Cob Jockey

My winter riding wardrobe has been pretty well set for years at this point - and if you remember, my winter wardrobe is extra important because I have a condition that causes my hands and feet to go numb easily, and then causes me to nearly pass out when the blood comes back to them. 

Socks are always coming and going though, as socks do.  I've never been truly impressed by any winter socks I've tried (and I have tried THEM ALL), which is why I always supplement them with disposable whole-foot foot warmers if I'm riding below 30, or if I'm sitting still outside and it's below 60.

That is, until I took a flyer on these when I needed to hit a free shipping threshold a few months ago:



Guys.  These socks are my holy grail.  They are so warm, they've actually pushed back the threshold at which I need footwarmers.  They're so warm, I wear them for our 10 minute walk to our favorite bar downtown and find my feet getting warm during dinner, something that normally doesn't happen  when I wear other winter socks there.  And they're so light, I don't even notice I'm wearing them.

Why are they so good?  Alpaca fibers!  Alpaca fibers "have an advantage over wool though because of the extra hollow space in the fiber. This additional space creates a greater thermal capacity and allows for more warm air to fill the textile and provide extra warmth over its sheep’s wool counterpart....Alpaca fleece offers equivalent softness, more warmth and higher wicking properties than merino wool, and is also hypoallergenic and eco-friendly."

"Yeah what up, the superior sock producing animal here checking in"

I've been wearing them all winter, and they've washed up well and held up great.  The only thing I don't like is that they're crew socks, so they tend to slide down my legs a bit when I'm pulling breeches over them.  But, if these were knee high, they'd probably be prohibitively expensive, so there's that.  At any rate, I still love them so much I've since bought a total of six pairs for me and two pairs for gifts!

They're tough to find online - not sure if they're being discontinued, if it's just an end-of-season thing, or if most riding apparel companies just didn't pick them up - so if you are interested in trying them, jump on it!

Bottom line: These outperform wool socks, hunting socks, ski socks, shiny reflecting-your-body-heat socks, men's socks, Canadian socks and literally every other sock I've ever tried, and I'm obsessed with them.

What: AriatTek Alpaca Performance Socks
Price: $16.95 on RW or $13.95 direct from Ariat (free shipping at Ariat too)
Size/color options: RW has black/grey in XS/S (up to women's size 8) and M/L (8+), as well as navy/red in XS/S.  Ariat has beige/rose in XS/S.
Where to buy: Riding Warehouse | Ariat

A few weeks ago, I was in Grand Rapids, MI for work for the week (a fairly common occurrence) and decided use a free evening to hit the only local area tack store, Millbrook Tack.

This place is MASSIVE.  It's 20,000 square feet, and chock full of luxury English brands, as well as a gigantic western section I didn't even get into.  They had brands and items I've never seen in a tack store before - not that my area of the Midwest has that many tack stores.



I was like a kid in a candy store, but I was there on a mission for just one thing I had seen on their website: socks.

Several (four?) years ago, I bought a 3 pack of Ovation slimliner socks from a mobile tack store at a random horse show I wasn't even riding in at the Hoosier Horse Park - and I quickly couldn't live without them.  Remember when I got my half chaps they were so tight they cut off my circulation?  They're basically custom fit to my legs now, but I still can't fit much underneath them, so these socks are perfect.


When they started to wear out, people told me to try Zocks, but I just don't like that slippery, non-breathable feeling.  The Ovation slimliners have a thin cotton sock and a see-through top that's not slippery, it almost feels like cotton too.

Nope.

Others told me to try Peddies, but they're way too big for me, and I'm left with the foot part going past my ankle and the top part sticking out over my boot.  They were also far thicker than my favorite socks.  I also tried Ariat's thin boot sock, and a few other random brands.  Not even close.

Nope.

After four years of wearing three pairs of socks for every ride during the warmer months, they were definitely starting to wear.  But I couldn't find them anywhere, despite my really good Google skills!  So I continued to wear them well after they developed holes.


More holes:


So when I saw this picture on Millbrook's site:


My jaw hit the floor.  Kingsland, my favorite apparel brand (that I can't afford so I only own one item of theirs but I love it) makes virtually the same sock!  And Millbrook had them in stock!

In summary: I bought them, and they're almost the exact same as the Ovations, but even better in terms of quality and comfort.  The first chance I had to wear them was at the Indy Dressage Classic, and to Mary's credit, she didn't punch me in the face when I said, "These socks are amaaaaaaaazing!" for the seventeenth time that weekend.

Not to wax poetic too much about socks, but this is the culmination of a couple years of struggle for me: do I keep wearing holey socks, why can't I find more of these socks to buy, why don't I like any other socks as much, why am I so picky about socks.

Pros:
- Pretty much the same sock as my beloved Ovations
- Better quality fabric used on both the foot and the leg vs. the Ovations
- Probably better longevity based on fabric quality and construction
- They fit me better than the Ovations did
- Very breathable fabric
- The toe seam is on the tips of the toes instead of the top of the toes
- Price is almost 3 times what I paid for the Ovation socks ($11 for a 3-pack), but totally reasonable at $29.95 for a 3-pack

Toe seam on the tips of the toes.  This really makes a bigger difference in comfort than I thought it would.

Cons:
- I can't wear them in winter?  I really can't think of a single thing to dislike about them after riding in them for a month.  They're perfection in every way.

They had two 3-packs in stock, and I didn't feel like I could spend $60 in one sitting on socks, even on the greatest socks in the world, so I bought one...and then later bought the other 3-pack online, because I can totally spend $30 on socks twice but not $60 on socks at once.  Ha. Ha.  And hopefully rotating six pairs through instead of 3 makes them last forever.

What are your favorite socks?