Ski socks for kids - tip

A snowHead

In the past we have had a few queries about decent socks for kids as generally they seem to be poor quality tube socks.

So I thought I would post that the other day I saw in Marks and Spencer kids dept thermal 'welly socks' in the boys section. Nice proper sized and foot shaped socks, stripy grey/red/blue/green. On a card hanging with the other socks saying 'Thermal welly socks' and at the bargain price of 2 pairs for £3 Very Happy

they probably have pink stripy equivalents in the girls section but I didn't look. For £3 worth a go I thought as with my son the Smartwool kids socks make him 'itch' rolling eyes

Tried in the CFe, no complaints and warm feet when he took his boots off. Worth a try for the price snowHead

A snowHead

Aldi & Ikea kids ski socks are similarly shaped - but you have to get them when they have them in stock, and I think for this year it's toooo late.

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Decathlon

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Lidl socks are perfectly good (just need to get the kids to find 2 of the same design from the 3 or 4 pairs they all have from last year!). Haven't seen any Aldi ski offers yet so hopefully some to come (and usually another round of ski stuff from Aldi and Lidl early in the new year)

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I think I have just fallen into bargain basement Snowheads Forum!

At least you tried the Smartwool ones first and after all Kids will grow out of it so fair enough!

Do adults actually buy ski kit from Lidl, Aldi and Ikea? I thought decathlon was bad enough!

After all it is free

Lidls ski socks are absolutely brilliant and well worth trying - don't be put off by the fact that don't cost £30 a pair. I've had pairs on the go for quite a few weeks skiing now and they still wash and hold up nicely - they look very similar to £30 technical socks to anyone else in the boot room who you might be sitting next to as well, even down to being L & R specific. I bet their kids socks will be as good. Lidls ski helmets always look excellent value too and and are adjustable. I also use their thermals and compression underwear (which I really miss when I take it off) - for the average 1-2 weeks a year recreational skier it is all good stuff. N.B. I'm not near any Decathlon for shopping Sad

Yep have Aldi/Lidl ski socks and they are fine, my Aldi merino thermals absolutely fantastic and feel to be far nicer fabric than the several times more expensive ones in EB and the Aldi softshell trousers I have have already survived my learning to ski in the Tamworth fridge and a week in the mountains. Not as nice as my Killy softshells but the Aldis cost £15, Killys were £40 in the Skiwear4less end of season sale but had an original ticket price 20 times the Aldi ones, better yes 20x better NO!

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point 1, decent technical socks don't cost £30..... they cost £15-£20 depending on thickness, material and brand, yes there are socks at £30 out there, but come on!!!!!!!
Point 2 left and right socks are a GIMMICK

nuff said

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Have got some £15ish ones from a proper ski shop and to be honest to me they don't seem any warmer, comfier, more supportive or otherwise different to my Aldi ones which cost aroud a fiver. CEM, point 2 agreed, frequently forget to check which foot the sock goes on and never seems to make any different!

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davkt, not arguing against that point but the socks at £30 are just an extraction of the juices

You know it makes sense.

CEM, OK, £30 may be pushing it, but even £15-£20 is a lot of cash, when I promise that the Lidl ones are absolutely excellent in comparison - I ski with someone that wears expensive Falks and to be honest I'd say my Lidls ones are as good if not better socks, and that's before you add in the relative cost!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Oh I could write for ages and I am sure CEM will agree!

It's about how the socks are made, decent socks due to the materials, production and fit cost more than £3 to even make, let alone sell for!

Single heel gore, toe seam, flex zone, materials etc etc etc.

If your £15 socks are the same as Lidl's then I would recommend another sock brand at £15.

Cheaper thermals may feel softer than Merino ones, but they have the cheapest nastiest wool that is mixed with synthtics and marketed as merino.

Also, think of the environment and the people who work in the factories to get these prices, morally it's so screwed up!!!!

