The ultimate yarn snob compairs the performance of wool and synthetics for downhill skiing (long)

First, I freely admit that in damp conditions above ~25F, hand knit wool is
warmer than HAND KNIT synthetics.

But, yesterday, an old ski buddy and I took advantage of the recent snow
dumps for a day of glorious California skiing. On a weekday, just after a
big storm there were no lift lines, so we planned to carry extra
gear/lunches in backpacks and get a huge number of runs in. No going back
to the lodge to warm up, or refuel. The plan worked, and we got a lot of
skiing in - more than most skiers could accumulate in several weekends.

We both wore hand knit and felted ski socks. In my view, nothing is better.
Nothing else even comes close when you are wearing modern, plastic, downhill
ski boots. Knit wool socks big, wash them, and let the socks dry on the
skier's foot so that they form fit. You make a pair of socks like that for
a skier - and that skier owes you big time!

We carried down vests (and wore them on the higher slopes), nothing beats
natural down for really light weight warmth in really cold conditions.

Otherwise, everything that we actually wore was synthetic. You just can not
beat an engineered garment containing layers of nylon, Gore-Tex, polypro
(Coolmax, Themomax, PolarTec), acrylic, and polyester for really light
weight warmth. When I was packing for the trip, I pulled out a stack of
wool garments, and considered taking them. But, when I compared the warmth
for weight between the synthetics and the wool, the wool lost out. (Except
for socks!) I am an old man and can not ski with that much weight. (If I
was skiing with my wife, or the lift lines were long enough to provide more
rest time, then the additional weight of the wool would not matter.) The
point here is that the light weight of synthetics make extreme sports
possible.

I ended up being the driver on the way home, so I was pretty beat last night
and did not unpack. This morning, the synthetics were all dry, but stinky.
Nothing stinks like synthetics that have been exercised-in all day. The wool
boot socks were still damp, but they did not stink. Oh, they had a bit of a
nice lamb smell, but none of that nasty sweat stink.

Now, since it looks like rain, so I am going to put on a hand knit WOOL
sweater and walk in to town to buy a bit of produce. Nothing looks better,
or feels better than a real hand knit wool sweater. Nothing is more
pleasant to knit than natural fibers. And, that is the truth.

Aaron

Thanks for sharing, Aaron. I'm jealous of all the skiing you got in (not
going to happen soon here in the Northeast--60 and pouring all day today).
I couldn't agree w/ you more on the smelly synthetics nor on their value &
warmth for the weight. I will have to try the blocking on the foot trick
when I get around to making my first pair of felted socks. Better be warm
to do that first as my feet get cold easily and I can't imagine hanging
around w/ wet socks on during the winter (even with the "heat wave!"). How
tall did you make your felted socks?

LauraJ

wrote in message
om...
First, I freely admit that in damp conditions above ~25F, hand knit wool
is
warmer than HAND KNIT synthetics.

But, yesterday, an old ski buddy and I took advantage of the recent snow
dumps for a day of glorious California skiing. On a weekday, just after a
big storm there were no lift lines, so we planned to carry extra
gear/lunches in backpacks and get a huge number of runs in. No going back
to the lodge to warm up, or refuel. The plan worked, and we got a lot of
skiing in - more than most skiers could accumulate in several weekends.

We both wore hand knit and felted ski socks. In my view, nothing is
better.
Nothing else even comes close when you are wearing modern, plastic,
downhill
ski boots. Knit wool socks big, wash them, and let the socks dry on the
skier's foot so that they form fit. You make a pair of socks like that
for
a skier - and that skier owes you big time!

We carried down vests (and wore them on the higher slopes), nothing beats
natural down for really light weight warmth in really cold conditions.

Otherwise, everything that we actually wore was synthetic. You just can
not
beat an engineered garment containing layers of nylon, Gore-Tex, polypro
(Coolmax, Themomax, PolarTec), acrylic, and polyester for really light
weight warmth. When I was packing for the trip, I pulled out a stack of
wool garments, and considered taking them. But, when I compared the
warmth
for weight between the synthetics and the wool, the wool lost out. (Except
for socks!) I am an old man and can not ski with that much weight. (If I
was skiing with my wife, or the lift lines were long enough to provide
more
rest time, then the additional weight of the wool would not matter.) The
point here is that the light weight of synthetics make extreme sports
possible.

I ended up being the driver on the way home, so I was pretty beat last
night
and did not unpack. This morning, the synthetics were all dry, but
stinky.
Nothing stinks like synthetics that have been exercised-in all day. The
wool
boot socks were still damp, but they did not stink. Oh, they had a bit of
a
nice lamb smell, but none of that nasty sweat stink.

