The Endura Pinstripe is a lightweight sock ideal for warm weather riding thanks to a thin construction and the use of Coolmax fabrics, giving great breathability at a decent price.
- Pros: Soft fabric, cool on warm days
- Cons: White material gets dirty very quickly
The Pinstripe is part of a limited edition range (we've tested the jersey and bibshorts previously) which Endura regularly updates with new colours and styles.
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The socks are made from Coolmax yarn which has plenty of stretch to it for a close fit, although it's not quite as compressive as that found on the dhb Lab and Defeet Cyclismos I've also been wearing lately.
Coolmax is described as a fast-wicking and fast-drying fabric and these socks were noticeably cool on the final few warm days of the summer before the storms arrived.
The upper part of the sock has a denser knit to keep the cuff in place and you also get a band of the same fabric mid-foot to stop the sock moving inside the shoe.
The upper foot uses a thinner mesh knit which lets air flow onto the foot via the tongue and other vent holes of your shoes.
As you'd expect, you get a reinforced toe and heel for durability.
The quality is good and my only real criticism is that the white marks quickly, although washing has left no remnants so far.
Price-wise they sit quite well with the likes of the Saikel Chevrons at a tenner or the Kalf Tall socks at £14.99 – and lots cheaper than the Neon Velos.
Verdict
Highly breathable, quick drying socks at a decent price
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Endura Pinstripe Socks
Size tested: Large / Extra Large
Tell us what the product is for
Endura says, "Part of Endura's ongoing limited edition range, the Pinstripe is a great all round sock for temperatures in the teens and above."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
From Endura:
Mix or match jersey and socks
Fast wicking, fast drying COOLMAX® yarn
Flat seam toe for comfort
High density mid foot elastic for support and stability
Single pack
Limited edition print
Funk up your feet
Plenty of stretch and the L/XL fitted my size 10 feet fine.
Pretty good: cheaper than some, more than others.
How easy is the product to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
A cool wash has managed to get the dirty marks from the white material each time, so far.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Comfortable socks for when the weather is warm.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
A good balance of price versus performance.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
They look grubby very quickly into each ride.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
Sits around the middle of the range we've tested. We've seen decent socks costing less than a tenner, with others nearing the 20 quid mark.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
They're very good socks: ideal for when the weather is warm, comfortable, and well made.
About the tester
Age: 40
I usually ride: This month's test bike My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed
Stu knocked out his first road.cc review back in 2009 and since then he's chucked the best part of seventy test bikes around the West Country, a couple of them quite literally! With three alloy and two steel bikes in his fleet he's definitely a metal man (that'll be the engineering background) but is slowly warming to that modern carbon fibre stuff along with fat tyres & disc brakes.
It's not all nostalgia though, after spending the last few years in product design Stu keeps banging on about how 3D printing is going to be the next big thing and he's a sucker for a beautiful paint job too.
1 comments
The L&R socks look a different length to me...must be the new form of sock doping.