The Yarns of our Lives

Active Socks for Life featuring Jobst Active Wear socks with dri release and Casual Wear for bicycling, hiking, trekking, climbing, walking, running, golf and SensiFoot Diabetic Socks

Fibers Make the Yarns of our Lives

Socks are great absorbers of sweat. Our feet are the second sweatiest part of your body next to our armpits, and the 250,000 sweat glands found on each foot can generate between half a cup and a cup of perspiration per day, depending on our level of activity. Unless this moisture is wicked away, our feet will become soggy and the skin soft and damp. Mushy skin becomes damaged a lot faster than dry skin.

Our socks take extreme wear and tear from our feet. They protect our feet from blisters and all the abuse we can deal out. Thus as we don our socks each day their job is to manage moisture and keep our feet dry. Their second job is to give enough padding to keep our feet warm or cool depending on conditions and our activity.

Socks and the yarn which are used to knit them are probably one of the least contemplated issues of our time. However, if our feet are not happy, we are not happy. The right socks make us feel good. So let’s take some time to consider the yarns used to knit the socks.

Natural fibers such as wool and cotton come first to mind. Wool manages moisture well, and wicks moisture away from your feet. Wool provides good padding and warmth, and can absorb up to a third of its weight in water without feeling damp or losing much of its insulating ability. However, wool is also less durable than most synthetic materials, and does not hold its shape well. Cotton appears in a lot of less expensive socks. It absorbs more moisture than wool, loses all of its insulating ability when saturated, takes forever to dry, and will sag and bunch when wet. Socks which contain high percentages of cotton should be avoided.

Nylon and polyester are extremely durable. When a sock wears out the nylon is the last threads seen which are holding those favorite socks together. These synthetic, non-porous materials absorb very little water, dry quickly, and help give socks form and structure. Nylon and polyester themselves do not move moisture, but manufacturers apply a variety of coatings to the fibers to wick moisture away from our feet.

Polyamide is a term often seen in socks. Now first we will get the technical stuff out of the way. A polyamide is monomers joined by peptide bonds. Whew! They are the basic fiber forming substances for nylon fiber. It is probably a European term used for nylon. To make it simple when you come down to it nylon is a polyamide. Enough said.

Acrylic is another commonly used synthetic material. It closely approximates the plushness of wool, while offering the increased durability of a synthetic. Other materials used include Lycra Spandex or Elasthan, which provide the hugging elastic.

Now last, but by no means least is a patented, intimate blend of synthetic and natural fibers that accelerates the water release rate of wet fabric. Dri-Release®, from Optimer, is a micro blend performance yarn that feels like cotton, and Freshguard® odor control treatment built into the yarn. Rather than just spreading moisture across its surface, Dri-Release® actually pushes it to the outside of a garment, releasing water and perspiration. Tests show it dries four times faster than cotton and faster than any other performance fabric on the market. Dri-Release® is the preferred performance fabric for athletes all over the world. The unparalleled performance and moisture transferring qualities of Dri-Release® help these many athletes perform at the top of their game every time.

In conclusion if shopping for what many of us call support hose, compression hosiery, support socks and many other names, a garment with high contents of synthetic fibers will tend to give us longer wear, provide wicking action to remove moisture from our feet and provide ample padding. Top of this list of synthetic fibers is the new yarn from Optimar (the company was founded to develop melt spun spandex fiber technology), Dri-Release®. This new Dri-Release® is the yarn used to create the new Active Wear Socks for Men and Women from Jobst. It is the very same yarn used in socks worn in road races and triathlons by well know athletes.