Now, since it looks like rain, so I am going to put on a hand knit WOOL
sweater and walk in to town to buy a bit of produce. Nothing looks
better,
or feels better than a real hand knit wool sweater. Nothing is more
pleasant to knit than natural fibers. And, that is the truth.

Aaron

Aaron,
When I ski, my feet usually sweat and then my feet freeze from the
moisture. I know that at home, our felted "clogs" keep our feet very warm.
Do you have any problems on the mountains with your felted socks? What
weight yarn do you use?

Janise

wrote in message
om...
First, I freely admit that in damp conditions above ~25F, hand knit wool
is
warmer than HAND KNIT synthetics.

But, yesterday, an old ski buddy and I took advantage of the recent snow
dumps for a day of glorious California skiing. On a weekday, just after a
big storm there were no lift lines, so we planned to carry extra
gear/lunches in backpacks and get a huge number of runs in. No going back
to the lodge to warm up, or refuel. The plan worked, and we got a lot of
skiing in - more than most skiers could accumulate in several weekends.

We both wore hand knit and felted ski socks. In my view, nothing is
better.
Nothing else even comes close when you are wearing modern, plastic,
downhill
ski boots. Knit wool socks big, wash them, and let the socks dry on the
skier's foot so that they form fit. You make a pair of socks like that
for
a skier - and that skier owes you big time!

We carried down vests (and wore them on the higher slopes), nothing beats
natural down for really light weight warmth in really cold conditions.

Otherwise, everything that we actually wore was synthetic. You just can
not
beat an engineered garment containing layers of nylon, Gore-Tex, polypro
(Coolmax, Themomax, PolarTec), acrylic, and polyester for really light
weight warmth. When I was packing for the trip, I pulled out a stack of
wool garments, and considered taking them. But, when I compared the
warmth
for weight between the synthetics and the wool, the wool lost out. (Except
for socks!) I am an old man and can not ski with that much weight. (If I
was skiing with my wife, or the lift lines were long enough to provide
more
rest time, then the additional weight of the wool would not matter.) The
point here is that the light weight of synthetics make extreme sports
possible.

I ended up being the driver on the way home, so I was pretty beat last
night
and did not unpack. This morning, the synthetics were all dry, but
stinky.
Nothing stinks like synthetics that have been exercised-in all day. The
wool
boot socks were still damp, but they did not stink. Oh, they had a bit of
a
nice lamb smell, but none of that nasty sweat stink.

Now, since it looks like rain, so I am going to put on a hand knit WOOL
sweater and walk in to town to buy a bit of produce. Nothing looks
better,
or feels better than a real hand knit wool sweater. Nothing is more
pleasant to knit than natural fibers. And, that is the truth.

Aaron

I like mine just about 1 inch above the boot, Bob likes his all
the way to the knee for maximum warmth in deep snow.

We use a hair dryer to dry the sock on the foot, but sitting in front of a
warm fire works if you have a cup of cocoa (or stronger beverage.)
A.

"Laura J" wrote in message
news:kBXFd.2972$av2.2724@trndny02...
Thanks for sharing, Aaron. I'm jealous of all the skiing you got in (not
going to happen soon here in the Northeast--60 and pouring all day today).
I couldn't agree w/ you more on the smelly synthetics nor on their value &
warmth for the weight. I will have to try the blocking on the foot trick
when I get around to making my first pair of felted socks. Better be warm
to do that first as my feet get cold easily and I can't imagine hanging
around w/ wet socks on during the winter (even with the "heat wave!").
How
tall did you make your felted socks?

LauraJ

wrote in message
om...
First, I freely admit that in damp conditions above ~25F, hand knit wool
is
warmer than HAND KNIT synthetics.

But, yesterday, an old ski buddy and I took advantage of the recent snow
dumps for a day of glorious California skiing. On a weekday, just after
a
big storm there were no lift lines, so we planned to carry extra
gear/lunches in backpacks and get a huge number of runs in. No going
back
to the lodge to warm up, or refuel. The plan worked, and we got a lot
of
skiing in - more than most skiers could accumulate in several weekends.

We both wore hand knit and felted ski socks. In my view, nothing is
better.
Nothing else even comes close when you are wearing modern, plastic,
downhill
ski boots. Knit wool socks big, wash them, and let the socks dry on the
skier's foot so that they form fit. You make a pair of socks like that
for
a skier - and that skier owes you big time!

