Posts Tagged travel socks
Vivarati Designer Socks
Vivarati Sidebar designer socks
Dress socks can be plain and boring. As a frequent traveler, I am constantly having to remove my shoes at airport security. It’s time to spice up my feet with clever colors and designs!
Vivarati has a full line of colorful, designer socks produced with high quality and eye-catching style. The company’s motto is creating “socks for the modern man,” and these socks are both modern and hip. Vivarati believes that socks should represent boldness and confidence, and these socks certainly express personality.
They are produced with high-quality Turkish combed cotton fiber (meaning impurities have been removed from the material before use) and have a hand linked toe meaning there is no line at the bottom of the sock connecting the base to the toes giving it a snug, comfortable fit. Vivarati.com offers high resolution photos showing the vivid designs, which makes shopping for your favorite pairs a cinch. Free shipping is another benefit, and returns are happily accepted through the use of a prepaid return shipping label.
The socks are thick and comfortable with a padded base and reinforced heels. A problem I face is that my dress socks usually end up with holes because I am walking so much, but these high quality socks feel both durable and comfortable thanks to the combed cotton material. They breathe so that your feet do not become too hot, which is another thing that I find important. The material stretches for comfort and keeps them from sliding down your leg. These socks are neither too thin or too thick making them perfect for year-round use.
Designers have also given their insight on how to pair these colorful socks with various clothing styles and colors. These socks are one size fits all. My favorite design is the Rollover, which has a certain Mad Men vibe to it. The Sidebar pair is another playful combination of colors. The socks are delivered in a classy gift box wrapped in paper making an excellent impression.
Vivarati has turned a somewhat boring piece of clothing into a fun, vibrant personality statement that is sure to turn heads at work or airport security. Unfortunately, they’re hard to find at retail at this point (online or off), so you’ll need to order direct from their own site.
See more reviews of good travel socks here at Practical Travel Gear.
Posted by Ramsey in Business Gear, Travel Light on January 30th, 2012
Snoozies Fuzzy Travel Slippers
Cold feet, I have them. No matter the destination, be it Homer, Alaska, or Hana, Hawaii, I don’t ever seem to be quite warm enough. I have, for over a decade, packed wool socks and fleece slipper socks for every single trip.
I also like to have something comfortable for my feet on flights; I really prefer to be in my stockinged feet at almost all times. That’s not really appropriate on a place (or in any number of transit locations) so I stuff those same slipper socks into my carry on so I’m not wandering off to the loo in my socks. (Ewwww.)
This brings to the forefront my issue with Snoozies slippers as a travel companion. They’re fuzzy, they’re way comfortable, and they come in super wacky patterns. You can get them in kids’ sizes and they’re very light — it’s easy to find space for them in your luggage. They’ve got grippy stuff on the soles so you won’t slip on the hardwood, linoleum, some third slippery surface floors.
But the soles are fabric, so you don’t want to be wearing them in the messed up airplane lavatory where the person before you has, oh, let’s say they’ve been overzealous in their handwashing and splashed all over the place, just to keep it from being too icky. In order for these slipper to be really travel friendly, they need a sole that’s not going to act as a sponge when you step into a little over-spray. Good thing they’re machine washable.
It’s too bad they’re not more versatile because, I rather like them. They won’t work for the plane, but they’re fine for your cabin or hotel room. I’ve slept in them when it’s cold — they don’t stay on, but I didn’t really care about that.
I wouldn’t call them a travel essential — you could get the same use out of a good pair of fuzzy socks. When they’ve got a version that packs as small and is as comfortable but comes with a water resistant sole, I’ll revise my conclusions.
Want a pair for wandering around the house? They’re about 10 bucks on Amazon.
Posted by Pam in General Gear, Kids and Family on July 22nd, 2011
FUTURO Compression Socks for Air Travel
I’ve sampled compression socks for long-haul travel before, and it just wasn’t pretty. The socks were so tight, they really felt like they were cutting off circulation, and they left red welts where the bands cut into my calves. Naturally, I was skeptical when I reviewed a pair of black FUTURO Revitalizing trouser socks for women on a recent flight. However, these socks exceeded my expectations.
First, they appear like normal trouser socks. They aren’t so thick that they have that orthopedic look about them. I wore them, actually, with a pair of slinky black stretch pants and my black El Naturalista Mary Janes and I don’t think they looked silly at all. Plus, they have a stylish diamond pattern embedded into the material; again, it’s a pattern I might see in any “normal” trouser sock.
