 Poster: A snowHead
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Two children, one weeks skiing = at least 10-12 pairs of socks if I don't fancy washing during the week.
Kids grow - currently around about a size 1-2 adult, but next year could easily get bigger, and so it continues and socks get continually outgrown.
What do all you parents give the kids as ski socks? Do you buy the genuine and expensive ski socks for them? Do you use 'tube' socks or has anyone discovered a good half way house that they could recommend.
Each year I try different socks - have tried white sports socks, and also football socks, neither seem to perform well. Can acceptable socks be gained for around £3 a pair - which would still be about £30 in socks 
Also, why on earth are 'technical' socks for anyone so hugely pricey anyway? Most decent ski socks seem to retail at around £30 per pair - this seems stupid cash to me for 'just a pair of socks'. I have found a source of socks for myself that I hope to get some more from this year at a reasoable cost, but I'm drawing blanks for the kids.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Megamum, decathlon seem to do a wide range of ski socks, their entry level type sock is still shaped but by no means a technical shop. They normally do 3packs for £10 ish from memory. I have some that my stepdaughter used once that you can have a look at if you like then when the winter stuff comes in (normally end of sept) i can get some and post them to you if they are what your looking for.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Megamum, when my kids were smaller I was fortunate to have C&A still open. You could try http://www.skiwear4less.com/ once their stuff is in stock. I've given up on cheaper ones for myself, my feet were always cold.
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Megamum, not sure where you are buying your tech socks but they are normally between £16 and £20 with a few more expensive ones out there...the reason they are expensive is because of the materials and technology that they use to make them.... invisible toe seem, arch brace, Y gore heel, achillis brace, shin padding, reverse plating, loop stiching etc etc also making socks with these types of features is a very slow process, a single machine can only knit a small number in 24hours..i will come back to you with the number when i get a call back form one of my suppliers
smartwool make a kids ski skock which is about £10 , you could easily get away with 2 pairs for a week, the merino wool does not smell if you wear it more than 1 day at a time..still expensive but better than a load of cheap nasty socks which will hold moisture next to the skin and cause foot rot
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Megamum, Tacky Maxx are perfect for ski socks for kids. They will have decent quality (i.e. shaped rather than tube and even some thinner 'technical' socks) by Salomon/Nordica/Technica usually for five or six quid (RRP c.£15-20). We always get juniors from there, even his race socks.
As always with there, though, timing is everything!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Megamum, I bought my kids some X socks (technical ones) and some cheap ones from Aldi at the same time,the Aldi ones were ok but after 3 seasons I had to throw them away as they had worn thin at the toe, but the x socks are still going after 5 seasons and my son skis approx 150 days a year,so they have been well and truly hammered. They are expensive, but I think the expense is justified as they have lasted so long.
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Megamum, It's worth keeping your eye on eBay too. I bought my daughter a few pairs of decent Salomon socks (new) which lasted her 2 or 3 years.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
you could easily get away with 2 pairs for a week
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Absolutely. Call me stingy, but no way would I be prepared to take 6 pairs of socks for one small pair of feet. In fact, I'd probably take one merino pair apiece and wash them mid week (or when they got smelly). That will get them in the swing of things for when they do their gap year ski bum trip and live in one pair all season. 
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I too applaud the frugality of such a suggestion. I only take 2 pairs for myself whenever I go. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Reminds me of a BBC cameraman who could by inventive rotation use the same pair of Y fronts for several days 
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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socks in an 8 hour period approx 160 pairs...so not many 
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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CEM, Well at least we know now, that a sock is not just a sock!! I must admit I am surprised at how few pairs it is. So as a mother I am not obliged to provide offspring with a clean pair of ski socks each day? This, though surprising, is good news from the wallet perspective. I must admit to possessing 6 pairs myself with a plan to get another 2 or 3 pairs to last a longer holiday. I think its nice to put on clean socks, but hey............if we are only talking kids and re-use is fine....................when in Rome and all that - it might be worth splurging on a couple of decent pairs for them.
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Poster: A snowHead
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This year I bought 6 pairs of S&R's kids' size 12-3 for £24 which was OK for the week because I had access to a washing machine. In a hotel next year so the 6 pairs would do the youngest but loathe to buy more of that size as the oldest will be outgrowing that size by 2011 or 2012 at the latest. Does anybody know if S&R's women's size 2.5 -5 would fit a thin but tall 9 year old or would the difference in calf width mean they wouldn't stay up ?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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truffaut, I'm glad its not only me that has sock issues 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Only need two pairs of socks - whether adult or child.
