Bridgedale Summit Socks Tested |  |  |
|
Bridgedale Summit Sock
Tested
|
|
|
Price:
£12.99
|
|
Weight: 280 grammes (pair size
42-44)
|
|
Features: Winter
mountaineering sock using WoolFusion - New Wool (47%) Nylon
(34%) Isolfil® (18%) Lycra® (1%) - zonal padding in
strategic areas,
|
|
Warm, durable, good wicking.
A little thick for non-winter use, no women's-specific
version.
|
The Concept Socks aren't generally regarded as sexy, but
they're pretty damn important and a poor-fitting one can ruin your
day. Socks need to absorb lots of moisture - your feet pump it out -
without becoming uncomfortable, wick that moisture outwards. They
also need to cushion the parts of your foot which take the most
friction punishment, thinks forefeet, ball and heel areas .
The Summit is Bridgedale's all-round winter sock, so it also needs
to be warm enough to be used for, say, winter mountain walking,
mountaineering and ice climbing.
 Features
Socks may not be sexy, but they have tough job. Your feet can
literally pump out half a pint of liquid over the course of the day.
If the sock can't deal with that, your feet will get damp, the skin
will soften and swell, losing its tear resistance, and there's a good
chance you'll get painful, disabling blisters.
Bridgedale use a cunning system called WoolFusion to help their
socks both wick and absorb moisture. Wool is great at soaking up
liquid without feeling cold, but isn't a great wicking fabric. To
improve wicking, Bridgedale wrap a twist of wicking Isofile fibre
around new wool which helps to transport moisture outwards and away
from the skin.
Heels and toes are also protected by another WoolFusion technology
which wraps the wool in Nylon in these areas to increase wear
resistance. There's padding in high friction areas too for comfort
and stretch lycra-based panels designed to give a closer fit at the
ankle and mid-foot.
|
In Action We've been using a pair of the latest Summits,
that's them in the pictures, for the last couple of months. But
that's only half the story - we've had three pairs of Summits on the
go since 1999 and they're still going strong.
 They've
been used at over 6000 metres in the Andes, for trekking through snow
under Everest., for Scottish winter mountaineering, for general
walking and on alpine ice falls and they've never let us down. In
fact they've become our default winter sock choice.
Quite simply, they get on with doing the job. Internal loopstick
padding makes them instantly comfortable, they're warm, manage
moisture brilliantly and are amazingly hardwearing with it. Mostly
you don't even notice they're there, which is what you want really.
Even when things get damp and nasty - think water over the cuff of
the boot - they've always managed to keep comfort levels
bearable.
Cushioning seems great as well. Stiff-soled winter boots are tough
on feet, but we've rarely blistered wearing these socks thanks to the
combination of moisture management and effective padding. Wear? Like
we said, they're still going strong after six winters of regular use.
Get technology right and you shouldn't even notice it's there
and that's what we reckon Bridgedale has done with the Summit.
You can talk about WoolFusion and fabric technology for as long as
you like, but what really matters is that the Summits handle
moisture, minimise the effects of the trashing your feet get in
winter, keep you warm and comfortable and just keep coming back for
more. The best winter socks we've used and good value even at over 12
quid because they last.
|
Performance
|
|
|
Value
|
|
|
Pushed for time
Best winter socks we've ever used and that's after six
years worth of trashing. Comfortable, manage moisture,
cushioned and durable. Look no further.
|
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this
product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
the world. If you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our
gear
forum.
|
| | Want to send this article to a friend? Please join here | | |
| | Comment on this in our forum: |
| | Read member reviews:
| | Related articles:
 | TEKO Launches Kids Socks For 2009
Eco-friendly sock brand announces kids outdoors socks with adult features and build quality.
| |  | Bridgedale X-Hale Trailhead Tested
We've been hammering two pairs of Bridgedale's fast-moving socks for a year, how did they do?