I will end there, apologies for the rant, but people please...........

A snowHead

Jimmythefoot, What makes you think the Lidls socks don't have most if not all these:

A snowHead

And the merino is fine quality wise, no synthetic and huge cross european buying power lead to the low prices and look at the labels of the more expensive kit,will come from the same or similar places as the Aldi/Lidl stuff

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Jimmythefoot, I think as an industry representative you are biased in terms of protecting your industry - I am biased in terms of protecting my purse whilst obtaining prefectly decent functional and lrealtively ong lasting ski wear for my family suitably for family holidays 1-2 weeks a year. I am going to say that I'm rather good at it Toofy Grin

and for any other family out there wincing at the cost of such items I say again the Lidls items are well worth looking into - I am highly impressed with what I have from them and yes I have seen and handled the more expensive makes (- which is more than Jimmythefoot, will admit to having done with the Lidls things ), to my mind I see and feel nothing which explains the extra cost. sarah, and others looking to solve the same problem - Lidls socks and probably Aldi's are well worth buying - I started off with a couple of pairs and now have enough bought on subsequent years to not even have to worry about washing to have clean for each day on a 10 day holiday. In addition davkt, is correct, I have their merino and the fibres are great - nothing wrong with the wearing of them for punter use either. To be honest even if I had the cash I doubt I would bother buying dearer brands. I begrudge paying that much for gear when you quite clearly don't have to. Jimmythefoot, many of us don't have the cash that is necessary to protect the environment - it's not say we don't want to, but, as a single mother I have to think about priorities and that doesn't include paying over the odds to push branded ski socks into my boots where a) they won't be seen, and b) they won't the way I ski or the comfort I get.

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1-2 Ski Holidays a year can't be cheap either!

As I work in the industry perhaps I am biased, however I apply this method to any industry and I don't earn a fotune with a mortgage and wife to support.

There is a massive difference between the products and I have seen many of the products these stores offer, but no, not the exact socks in question although I have seen a picture that says it all!!!

I can see it is irrelvant as you have your rightly your own choices, however I urge anyone to do their research and part with the cash.

15 years ago this cheap nasty gear wasn't around and far east manufacturing was little, now the cheap rubbish is widely available and far east production is a bloom, children in the workplace, poor environmental practices etc etc etc. The UK is on it's knees as we have no production here as we continually hunt the next cheapest product, in all sectors.

Perhaps your cheap gear on the relitively expensive holidays give you enough comfort to cover the facts of cheap mass production.

Sarah, make your own decision based on your principles, not on un-proven and certainly false (I know as I have seen production lines and I know the manufacturing industry very well) assuptions that the cheap rubbish is the same.

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After all it is free

sarah, just google 'Lidl ski socks' I am not the only one singing their praises, 'nuff said!

davkt, Ha, ha, I was doing the same for Lidl - they don't have an all encompassing corporate policy in that way, but they don't avoid the law paid worker issues entirely, even down to having their own brand for fairtrade tea and coffee goods http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/10727.htm

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davkt,

More power to our single parent purses eh? These folks that don't need to scrimp and save all year for their one week self catering ski trip and their 'Gucci' gear don't realise how lucky they are!!

Megamum, please get off your high horse

for the record, I have skied in them, for £5 yeah they are ok, (just) but as for material grade and constructional quality i wouldn't touch them with a barge pole I knowJimmythefoot and yes he is involved in the industry and in particular socks, but all his points are solid, please don't try and argue technical points with industry experts...we will prove that a little knowledge is dangerous (hey you know that already) if you are happy with your £5 sock then fine,i am not going to tell you different as you wouldn't listen to me...what i a saying is that the construction and the quality IS NOT THE SAME as a sock costing £15-£20

davkt, all looks good on paper, i am sure nike wrote something like that a few years back...it was proven to be lies.....

