Used:
Often for several days at a time in wet weather or heavy dew.

Performance:
Wearing very thick socks with plastic logos was a new experience for this cyclist. However, I adjusted immediately and then simply appreciated their benefits.

They are marketed as keeping your feet dry even in very wet conditions and I found that they did! Once or twice I was certain they had let me down but when I took them off my feet were dry just chilly from my soaking trainers.

They also provided a large degree of insulation. I am sure if I had been wearing them (I purloined my pair from Rob after this experience) the morning I stood for two hours in pelting rain watching the cheese market in Alkmaar, I would not have got so cold and taken the rest of the day to thaw out.

I particularly appreciated them around the campsite after a heavy dew but found when the temperature rose and I was back on my bike, that I needed to swap back to normal socks or overheat badly.

Also they do take an age to dry and you can't put them on a direct source of heat to speed up the process. Thus you really need two pairs, but at GBP30 a set that's out the question for most of us.

During our last trip I had permanently wet feet suffered very painful foot rot. This time I applied athlete's foot cream day and night and the combination of dry tootsies and an antifungal preparation meant I was not at all worried about baring my soles for massage when we got to Aix after three months.

Additionally, I never lost sleep due to pains caused by having damp feet - previously a problem even after a wet day ride with the Cambridge Cycling Campaign.