Sock Problems

Sock Problems

Get ready for an epic review of socks, walking socks to be precise. Ooo I can hear the excitement from here at my desk as I type. Actually it's not so much a review but a blurb! Not the most grabbing of subjects and one that I didn't think I'd be blogging about but there we go.

Socks. Bridgedale socks to be precise. Soft, springy, comfortable socks that I fell in love with a while ago now. These socks have made my running more bouncy, and my long distance walking infinitely more bearable, especially with a hike across Devon that I did last year where I only suffered minor blisters due to these lovely, well made, wonderful foot pouches. Those were the Trekkers that I wore at the time.

So, why did I have a moan about Bridgedale Socks on Twitter a while ago then and ask my fellow photographers and walkers about other brands? Well, because unfortunately the Summit type of Bridgedales caused me to end up with a huge blister the size of the moon (I kid you not) on my right foot nine miles into a fourteen mile walk. Ok, so, maybe it wasn't the size of the moon, just from one side of my foot to the other, covering the whole ball from the base of the toes to almost half way down the foot. Now that's a pretty epic sized blister really isn't it. Needless to say the bloody thing was excruciatingly painful and I nearly had to chop my foot off. Well I did get my penknife out and have to burst the bugger simply to give some sort of relief from the ridiculous pain, it really was that bad. At the point of burstage I still had another two miles to do before making it home, and there was no way the other half could reach me in my hour of need due to the location, and the fact that he was finishing up at work. So, with a branch lodged between my teeth, swigging brandy from a bottle, and going at the pace of a tortoise, I hobbled home using the side of my foot to relieve pressure on the fluid ridden skin bag whilst developing blisters on the other foot too and having to give the biggun a poke with the penknife another couple of times en route. Happy days! I did find one bonus to the old style Summits, they made great fluid mops!!

After getting home, discarding the branch and brandy and reporting my big, brave, tough, adventure of endurance to my other half who had since got home and was being very sympathetic by offering me a much needed cup of tea and mopping my fevered brow, I decided that I would take up the tweeting, not for any other reason than to seek advice and alternative recommendations on socks by a number of acquaintances. This tweeting resulted in Jim, the Product Manager from Bridgedale themselves, seeing my woes and suggesting that I might like to contact him via email to have a chat about this a little further. So that's exactly what I did, and what a pleasant chap Jim was too. He was extremely helpful in explaining the different types of walking socks and came to the conclusion that I probably had the wool, old style Summits and that might be what had caused the issue. He very kindly offered me a pair of the new Explorer Heavyweight Performance Merino to try (which are the old Summits rebranded), and didn't even bat an eye when I went off on a tangent with a moan about why the womens socks were shorter in the leg and that I couldn't stand pink and was fed up with outdoor companies thinking us girls live in pink......we don't! So, I took Jim up on his kind offer of trying out the Explorers and within a few days they'd arrived in the post ready for my little tootsies to be eased into them. 

I have now worn these Merino toe bags of fluffiness a million times since they landed, they're not pink but blue/green (big bonus points Bridgedale), they fit like an absolute glove, they're super warm but without being sweaty, they are ridiculously comfortable (if you could have pillows on your feet these would be that), and I'm very happy to report that as yet I have not suffered with even one minor blister let alone a moon sized one since using these beauties, and I can assure you that there have been many many Dartmoor miles racked up in them. Oh, and they're longer in the leg too which is marvellous! 

Bridgedale you have restored my faith in your super walking socks thank you, I am more than happy to once again recommend them to anyone and everyone, even as bed socks because they'd be great as those too being so snuggly. And Jim, you're a credit to the company with your super customer service skills and general helpfulness, many thanks to you also.

Go buy Bridgedales.........they rock! I will be increasing my stock without a doubt.

To find your own pair of exceptional Bridgedale socks please visit their website here at www.bridgedale.com