please people believe this... there are different qualities of product available, you are not "just paying for a name" if you are happy with the lower grade product then that is fine, but please don't try and tell the world that they are the best thing, the only thing worth buying... and please I ask respect peoples opinions when it comes to defending their products as you try and take them apart, you know next to nothing about the ski industry , if we didn't believe that they were better we wouldn't say so, no one in this industry is out to make a million..the only way to do that is to start with 2 million

like many threads on here, I'm done rolling eyes

You know it makes sense.

just one last point

can some one please tell me the grade (in microns ) of the merino that these companies use

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

And Jimmythefoot, what leads you to believe the Chinese factory that made my Rossignol jacket is better than the Chinese factory (and knowing how China works it is quite possibly the same one!) that made my Aldi softshell ski trousers?

A snowHead

CEM, Doesn't give a micron gauge on the aldi ones (but according to this thread http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1367437&highlight=merino#1367437 neither do Icebreaker) but says Merino extrafine and has a Woolmark label.

A snowHead

CEM, this is a free to use forum - I am as entitled to post a view point as you or Jimmythefoot, are, I freely admit to being a 1-2 week a year rec. skier, your affiliation is well known and respected. I guessed that Jimmythefoot, was in the industry - it was hard not too rolling eyes

As has often been pointed out people are free to read the thread and make their own judgements based on the affliations and experience of those that are posting - if they are uncertain of this there is nothing to stop them asking. The fact that I find satisfaction in the product I choose to use and buy could well be of interest to other people in the same position. At least I didn't resort to implying corporate support of all the ills connected with cheap labour and supply by certain household supermarket names to prove my point. sarah I know you weren't looking for alternative cheap socks per se, but you had posted a tip about a solution to getting them, I thought you might be interested in the Lidls ones as to have found yours you have clearly been on a search - glad you have found a solution too. Very Happy

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davkt, there is no such grade that i am aware of as extra fine merino, having a wool mark only means it is made of stuff from sheep

merino, is a breed of sheep known for their fine wool, but only generally speaking only the first and second shearing of these sheep is used in production of high grade products, merino as used in socks and mid layer underwear is generally around 21 micron SUPER FINE GRADE merino MUST be 18 microns or finer (generally first shearing) this is what is used for high grade base layer and then finer is used for high fashion (fricking expensive) clothing.

wool is just like hair in that the fibres get thicker the more times they are cut

my best guess is that 21 micron is the best they would use (would need to check the legal status of merino wool categorization to see if it were courser but would bet is it lowers grade they can get away with)

then you have to deal with the % content.... as Jimmythefoot mentioned you need nylon as a structure, without it the merino would pretty much collapse in the first wash.... the % is key and the % next to skin is critical..... all the high grade socks teko, smartwool etc have 100% fine grade (18mircon ) merino NEXT TO SKIN their mesh is on the outside away form the foot, and have a % in the 70s to 80s of overall content

it is a while since i have studied the subject in depth but i do have a 1 hour PP presentation on wool fibres and how they work and if you wanted to expand the project to socks and generalize the subject matter to socks and not focus on the fibe make up then we have a 3 hour lecture.... believe me it is boring as hell, but i have presented it several times and sat through someone else presenting it more times than i wish to remember

wool is a fantastic fibre, it is more complex than any synthetic fibre can ever be studied under a microscope it is amazing, several layers of structure all of which assist in the transport of moisture and the elimination of odour and bacteria

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Megamum, not arguing with that point but when people ask a question all sides of the discussion need to be looked at, not just the ones that suit the individual

i have said that i have used the £5 socks from aldi, i have also said there is a notable difference between them and a proper (read more expensive if you like) technical ski sock.... who you believe is up to you, you appear not to be able to feel a difference, i most certainly can...who is wrong

oh thats right ..obviously me as i am not a single parent saving for a ski holiday

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CEM, how is the Gucci jacket?

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So are the M&S socks any good then for kids Wink

After all it is free

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