Drymax | Max Pro Trail Running… | 2018 | $33 | 59g
Polytetrafluoroethylene (aka PTFE) (aka aka Teflon) is the third-slipperiest solid known to man. It’s even slippery at the sub-atomic level: it’s the only known substance that a gecko cannot stick to. That’s awesome.
According to the book Fixing Your Feet (the bible of foot care for athletes), “shearing forces” (read: friction) on your feet cause the layers of skin to separate, which in turn causes blisters. That sucks.
Can we use PTFE’s ultra-low coefficient of friction to reduce blisters? Why yes, yes we can. One way would be to purchase a bunch of Engo PTFE patches and apply them to the inside of your shoe. Another would be to wear Teflon socks.
Well, not Teflon specifically. Drymax’s Max Pro line of socks are made with Lenzing Profilen, which is a PTFE fiber typically used in medicine. In addition to Drymax’s (un)usual ridiculous level of dryness, throwing PTFE into the mix makes the socks slippery, which in turns reduces the formation of blisters. Now, they’re not silly slippery – in fact, they feel just like any other sock whether you’re holding them in your hand or wearing them on your feet – but they are silly good.
I have never had a blister while wearing Drymax Max Pro socks.
When Person B and I did the Camino, for the first few weeks I was using Leukotape P on my feet with mixed results. No blisters, but it disappoints for a variety of other reasons (link to future review here). For the last week I decided to ditch tape entirely and just rely on my Drymax socks instead. A week of 25-30km days later, no blisters! Now, I did have some “hot spots”, areas that had that sort of hot friction-y feeling that you get before you get a blister. These spots looked red, but they never turned into blisters and in fact would often disappear overnight. Blister problem solved!
These are the only socks I’ll wear backpacking. They’re quite spendy as far as socks go, but if you hate blisters as much as I do then they’re worth every penny.