Effect of the number, thickness and washing of socks on the thermal insulation of feet

An effective way to increase the insulation on feet is to add socks. However, the effect of adding new layers on feet has not been studied enough. There is limited data on insulation of socks and their combination with footwear. In this study 4 types of socks with different fabric thickness and 3 types of footwear were tested on a thermal foot model to study the effect of the number, thickness and washing on the thermal insulation of feet. There is a clear difference between socks with various material thickness/weight. However, when by combining different socks the same material weight is reached then the effect of layers becomes obvious. Adding a layer of thin sock to each sock type increases more noticeably the insulation of thinner socks and the difference between the insulation provided by different sock types decreases. Similar effect of layers can also observed in the case of footwear. (Less)