Day 1: wear one pair. Evening of day one: wash it (by hand! - takes 5 mintues max) and hang to dry in bathroom/on radiator/what-have-you. Day 2, wear the other pair, whilst first pair drying. Evening of day 2: wash day two pair. Repeat as necessary.
But I admit we actually use 3 pairs in the same rotation system: it makes sure the socks are really dry before re-use.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I don't know how all these people who take 6 pairs of socks, six underlayers, a couple of jackets and an assortment of evening wear ever manage to get themselves on a plane. In the days when I did public transport I could do a week with just my boot and ski bag stuffed with stuff. AND not look too ghastly or smell too smelly, either.
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We.ve had some these - http://www.sundownsports.co.uk/SocksPerformax.htm - for son #1, and also the Salomon technical ones from TK Maxx for racing. You really don't need that many pairs - take a tube of roller-wash (from camping shops etc) with you and wash them. Worth signing up for the email newsletters from Aldi, Lidl and Tchibo too - they've all had reasonable looking kids ski socks at the appropriate time of year.
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| RobW wrote: |
Only need two pairs of socks - whether adult or child.
Day 1: wear one pair. Evening of day one: wash it (by hand! - takes 5 mintues max) and hang to dry in bathroom/on radiator/what-have-you. Day 2, wear the other pair, whilst first pair drying. Evening of day 2: wash day two pair. Repeat as necessary.
But I admit we actually use 3 pairs in the same rotation system: it makes sure the socks are really dry before re-use. |
Exactly. Hardly a major task.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Jon.L wrote: |
Megamum, Tacky Maxx are perfect for ski socks for kids. They will have decent quality (i.e. shaped rather than tube and even some thinner 'technical' socks) by Salomon/Nordica/Technica usually for five or six quid (RRP c.£15-20). We always get juniors from there, even his race socks.
As always with there, though, timing is everything! |
Yes, I bought three pairs of Lange socks from there this season (for myself so not kids sizes though), for £5 per pair.
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Thanks for all the idea folks - rather unfortunately they shut the Tacky Maxx that was in the town centre in Basildon - a place mum and I often went for a day out round the shops - my closest is now in an out of town location near Chelmsford which requires a special trip - as do Lidl (where I got some brilliant technical style socks for me) and Aldi - and it requires a trip out to Lakeside before finding a Decathlon - Oh.....the price you pay for living in the countryside Now if they all did mail order...........................different story!!!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Keep it up - I think this thread could well be the "Inner Tip Lead" contender of 2009 all we need are some dubious chemistry based assertions re foot hygiene and "weave physics".
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Open washing machine, throw in socks, thermals etc. Hit start button. Go to pub, return at bedtime, hang on clothes dryer in bathroom above heated floor. Dry by morning.
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Helen Beaumont, few of the apartments I've rented have a washing machine, though. For apartments without: take socks off after skiing, sling out on the window sill to air. Bring back in when you go to bed. Put on again in morning.
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, a washing machine is one of the luxuries I really appreciate at my place, particularly as we usually spend two weeks there. As we now come back to the uk just in time for a full weeks work the following day, it is nice not to bring back huge loads of dirty washing.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Helen Beaumont, yes, having not had a washing machine for the first few years we were here, we now have one, though it meant sacrificing one of the kitchen cupboards. My OH built a neat new one in the only possible corner, just inside the door, so I now have plenty of room. I used to save it all up and do a job lot in the laundrette in the village, but it was a pain. I love mine, too, but few rental apartments have them. But there's no way small children need a clean pair of ski socks every day.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w, I agree.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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With three kids the financial and packing problem is even worse, so I have to admit to cutting corners and giving the kids tube socks on multiple days. I'll probably be shot to flames by some of the great sporting technicians that inhabit this jungle, but I figure it doesn't matter too much for kids. First, they never seem to get sore, cold or uncomfortable feet, despite the cold. Second, because they're growing they use rental boots which never fit as snugly as personal gear. Third, because their skis are much shorter than adult skis and they weigh much less, the moment of the force applied by the ski to their foot is much lower, so a snug fit is less important.
Whatever the physics, the reality is that they have no obvious problem with cheap ill-fitting socks while I need good ones to stay happy. Even with technical socks and professionally fitted boots, I get cramp when my feet get cold; they don't. I get cold early feet first thing in the morning, particularly in Canadian temperatures; they don't. I get tender paches on my calves when I ski aggressively for a long time; they don't. I need to use careful, conscious effort to control my skis on steep, technical pitches; they blast down effortlessly.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Why pay more?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
few of the apartments I've rented have a washing machine, though
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True, but changing I think.
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