone dry afterwards.

btw - having your shoes too tight can make your feet very cold because the circulation is impaired.

Waterproof socks in letting water in through the massive hole at the top shocker!

Snap. Feet remained warm though.

"Fold them over inwards at the top, about an inch or so"

Good tip; I'll try that.

merino socks and accept that feet are wet here (and some toaty warm winter boots to delay the inevitable...

I use Sealskinz all the time, great socks. Even when water gets in at the top my feet are still toasty warm.
I use a thin pair of cycling socks underneath then Sealskinz on top.

I got the small ones, don't think there is enough to fold them over at the top 🙁

Wish I'd have got the bigger ones now....

but were your feet warm? i bet they were because the sealskins work in the same way as a wetsuit and stop the water moving around and taking heat away for your feet. as long as im warm i dont care if i am wet.

+1. And wear some thin socks inside the Sealskinz to make them warmer and more comfortable. Wet feet don't matter much - keeping them warm does

Yesterday in Eskdale, it was lashing it down pretty much all day. We crossed streams that had become rivers, and rode trails and even roads flooded by overflown rivers and tarns. Several were knee deep. We all wore sealskinz. We all had wet feet.

I think anything capable of keeping feet dry in yesterday's situation would be something like a set of waders taped to the tops of thighs, and I doubt that would have been too nice on the climbs.

You're balancing the need to not boil in the bag and keep dry (impossible anyway cos of sweat) vs realistic protection. Sealskinz do fine up to a point. You can step in a stream and they'll stay dry, and they'll fight a certain amount of spray. Couple them with man tights over the top, goretex boots, and overshoes, and they'll withstand a lot more wet. But even then, once you've waded through your 5th torrent you'll have wet tootsies whatever you wear.

Personally, I find the combination of sealskinz and goretex boots good in as much as when they do get soaked, at least they stay warm - a bit like a wet suit, especially if you add a thin pair of merino sock liners.

I think anything capable of keeping feet dry in yesterday's situation would be something like a set of waders taped to the tops of thighs, and I doubt that would have been too nice on the climbs.

I have a pair of these for paddling in - breathable as well. I wonder......
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My first Sealskinz felt like that.

I bought a larger size so I could wear a thin merino liner sock and have had no further problem.

duct tape round the top!! works a treat but hurts like hell to pull off!!

Swinley yesterday sealskinz , northwave boots ,altura waterproof trousers nice n dry .But my brand new Endura waterproof gloves ? utter shite squeezing water out of them after only an hour !

Buy a cheap pair of domestic rubber gloves. Cut the finger/thumb part off both hands. The wrist part remaining can be then worn over the top of your Sealskinz as a sort of seal. They are available in a range of colours....

Never been convinced with them, waterproof and breathable it says on the label but I had to check they weren't on inside out!