Combined sock / gaiter is designed to keep loose stuff out of your trail shoes.
Inov8 Debris Sock 40 - Quick
Look
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Price:
£15
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410 grammes (pair
medium)
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Features: Combined
sock / debris gaiter, anatomically designed, made from
Merino wool. Replaceable rubber gaiter fasteners. Also
available as Debris Sock 38 made from
CoolMax.
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What's It For?
Trail shoes are great for light weight and mobility but
particularly on loose, dusty terrain, bits of stone, rock, grit and
dust tend to find their way over the cuff of the shoe meaning
periodic removal and emptying. The Debris Sock is an all-in-one
solution combining a well padded merino wool - or CoolMax - sock with
a gaiter that fastens over the cuff of the shoe, effectively sealing
the opening against loose stuff.
The Techy Bits
The sock bit of the Debris Sock is an anatomically padded merino
unit with loops stitching along the underside of the foot and heel,
though not over the top of the foot.
The really clever bit though is the gaiter which hooks onto the
laces at the front of the shoe and uses a replaceable fastener which
runs under the sole unit to hold it in place. The fasten is held by
Velcro tabs making it easy to replace or simply to don and remove the
sock.
How It Performs
We reckon dry, summer Peak District conditions will be just the
job for the Debris Sock and a quick trial outing suggests that it
works well with a good fit on some TNF running shoes effectively
keeping the crap out of the shoe over a two-hour yomp across some
loose trails.
We're a little concerned about the long-term durability of the
underfoot fastener, but it's replaceable and fine so far as long as
you position it carefully. In extremis, you could always bodge some
sort of wire-based alternative. Additionally, with some sole units,
there's no clear channel to run the fastener along, so it tends to
work better with blocky soles like the ones Inov8 themselves use.
Finally, the merino sock bits are nicely padded, albeit a bit warm
for pure summer use. The CoolMax Debris Sock 38 might be a better
option if you're a hot-footed sort of person.
There are separate gaiter units out there, but the Debris Sock
is an elegant all-in-one solution to grit ingress that's also -
because it's fabric based - very breathable too. We started off
thinking it was a bit Heath Robinson, but it does actually do the
job, though it works better with some sole units than others.
We suspect that very fine grit will still work its way through the
knit of the fabric cuff, but you won't have to deal with the larger
particles that cause real discomfort and stops. Looking good so far,
we'll carry on using them and report back.
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Keeps out gritty debris when wearing low-cut shoes and is
very breathable.
Ultra fine dust still works its way through eventually, but
it's not really an issue.
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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.
