Socks aren’t always the first bit of kit you think of when looking for year-round comfort on a bike, but these thoughtfully designed motorcycling socks could become essentials.

I’ll admit, when a sexy new helmet arrives at Biker & Bike there can be a bun fight for who gets to review it. Socks designed for motorcycling, however, sees less of a rush. More fool them because having warm, dry feet in winter and cool feet in summer is one of the essentials of happy motorcycling. So the old veteran gets to review them, wise man that he is.

As the name implies, the Comodo DRYTEX® Motorcycle Series sock, available from Soxsmith, is specifically designed for motorcycling. Construction of the sock, the materials used and the performance criteria are all aligned with the sock being stuffed into a tight boot for long periods in all weathers.

The manufacturers claim the design of the sock offer shock absorption for the shin and calf, something I can’t reasonably test, but for everything else – comfort, breathability and moisture control the socks have been worn through around 1,500 miles of testing so far. I’ll also be reviewing them after six and twelve months, to see how they cope over the longer term and the stress of summer and winter (the socks have been tested over two months in Spring 2019).

Comfort

My boots are reasonably tight fitting Alpinestars SMX’s, and I usually wear just ordinary socks, the same ones I wear with shoes. So feeling the thicker material of the Comodo in the pack caused some apprehension, but actually, the fit was perfect, only marginally snug and this disappeared after the first wash.

The socks are marked left and right, indicating the construction is specifically designed for the shape of each foot. It helps keep the sock in position rather than twisting around in the boot.

 

The heel has added padding for comfort, and the only seam is a ’smooth seam’ over the toes, which has no bulk at all and so doesn’t dig into your toes. You can easily spend a whole day in the socks and not see any movement or feel any pressure points.

The sock is fairly short, sitting just above the ankle. Some riders may prefer a longer sock for warmth. Speaking of which, these socks are noticeably warmer on the feet on colder days (tested down to 2˚C).

Overall comfort: 4/5

 

Moisture control – sweat

Moisture works both ways – the sweat your feet produce and the really wet stuff that seeps in through your supposedly waterproof boots. I haven’t yet had a pair of 100% waterproof boots, so socks that can help keep your feet dry in whatever circumstances are going to be worth their £16.

Comodo state the socks’ moisture management help the feet breathe and expel moisture outwards to the surface of the boot. The socks also have an anti-bacterial element and what they call ‘effective heat balance’. On the packaging Comodo actually put numbers against the claims:

95% Antibacterial
92% Odor Reduction [sic] 86% High Performance
72% Effective Heat Balance
84% Moisture Management

Using a polyester/polypropylene mix, the combined DRYTEX® and SILTEX® materials do a very good job of keeping the surface of your foot moisture free. There is a strange sensation, though. Your foot feels like it might be a bit clammy but actually stays dry. This presumably is the Polycolon® layer, a hydrophobic material – that offers protection against water and dries very quickly.

Moisture control – water ingress

There is no claim the socks are waterproof and, miracle of miracles here in the UK, I haven’t found myself caught out in a downpour. So I can’t tell you how they’ll cope with a good sploshing.

What I did do though was a couple of home-devised water tests. The first involved soaking a towel and wrapping it tightly around my foot for 20 minutes, feeling like a bit of a plum when doing so. After the towel was unwrapped the outer layer of the sock was predictably soaked too, but the inside was a different story – not quite bone dry but certainly not as wet as the outer layer.

A second test involved a micro-fine spray, soaking the sock until the outer layer was covered then rubbing the moisture in, as your boot would do to trapped water. The result here was very curious. You can feel the fine spray of the droplets through the sock – refreshingly so on a hot day – but again the inner sock and foot were considerably drier than the outside.

Overall moisture control: 4/5

Travelling

If you are spending a few days on the road and want to keep your packing to a minimum, these socks can be worn for at least a couple of times without washing – due to the breathability, smell is kept to a minimum. As an aside, after washing, the socks also retain ‘the outdoors freshness’ of your Lenor (other fabric softeners are available), increasing their pleasantness for wild camping trips.

When not travelling, my Alpinestars always get a spray of Febreeze after every use as, with ordinary socks, the moisture sits inside the sock, warming up the bacteria that cause stinky boots quite nicely. With the Comodo socks that doesn’t happen as the moisture is taken away from the foot. So even without the Febreze, the feet pass the stink test on an away trip.

The R and L markings mentioned earlier also have the advantage of making it easier to wear the same sock on the same foot and avoid miss-shaping.

Finally, when you don’t have access to a tumble dryer but can still get a quick wash in, the socks dry quite quickly without direct heat. Maybe another sign that moisture control technology is doing its job.

Overall suitability for travel: 5/5

 

Price

The Comodo Motorcycle Series sock is towards the higher end of specialised socks, at £16.00 at the time of writing. However that price reflects the level of technology, and I have to say, having never bothered with specifically designed socks before I’m now a convert and would say these socks are worth every penny.

If less than twenty quid buys all-day-long comfort and reduces the chance of killing the family pet with a sweat-bomb every time you leave them on the bedroom floor, I’d say it’s money well spent.

Price: 5/5

Overall rating: 18/20

These socks are now an essential part of my kit. I’ll be interested to see how they perform across the hotter summer months and how they cope from a wear and tear perspective. We’ll revisit this in around six and twelve months to update you on longer-term performance.

Comodo DRYTEX® Motorcycle Socks are available from specialist sports socks retailer Soxsmith: https://www.soxsmith.com/shop/Black-Motorbike-Socks-p105637828