A safety boot is a specially developed product designed to give the foot protection, comfort, warmth and support. But we believe you should expect the same from your socks – after all, they’re in direct contact with your skin.
In this blog, we're going to tell you what kind of socks you should consider wearing with safety footwear, and how they can complement your boots to optimise safety and maintain good foot health.
When in safety boots, your work sock should:
Work socks can be very effective in protecting your feet from the cold – but when we say ‘feet,’ we don’t just mean toes. Working outdoors in windy, wintry weather can also cause cold ankles and calves, so a thick and long pair of socks can provide an effective solution and leave you to focus on the job, not the cold.
Socks with a high wool content are great at keeping feet warm, due to wool’s naturally insulating properties. Find out how else to combat the cold in this blog.
A sock with no-rub seams will minimise chaffing. No-rub seams are the result of a circular knit, which gives the end of the sock a flatter and less prominent seamline, which means less potential for irritation of the foot. (and the wearer!)
Why not take a look at our ESOK6 navy work socks? (pictured) Their no-rub seams are made for total comfort.
We’ve covered the cold weather - but what about in the summer? Sweaty feet are more vulnerable to blistering as the skin becomes softer when wet. To keep feet cool, particularly in hot weather, your sock should wick sweat away from the foot.
A sock made with loop pile stitching will wick moisture away effectively, because its small fibre loops act like a towel to absorb sweat and provide air circulation and heat dispersal, keeping feet dry in warmer conditions.
For durability and comfort, a sock with a reinforced toe and heel (such as the ESOK8S work sock, pictured) will reduce friction and pressure whilst remaining hard-wearing. After all, we protect our feet with toecaps and protect our boots with scuff caps - why not give our feet the same treatment?
The most common materials used in socks are cotton, wool and polyester. Let’s look at the V12 sock range, what they're made of - and why you might chose one over the other.
COTTON: THE VSOK5S WORK SOCK
Using luxury yarns, natural fibres and made with loop pile technology, VSOK5S elevates comfort and warmth to the maximum, because its high cotton content means the material is both soft and dense, creating a luxuriously thick work sock which is also heavy duty and hard-wearing.
Socks rubbing or chaffing? Not an issue with the VSOK5s thanks to its no-rub toe seams, and with its reinforced heel and toe, VSOK5S offers strength and durability.
Perfect for wearers who:
WOOL: THE ESOK6 AND ESOK8 WORK SOCK
This means a wool sock like our ESOK6 and ESOK8S (pictured) won't absorb or 'hold' as much water, which makes it more comfortable to wear if exposed to moisture.
SYNTHETIC MATERIAL
It’s a popular opinion that socks made of synthetics like polyester aren’t as effective or kind to feet because they’re not natural materials. However, most sock material such as wool and cotton contain a degree of synthetic elements to make them more resilient and less likely to develop holes after wear.
So now you know what you’re looking for in a sock, to take your foot health and comfort to a whole new level, head to our range now.