But these socks help prevent swelling of the ankles during long flights, as they improve circulation via maximum compression at the ankle, with decreasing compression up the leg. I can’t speak to the socks’ promise to help relieve symptoms of superficial spider and early varicose veins (I have neither), but I can report that these are comfortable socks. I felt good knowing the moderate compression helped my blood keep moving — thus, perhaps avoiding Deep Vein Thrombosis — on a long flight.
The heel and toe pocket, says marketing materials, help prevent “scrunching and shifting” while wearing. Indeed, these 95% nylon/5% spandex socks stayed put throughout the entire day I wore them. No smushing; no falling down.
These trouser socks come in mild and moderate compression; I had the moderate ones, and again, they worked out just fine for an entire day on the plane. The mild version might be good if you want to wear compression socks daily while on vacation. They come in sizes small, medium and large.
I found these socks for sale on Amazon.com for a reasonable $12.94.
Related post: Therafirm Core-spun Socks for Long Flights
Posted by Kara in General Gear, Travel Light on June 16th, 2011
Happy Feet in Dahlgren Socks
Socks are probably one of the most under-rated articles of travel gear. They’re so… functional. And it seems like they can’t possibly be that different between brands. But when you’ve had your feet in good socks, you feel the difference right away. Your feet are dry, for starters, and they stay warm in cold places. I packed a couple of different brands of high quality socks for my trip to Antarctica (including some by Darn Tough, reviewed here) and the alpaca winter socks from Dahlgren came out as my favorites.
Just because they’re made from alpaca doesn’t mean they’re tourist souvenirs from the Andes. These are serious sport socks for serious outdoors types — though Dahlgren does make lighter street wear socks too. I wore the Expedition and the Backpacking socks — both felt, well, fluffy, almost. They felt really great on my feet after walking all day — I wore them with rubber boots — and my feet stayed warm and dry.
Dahlgren uses an alpaca/merino wool blend in their socks. They claim that alpaca is more durable and has better insulation qualities than wool. I’ve not spent enough time in these socks to confirm or deny the claims about durability. But I did really like the fit — the socks have a very good shape — and my feet were never damp even after hours of hiking. Because my feet stayed dry, they stayed warm too, and I suffer from cold feet. The socks are cushy in the right places and I was very comfortable in them.
Dahlgren makes their sport socks in a variety of weights to accommodate different activities or conditions. My feet were happy enough in the heavy duty styles that I tried — I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up the lighter weight version for hiking and biking — the Ultra Light Trail line looks especially attractive for playing outdoors in the summer.
Search the whole range of Dahlgren socks at PlanetShoes.com, or follow these links to the Expedition or Backpacking pairs.
Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear, General Gear on May 20th, 2011
Your Toes Will Like Injinji Socks
I’ve talked before about the dizzying array of socks out there aimed at hikers, runners, skiers, and active travelers. Most of them have a hard time standing out no matter how well they are made, but these Injinji socks have a leg up on everyone—or maybe ten toes up on everyone.
Yes, these are toe socks, so the first thing they make me think about is bad TV commercials and ugly Parade ads featuring housewives with bad circulation. Put that out of your mind when looking at these though as they are performance socks, not just something to keep your toes warm. They have seamless toes, wicking blends, a compression arch support, and features that keep everything in place.
The idea behind these is that you’ll have less friction and chafing between your toes. If you’ve ever had a friend talk about all the nasty results of friction when running a marathon or competing in a triathlon, you know these could avoid some blisters and maybe save a toenail or two. They could also avoid a lot of problems on a long hike. In my using them, they fit to my toes really well and are sized to fit, with a left foot and right foot version in each package.
I’ve been using the original weight Outdoor Trail version for hikes and walking abound my hilly city. These are made with 70% Merino wool. I have liked these Injinjis a lot more than I expected I would. It’s more work putting them on than a regular pair and the feel takes some getting used to, but they are very comfortable and supportive once they’re on. No matter what shoes I’m wearing, I don’t have to worry about anything close to a blister. 
My in-house exercise nut has also been trying out the midweight Performance series socks, which are made with Coolmax (60%), nylon, and Lycra. Like me, she was skeptical but was surprised at how comfortable and supportive these were in a heavy workout. We’ve put both pairs through a dozen washing machine cycles and they are still looking like they’re new—important when the fit needs to stay consistent.
These Injinji toe socks come in multiple heights, colors (including these fun striped ones), and thicknesses, for multiple climates and levels of activity. Pick up a pair at by checking this store locator or at REI.
See more travel socks reviews.
Posted by Tim L. in Travel Light on May 12th, 2011