We carried down vests (and wore them on the higher slopes), nothing
beats
natural down for really light weight warmth in really cold conditions.

Otherwise, everything that we actually wore was synthetic. You just can
not
beat an engineered garment containing layers of nylon, Gore-Tex,
polypro
(Coolmax, Themomax, PolarTec), acrylic, and polyester for really light
weight warmth. When I was packing for the trip, I pulled out a stack
of
wool garments, and considered taking them. But, when I compared the
warmth
for weight between the synthetics and the wool, the wool lost out.
(Except
for socks!) I am an old man and can not ski with that much weight. (If
I
was skiing with my wife, or the lift lines were long enough to provide
more
rest time, then the additional weight of the wool would not matter.)
The
point here is that the light weight of synthetics make extreme sports
possible.

I ended up being the driver on the way home, so I was pretty beat last
night
and did not unpack. This morning, the synthetics were all dry, but
stinky.
Nothing stinks like synthetics that have been exercised-in all day. The
wool
boot socks were still damp, but they did not stink. Oh, they had a bit
of
a
nice lamb smell, but none of that nasty sweat stink.

Now, since it looks like rain, so I am going to put on a hand knit WOOL
sweater and walk in to town to buy a bit of produce. Nothing looks
better,
or feels better than a real hand knit wool sweater. Nothing is more
pleasant to knit than natural fibers. And, that is the truth.

Aaron

PS, It helps to mark them Right and Left.
A.
wrote in message
om...
I like mine just about 1 inch above the boot, Bob likes his all
the way to the knee for maximum warmth in deep snow.

We use a hair dryer to dry the sock on the foot, but sitting in front of a
warm fire works if you have a cup of cocoa (or stronger beverage.)
A.

"Laura J" wrote in message
news:kBXFd.2972$av2.2724@trndny02...
Thanks for sharing, Aaron. I'm jealous of all the skiing you got in
(not
going to happen soon here in the Northeast--60 and pouring all day
today).
I couldn't agree w/ you more on the smelly synthetics nor on their value
&
warmth for the weight. I will have to try the blocking on the foot
trick
when I get around to making my first pair of felted socks. Better be
warm
to do that first as my feet get cold easily and I can't imagine hanging
around w/ wet socks on during the winter (even with the "heat wave!").
How
tall did you make your felted socks?

LauraJ

wrote in message
om...
First, I freely admit that in damp conditions above ~25F, hand knit
wool
is
warmer than HAND KNIT synthetics.

But, yesterday, an old ski buddy and I took advantage of the recent
snow
dumps for a day of glorious California skiing. On a weekday, just
after
a
big storm there were no lift lines, so we planned to carry extra
gear/lunches in backpacks and get a huge number of runs in. No going
back
to the lodge to warm up, or refuel. The plan worked, and we got a lot
of
skiing in - more than most skiers could accumulate in several
weekends.

We both wore hand knit and felted ski socks. In my view, nothing is
better.
Nothing else even comes close when you are wearing modern, plastic,
downhill
ski boots. Knit wool socks big, wash them, and let the socks dry on
the
skier's foot so that they form fit. You make a pair of socks like
that
for
a skier - and that skier owes you big time!

We carried down vests (and wore them on the higher slopes), nothing
beats
natural down for really light weight warmth in really cold conditions.

Otherwise, everything that we actually wore was synthetic. You just
can
not
beat an engineered garment containing layers of nylon, Gore-Tex,
polypro
(Coolmax, Themomax, PolarTec), acrylic, and polyester for really light
weight warmth. When I was packing for the trip, I pulled out a stack
of
wool garments, and considered taking them. But, when I compared the
warmth
for weight between the synthetics and the wool, the wool lost out.
(Except
for socks!) I am an old man and can not ski with that much weight.
(If
I
was skiing with my wife, or the lift lines were long enough to provide
more
rest time, then the additional weight of the wool would not matter.)
The
point here is that the light weight of synthetics make extreme sports
possible.

I ended up being the driver on the way home, so I was pretty beat last
night
and did not unpack. This morning, the synthetics were all dry, but
stinky.
Nothing stinks like synthetics that have been exercised-in all day.
The
wool
boot socks were still damp, but they did not stink. Oh, they had a
bit
of
a
nice lamb smell, but none of that nasty sweat stink.

Now, since it looks like rain, so I am going to put on a hand knit
WOOL
sweater and walk in to town to buy a bit of produce. Nothing looks
better,
or feels better than a real hand knit wool sweater. Nothing is more
pleasant to knit than natural fibers. And, that is the truth.

