Damp Feet

[gracefulc]

I have been chasing down a leak in the arm of my drysuit for a while now and seem to have finally found it, so now I turn to the remaining wet spot: my feet!

Seems like no matter what configuration I try, I always have damp feet at the end of the dive. Usually it's the toes, and there's enough moisture that I can see the color change on the toes of my sock from the sock being wet. I really feel like it must be from sweat as I never feel a burst of cold sea water on my feet and there's no salt crystals suggesting a leak (not to mention they never found any leaks when pressure testing my suit trying to chase down the other leak) , but when it's this cold out and I'm doing 2-3 dives a day, my toes start to HURT from being so cold, which is obviously not a good thing. SO! Has anyone found a particular sock configuration that works to reduce sweat on the feet?

I dive a USIA with attached hard boots; have the triangle things on my feet, generally have just a bit of air in my feet during the dive (enough to keep toes warm but not enough for floaty feet, although by dive 2 my toes are cool due to the moisture). I have tried 2 layers of wool socks; also I have tried nylon stockings as the base layer and a wool layer over that, and finally I have tried compression socks with a wool layer over it, as well as trying compression socks without anything over them. None of these combos seems to keep my feet from getting wet.... Ideas? I'm getting tired of having to change socks between dives...

[Maverick]

Never fear PM John Rawlings on the site and get yourself a nice warm fluffy but easy to manage (fit) into your drysuit. these are the best so try to get them before you lose a toe from the cold sweats you get. your color options are, Beautiful Blue, Jet Black, or Super yellow (kinda orange). I can't remember how much they are, but worth every penny. I am ordering a new pair soon, i want the yellow ones too

[lurch]

From what I know of wicking materials Silk, Smartwool, UA, Capaline (from patagonia), fleece, nylon (in various forms) and ragg wool all wick sweat. Smartwool fabric is designed to actually let the moisture your feet produce evaporate through the fabric. All I know is my feet used to soak my Target brand cotton socks and at the end of the day I now take off my boots and my Smartwools are less damp and dry at least four times faster. It's been years since using a ragg wool sock so I can't remember how well they did. Smartwool is leaps and bounds above ragg anyway. Capaline can start to smell but some people swear by it. I don't know if you can find it in sock form. I haven't tried Silk but the girlfriend assures me they do wick. UA and other nylon derivations are decent wicking materials. Thorlos makes a nylon sock with a high acrylic content that I've read can be a little too warm for hiking but you might find it works for diving. Fleece is a hydrophobic material so it will wick almost as well as Smartwool but the perspiration still needs to contact the material (vs. simply evaporating through it and physically wicking). Specialty weaves like PowerDry from Polartec are designed to improve fleece's inherent wicking properties. Powerstretch is also a good wicking material (from Polartec) and the warmest and best wicking fleece socks available are a denser form of powerstretch made and sold by Fourth Element (NWSD in Kenmore has them). Your best options are probably Smartwool and Polartec Powerstretch either together or one separate.

It all comes down to experimentation. Try different pairs on each foot every dive until you find a combination or single sock that works for you.

You could try one of those little packets full of moisture absorbing beads.

Also look into Gold Bond

[fmerkel]

Marine supply over at Fisherman's Terminal has a great supply of wool and synthetic sox, from thin to humongously thick. I prefer the 'rough' texture of old style wool-mayabe with a little poly thrown in. They bite the inside of the boot better and slip around a lot less. Fleece is nice, but it's slippery.

USIA shells usually dry out OK after diving. My neoprene suit from about mid-thigh down does not, even after a week of drying open in a dry, but cool, basement. I hook up an old style hair dryer (long hose) to a long vacuum wand (happens to fit perfectly) and shove it up inside the leg on Med for 10-20"/leg. You might try rigging something like that up.

Check the foot before a dive after drying a week. If it's still wet you may just be accumulating sweat. My suspicion is you have a pinhole leak or weep somewhere. I found my wife's USIA inner PVC layer (or whatever it is) developed microscopic leaks from the material breaking down after ~ 4 years. No obvious 'hole' so much as an area that kind of weeped a bit. The cure I found that worked great was to paint it with aquaseal thinned with Cotol. Clean first.
I tried patches at first. That worked well but was tedious and time consuming. The aquaseal/cotol was fast, easy, and almost invisible afterward.

The weeps were hard to find. It took a SERIOUSLY inflated suit sprayed with soapy water. Not enough inflation and it wouldn't weep. Holes didn't take so much pressure to find.

Fritz

[gracefulc]

Fritz - did you apply the Cotol first, then aquaseal, then cotol again, or did you just mix it 50/50 and apply it once? Sounds like that would be a good idea just to eliminate that as a possibility (and it can't hurt to essentially re-seal the boots right?)

I will check to be sure that the boots are dry before I head out next time... I'll see what I kind find in terms of the above suggested socks. I'll let you guys know if I find anything that works!

[fmerkel]

Cotol mixes with the aquaseal, thins it, and accelerates the cure. Basic directions on the can. Play with the mixture till you get something like thick paint for that application.

[Sockmonkey]

I'll cast another vote for smAHtwool (as they say back in Boston) as a great sock, leaky boots or not. And the soft socks on my suit do weep a tad too.

The're the only sock that keep my feet warm in the water even after standing around the sun sweating in my dry suit. I only need to wear one sock with them, not a polypro liner and a bulky wool over sock.

Sierra Trading Post usually has them on sale online. I have a few pair of the slightly cheaper REI knockoff brand that seem just as good.

I know this doesn't help your leak but it might help you be warmer as the water seeps in, like me.

-Eric

[kat]

be careful with foot powders!
i grabbed whatever was handy one day and froze my feet. (it takes a while to fully work out the powders too)
some powders have menthol or similar ingredients to them, and while this might be great for jogging, it is not so good for cold toes.
i use desenex and that one is non-minty safe :smt038