Kalf Winter Merino Sock

The Kalf Winter Merino Sock is comfortable and warm even when the mercury drops below freezing. With generous reflectives on the back for visibility, it's hard to imagine a much better winter sock.

• Pros: Comfortable, warm, easy to get on and off, good reflective details
• Cons: None

A background in long-distance running means I'm incredibly sensitive to what I put on my feet. This isn't just about being precious – get this wrong when you're running 100 miles and you literally pay for it in blood. As a result I have become ridiculously attuned to the comfort of everything that goes near my toes. So I'm delighted to report that the Kalf socks felt snug and cosy from the moment I pulled them on. I could tell instantly that these were a Nice Place to put my feet.

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I immediately took the Kalfs out on an all-day ride. Starting before dawn and ending in the night, this ride saw temperatures ranging from -3 to +9 degrees. I wore ordinary cycling shoes with just these socks and a pair of overshoes. I won't quite say my feet were sweating during the colder and darker sections, and there were one or two moments I felt a slight chill, but my toes were never uncomfortably cold. Throughout almost all of the ride, I never thought about my feet at all – which is exactly what I'd want, and quite impressive on such a long ride in those temperatures.

A couple of days later, to see how the socks held up without overshoes, I wore them on my hour-and-a-half morning commute in temperatures down to -5°C. Once again, I had moments of being dimly aware of my feet on the very coldest sections, but I was never uncomfortable. In the showers afterwards, I didn't experience the painful sensation of the bloodflow returning to the toes that has often been genuinely excruciating after riding in with my regular winter socks. A big plus for the Kalfs there. They really did seem to be warmer than other winter socks I've worn in the past on the same commute.

> Buyer's Guide: Best clothing to keep you warm on winter rides

The reflective chevrons on the back are large and, when I shone a headlamp onto them across a dark room, appeared effective.

The socks don't seem to move around when worn. And, unlike some other cycling socks I own, this isn't achieved by making them ridiculously tight: these socks slip on and off easily, which can be a good thing when you're trying to undress with cold hands. The seams are flat and I never experienced any sort of rubbing or hot-spot, even on all-day rides.

After four or five washes the socks don't show any more signs of wear than you would expect, despite being largely made of real wool (they're 67% merino wool, 31% nylon and 2% Lycra). The reflective dots are holding up well so far too.

Overall, the Zero-Degree Merino Reflective Socks (as the packet calls them – the website calls them Winter Merino Socks) are extremely impressive. They're surprisingly warm and comfortable. If you're in the market for a pair of warm winter socks, I highly recommend you give these a go.

Verdict

Warm and comfortable even in sub-zero temperatures