“Wool is warm and stays warm even when it is even wet.” At least this is the type of statement that we heard throughout high school while participating in a Lifetime Activities outdoor program. Instead of playing baseball and football as our sports; we would bike, hike, canoe, go spelunking and rock climb all around Western Pennsylvania, the East Coast and sometimes out even West.
It was often cold and sometimes damp during these activities which is why our instructors insisted on a wool wardrobe for each of us. We would use old wool button down shirts and wool Army surplus pants along with heavy calf-high wool hiking socks. These garments would certainly keep us warm, even when wet, but there was one major drawback – they were itchy!
Now 20 years have gone by since my days in high school and though I do not rock climb, canoe or go spelunking anymore, I am an avid cyclist, runner and occasional hiker. “Wool is warm” has stuck with me all of these years and though I do not don the wool shirt and pants while biking and hiking, I do grab the wool socks when the temperature is below 60 degrees. The wool socks of today are typically a blend of manmade and natural fibers reducing or even eliminating the itching that can happen while wearing a 100 percent wool garment. I usually purchase wool socks produced by the well known sock makers in the cycling industry; but this past Christmas I picked up a pair of wool running socks produced by one of the oldest sock manufacturers in the industry – one of the best “whim” purchases that I have made recently.
Trail Trax Pro is a line of cool weather running socks produced by Wigwam Mills, Inc. of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Wigwam has been manufacturing socks and other knit products in the U.S.A. since 1905. The Trail Trax Pro line of socks are a mix of 49 percent Wool Dri-release (88 percent Polyester, 12 percent Wool); 35 percent Stretch Nylon; 14 percent Merino Wool; and 2 percent Lycra Spandex. This blend of manmade and natural material is used to produce a sock that holds snug to your feet yet helps keep them warm and dry. Wigwam advertises that the “Dri-release is a patented technology utilizing an intimate engineered blend of moisture absorbing and moisture repelling fibers. The moisture absorbing fibers pull moisture through the fabric while the moisture repelling fibers push the moisture to the surface of the garment where it can evaporate quickly as airflow moves across the fabric.”
Along with the Dri-release material, Wigwam uses the 14 percent Merino wool to help keep your feet warm. Merino wool has the same characteristics as classic wool, but is much finer and softer, which reduces or eliminates the “itch” from regular wool. The other manmade fibers are used to help the Trail Trax Pro sock hold its shape, wash after wash.
Since December, I have had the chance to use these socks a number of times during inclement weather both while riding my road bike up to 7700 feet in below freezing temperatures to a late-Spring snowfall which turned out to be a mudfest on the trails. Not once have I had any discomfort to my feet due to the cold or fit while using the Trail Trax Pro socks. These socks do not offer wind protection, so I used them in conjunction with shoe toe covers while road riding, but that was not the case on the trails. Though my feet were wet from the snow and mud, they remained warm throughout the entire three hour ride.
Since these are “running” socks, they are a little thicker on the bottom. If your cycling shoes are a snug fit already, you may need to remove your insoles to use these socks. This is not uncommon for wool socks to be thicker than normal cycling socks since they also offer insulation characteristics, but it is something to consider. I found that the quarter length is a perfect height as the no-show or low cut versions can and do sometimes creep down inside the shoe. This has occurred to me while walking an un-rideable trail section and wearing no-show wool socks from another manufacturer.
Wigwam offers the Trail Trax Pro (F6038) in six colors and four uni-sex sizes. The colors are all fairly dark which is perfect especially if your activities take you into the mud. They retail for $13.99, so sock it to you.