Aaron

wrote in message
om...
I like mine just about 1 inch above the boot, Bob likes his all
the way to the knee for maximum warmth in deep snow.

We use a hair dryer to dry the sock on the foot, but sitting in front of a
warm fire works if you have a cup of cocoa (or stronger beverage.)
A.

It sounds great. I'm jealous... I've been a skier for years, but wrecked up
my knee last winter and have a bad feeling my days of long ski runs and ski
weeks are over. If I was going to continue, I'd probably try your felted
sock idea.

My all time fave ski area is Lake Louise - the most beautiful ski area,
hands down. Next would be Sun Peaks, since they have hotels right on the
mountain. You can fall out the front door and on to the lifts.

Happy skiing!

Shelagh

AAron ,,,,, [ why not the proper Aharon ???, Aaron makes you into a
Closet in Hebrew !!!]
thank you for this neat description , manmade threads are man made
threats for my body ,, i barely can wear nylon stockings ,,,, and only
of one kind ,,,,
mirjam

My Jewish Grandfather picked the name, but my Pentacostal Grandmother
demanded the spelling that is in the King James translation of the Christian
Bible.

Sorry about your allergies to synthetic fibers. The wife a friend had
allergies to many plastics - the principle symptom was cerebral edema
(swelling of the brain) which made her real grouchy. Any exposure to
plastics turned her into a real bitch. She went to all kinds of doctors,
none of whom could diagnose her mood swings. To make a long story short,
her regular OB-GNY doctor finally diagnosed the problem. Now, she lives in
a little cabin in the backwoods of Maine with no plastics what-so-ever in
the house. She is back to being her sweet self. A car ride into town is a
big deal for her. When was the last time you saw a car that was not mostly
plastic on the inside? She really can't go into a supermarket. When was
the last time you saw a doctors office that was not full of plastic? It is
a very tough life. Fortunately, her husband makes a very good living as an
antiques dealer.


Aaron




"Mirjam Bruck-Cohen" wrote in message
...
AAron ,,,,, [ why not the proper Aharon ???, Aaron makes you into a
Closet in Hebrew !!!]
thank you for this neat description , manmade threads are man made
threats for my body ,, i barely can wear nylon stockings ,,,, and only
of one kind ,,,,
mirjam

In article ,
wrote:

My Jewish Grandfather picked the name, but my Pentacostal Grandmother
demanded the spelling that is in the King James translation of the Christian
Bible.

Sorry about your allergies to synthetic fibers. The wife a friend had
allergies to many plastics - the principle symptom was cerebral edema
(swelling of the brain) which made her real grouchy. Any exposure to
plastics turned her into a real bitch. She went to all kinds of doctors,
none of whom could diagnose her mood swings. To make a long story short,
her regular OB-GNY doctor finally diagnosed the problem. Now, she lives in
a little cabin in the backwoods of Maine with no plastics what-so-ever in
the house. She is back to being her sweet self. A car ride into town is a
big deal for her. When was the last time you saw a car that was not mostly
plastic on the inside? She really can't go into a supermarket. When was
the last time you saw a doctors office that was not full of plastic? It is
a very tough life. Fortunately, her husband makes a very good living as an
antiques dealer.


Aaron

That must be hard for her. It may sound like a joke but what about an old
fashioned horse and buggy. If the land was flat, a bicyble would work as
well. I know though, living half way up a mountain that the last is not
very practical.

Allergies can be hard to trace, and are sometimes difficult to live with.
All the best for your friend. Indeed we do use way to much plastic, I see
it when we fill up our recycle bin (all plastics here are recycled) It is
amazing how fast the bin fills up in a day.

Even though knitting weaving and spinning with wool does not give me
problems, now way I can wear it, it is way to itchy for me. I stick to
cotton, linen, rayon and other man made fibers. Great though that there
are lots of choices to work with aaron and Mirjam

Els

--
hate spam not welcome

Thank you Aharon /Aaron for this explantion .
I can [ and have] to accept that the Tanach =Bible was translated into
other languages , sometimes with a `slight` difference , but i am
sorry esp about misspellings and mispronouncings of names ,, as every
one of them has a Linguistic meaning .. which gets lost by those
missspellings ,,,


My Jewish Grandfather picked the name, but my Pentacostal Grandmother
demanded the spelling that is in the King James translation of the Christian
Bible.
My Allergies `only` Hurt me , i scratch and get red spots and big
blown up patches , and some bone and muscle pains ... and it doesn`t
make grouchy , only watch -out a lot for waht i touch . eat etc.....
mirjam