What material for a sock?

[martincline]

What lightweight, breathable material would be good for a DIY sock?

I was just about ready to start making one from ripstop nylon when I started reading these forums and someone mentioned "breathable". DOH! Yeah, it's going to need to breathe...

[Carrico]

That's kind of a catch 22, if you make it too breathable then it won't keep the wind out. So instead of using a highly breathable fabric I would suggest putting a vent in it. I have the Dutch winter sock, its made from argon 90 and has a mesh vent over were my face is. This sock works good, the only time I've ever had condensation was during last winter when we had a warm humid day followed by a cold night but even then it wasn't too bad.

[OutandBack]

What lightweight, breathable material would be good for a DIY sock?

I was just about ready to start making one from ripstop nylon when I started reading these forums and someone mentioned "breathable". DOH! Yeah, it's going to need to breathe...

Any material that has not been made or treated to be waterproof should work fine. Weight and packability can be an issue so I guess you could go too heavy so I'd keep that in mind.
My prefered material is a 1.0 or 1.1 ripstop.

[MattK]

I would go with a breathable ripstop, similar to Dutch's Winter Sock. Nice, light, and relatively breathable (compared to sil nylon, say). Then I would add vents, per Carrico's recommendation. Adding no-see-um panels along the ridgeline might be good approach, as your tarp will be blocking the wind in that location, and it will add a lot of breathability. If you are looking to retain a lot of heat, a vent on each end would probably be sufficient, if you are looking for more breathability, a continuous strip along the top might work well.

I can vouch for the Argons (90 and 67) as being wind resistant (due to the calnedaring) while still breathable. I don't have appreciable experience with anything else at this point.

[hutzelbein]

Robic XL would work nicely for a sock. It's very similar to the fabric Warbonnet is using for their socks. My impression is that it's a tad more breathable than Argon 90. Plus it doesn't have a "trash bag" side. I still love my Argon 90 UQP, though, and the Argon is a little bit lighter. I would also suggest putting vents in. A well-designed zipper entrance can also be used for venting, though.

[martincline]

Thanks everyone! I didn't know Dutch sold socks. His design is really close to what I was thinking. I don't want a zipper and I wanted a small vent. I'm thinking I'll just buy one of his when it gets cooler.


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