2025 Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 84-90
Socks are necessary to protect feet from pressure shock and friction during walking; however, minimizing the steamy feeling experienced while wearing socks during summer is important. This study aimed to clarify the thermal performance of Socks C with a cotton-blend mesh-knitted structure, proposed as summer socks in our previous report when walking with shoes by wearing tests. Ten women in their twenties participated in these tests, which considered two types of commercially available plain-knit summer socks made primarily composed of polyester and wool as controls. Socks C contained a small amount of hygroscopic fiber owing to the thin and mesh knit, and was thus somewhat less effective at suppressing humidity. However, after taking off the shoes, the humidity within the socks recovered significantly faster than when wearing commercial socks, which occurred because the moisture permeability of Socks C was twice that of the commercial socks. In insensible perspiration simulation tests, the heat loss in Socks C was found to be 12 - 17% more than that in commercial socks during the bellows action, which is thought to occur during walking.