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
Unusual four-legged friends, green lighting, the rights and wrongs of photoshop, and more ...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
This week in the gallery it's all about water - frozen or flowing, liquid or vapour, fresh or salt, pouring downwards or rising upwards, we've got it all...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
Enjoy the last week's photos, taken with all those fancy new digital cameras, tripods, gorillapods, super zooms, and other bits and bobs that Santa delivered on his rounds ...
| |  | Photo of the Month - December's Winners
Amidst the excitement of warm waterproof pressies and fitness-focused New Year's resolutions, another month's photo competition came to an end on OM...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
Forget the November blues - in this week's gallery round-up we head to Nepal, along the West Highland Way, and even to Skye - in the sunshine:-)
| |  | October's Photo Of The Month Winner
You've seen the witches' hats, the skeletons, the bedsheet ghosts, and the trick-or-treaters - now it's time reveal October's Photo of the Month winner, along with all the rest of the week's best pics.
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
This week's fly-by viewing of the gallery is something of a world tour. Seven stops, five countries, four continents - hold on tight...
| |  | Photo of the Month Winner
The burning issue: did Martin Edwards' photo of wild camping catch up with Neil Higgins' Buttermere pic in time to bag some comfy new Bridgedale socks. Who needs politics, eh?:-)
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
Stop press - this week in the gallery, the Dolomites, the Lakes, and the isle of Arran all pale into insignificance beside the new Weird Darren buff design, coming soon to an outdoors site near you:-)
| |  | Who Took Home The Tevas?
A bunch of OM members will shortly be wandering around with free Tevas on their feet. Find out who won the Terra Fi sandals and the Haglofs Tight Evo rucksack, along with all the rest of our competition news...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
This week's gallery round-up introduces some fauna that aren't either white or woolly, and sets the mathematical challenge of counting Alpine peaks on a very very clear day ...
| |  | Loads Of Prizes Up For Grabs
Our competition page is overflowing with freebies, including a Haglofs Tight Evo rucksack, five Cicerone guides, a weekend for two in Austria, and of course some good old Bridgedale Trekker socks...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
This week's gallery round-up has a very Pyrenean theme - much like the home page - but there's also a fairly strong sheep influence. Why not help us compile the ultimate album of sheep photos on OM?:-)
| |  | Bridgedale's Secret Socks Scooped
Merino wool and socks catering specifically for fast and light footwear are on the 2007 agenda for sock meisters Bridgedale we can reveal :-)
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
In this week's virtual world tour we're busy climbing the High Atlas mountains, and crawling around underneath glaciers, with a gentle stroll around the lakes to finish with...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
See OM Everest summiteer's photos from the top of the planet in this week's gallery round up, and keep on top of the 'photo of the month' competition as well.
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
This week's gallery round-up includes a scattering of ice, for anyone suffering withdrawal symptoms, and plenty of sunny hillsides. Also, find out who's ahead in the 'photo of the month' competition...
| |  | The Weekly Gallery Round-Up
Catch up on the last week's top images in the OUTDOORSmagic gallery, this time with a very Hebridean flavour ...
| |  | New 'Photo Of The Month' Competition
With so many fantastic shots of the mountains in the OM gallery, we've decided it's time for a new photo of the month competition. Get snapping and win some Bridgedale socks.
| |  | Buyers' Guide - Socks
You simply won't notice the right pair, but the wrong choice can ruin a great day in the hills. We check out the humble walking sock and tell you what to watch out for when buying.
| |  | More Merino, Yum...
Vara merino wool socks from New Zealand are appearing in the UK thanks to Chocolate Fish and so far we're very impressed, in fact, we're a little bit in love with them...
| |  | SmartWool Gets Faster...
SmartWool has launched a range of four new merino wool socks aimed at fast-moving outdoors types looking for a shorter, more compact option than their traditional walking socks.
| |  | Non-Pong Silver Summer Sock From Brasher
Summer foot odour could be a thing of the past with Brasher's new silver-fibred sock. Then again, summer seems to be a thing of the past too...
| |  | Ronhill Blisterguard Sock
Holy burning socks Batman! The best running socks we've ever used and they better had be at ten quid apiece. Hot stuff... (groan)
| |
| |
|
Offers, Competitions and Promotions
|
