Do CoolMax socks make your feet stink?
 

Seriously... I wear nothing but Peformance Brilliant CoolMax socks all day, everyday. My new shoes stink to high heaven after a very short period of time and I end up throwing them out before they wear out. Washing only helps temporarily remove the stench. Smelly feet are pretty common, but it seems mine have been pretty bad for the year and half I've worn CoolMax. I really didn't think the socks were the source til' I read a post in the womens cycling forum. Somebody asked if they noticed how bad CoolMax smells. Well do they?

I'm gonna get me some regular old socks for daily wear just to see if that helps... Anyone recommend anything particular? Wool? Cotton? Anyone?

Sincerely

Mr. Stinky Feet :D

As I recall, body odors like smelly feet are caused by bacteria, not CoolMax or any other material you're wearing.
When I was in college, my roommate was an athlete whose foot odor could have been canned as a Class V biological weapon. I tactfully suggested thorough scrubbing with PhisoDerm and liberal use of anti-bacterial foot powder. This eliminated the problem and insured a safer world. :p

Baking soda.

Wildhare,
Hmm. Well, I wear nothing but Coolmax socks for cycling, but I don't wear them all day. Do you cycle to work in them then keep them on all day, wearing the same shoes? If so, the problem is just normal exercise perspiration that is allowed to, um, "age" all day. Sorry, dude, I don't think you can blame this one on the Coomax...or the dog. :D

If you wear the same shoes every day, they may never have a chance to dry out so the bacteria just keep on keepin' on. I am downright anal about getting my stuff dried out even if I am not going to wear them again before washing. At work I hang my shorts and jersey on plastic hangers, prop my gloves open, and blot my helmet pads do remove excess perspiration. Everything is dry by the end of the day. At home, I stick my gloves on the end of a hanger I have bent to hold them. I also hang my cap on the hanger which I hang on the air conditioning intake grill. I set my shoes in front of the intake also. Nice gentle air movement and drying. Shorts and jersey on plastic hangers. By getting everything dry, I can alternate jerseys and wear them 2-4 times. They never develop a smell, and I sweat a LOT in our heat and humidity. I could re-use the shorts if I wanted to, but I usually don't. I do wind up using one pair of cycling socks and one pair of dress socks every day. But you can get a ton of Coolmax socks cheap at longscycle.com.
Ride fresh,
Rainman

Check for blue cheese between the toes.

I don't commute everyday Rainman, just a couple of times a week. I hang my stuff up to dry out when I do.

I do wear the same shoes everyday though for 10+ hours so maybe I should start alternating them on a regular basis so they can completely dry out. And yes, I wear Coolmax all day, everyday. It seems that's all the rage now though as I was looking for socks last night. Last time I looked for socks at a department store you couldn't find coolmax. Now half the socks on the shelf are coolmax...

I'm happy to report that there isn't anything even remotely resembling blue cheese anywhere near my feet... :eek:

Wow, I only see Coolmax socks at the LBS and online! I'm sure the outdoor stores have them.

Thanks, Greg, for the bleu cheese thought. Now I will have to find another favorite salad dressing. :p

I'm a big fan of wool socks and alternating shoes. Back in the Dark Ages, when I was a letter carrier with a walking route, I always wore wool and rotated through three pairs of shoes. This kept my feet happy (even in 110 degree weather) and my nose unaffected. From personal experience I tend to agree with the Swobo [RIP] blurbs that talked about the odor-avoiding properties of wool vis-a-vis synthetics; on my commutes, a jersey made of coolmax would have managed to be ripe by the time I put it back on in the afternoon, while a wool jersey would be odor-free. I expect the same holds true for socks.

Blue Cheese? How about:
C: Ah. Stilton?
O: Sorry.
C: Ementhal? Gruyere?
O: No.
C: Any Norweigan Jarlsburg, per chance.
O: No.
C: Lipta?
O: No.
C: Lancashire?
O: No.
C: White Stilton?
O: No.
C: Danish Brew?
O: No.
C: Double Goucester?
O: <pause> No.
C: Cheshire?
O: No.
C: Dorset Bluveny?
O: No.
C: Brie, Roquefort, Pol le Veq, Port Salut, Savoy Aire, Saint Paulin, Carrier
de lest, Bres Bleu, Bruson?
O: No.
C: Camenbert, perhaps?
O: Ah! We have Camenbert, yessir.
C: (suprised) You do! Excellent.
O: Yessir. It's..ah,.....it's a bit runny...
C: Oh, I like it runny.
O: Well,.. It's very runny, actually, sir.
. . . etc.

All of mine were purchased on line as well. Last night in K-mart was the first time I saw coolmax retail outside of an LBS.

K-Mart? Really? Hmm. I will have to check that out.

speaking of socks. I'm almost in love with my Smartwool socks that I just got. They're wonderful. Pure merino wool on the inside, so they're completely itchless. All the great properties of wool. Very spendy though. $15/pair.

Erm, well, all I can say is that I have a close and personal relationship with my Smartwool socks as well.:D

Well I'm happy to report that I am not the source of my recent foot odor dilema :) I switched to some regular old cotton/terry socks and all is well in the realm of footdom. After two months of intense research and analysis (sniffing shoes and socks :D ) I can now say from personal experience that synthetics are not nose friendly if worn for extended periods of time on a regular basis. I'm sure you are all excited about my smelly feet and share in my joy...

Another joyous occasion is the fact that bike forums is back up and running. Thank you so much Joe for providing us with some place to go and talk about our body odor ;) (or anything else for that matter)

Egads, Holmes! You apparently have solved the Curious Case of Serious Sock Sachet!

Now, about your chamois.....

Perleeze....lets not go there..Okay ?:rolleyes:

By the way Buddy, I like your accent (Orstrarlia?)

UncaStuart wrote: From personal experience I tend to agree with the Swobo [RIP] blurbs that talked about the odor-avoiding properties of wool vis-a-vis synthetics; on my commutes, a jersey made of coolmax would have managed to be ripe by the time I put it back on in the afternoon, while a wool jersey would be odor-free.


I've noticed this problem with synthetics and done a little reading on the subject, and it sounds as if wool is the generally the answer. But what, pray tell, does one do in a hot and humid climate like what we live with in Florida? Surely wool won't work here--any other ideas?

Ever notice how, with the wicking synthetics, the smell sort of "goes with" them? You take off your sweaty stinky jersey and you smell like a rose(well kinda). For commuters , this means be sure to carry some nice cotton to change into after the ride.

To get rid of "bike funk" in your synthetics add a cup of plain white vinegar to your wash water.

That's a really useful tip - thanks.

Ellie

My guess is that the Coolmax socks aren't making your feet stink.

It's probably your feet which are making the socks stink.

If the socks could talk (and they soon might), they would probably tell you the same.

Does the cup of vinegar leave any odor of vinegar? , I don't want to smell like fish'n'chips.... :p

IMO, one could smell like worse things than fish and chips. Much worse.;)

I vote that Coolmax picks up odors. I only wear wool socks for that reason. I do wear Coolmax T-shirts, and even though I change them daily, shower, use deoderants, etc.; they always have a slight funk. Just like some people can taste certain flavors that others can't (PTC tasting lab in jr hi science class) it may be that there is a component of funk that only some people smell. By the way, for you southerners, thin wool socks & jerseys can be quite cool.

Maybe Coolmax functions like a strainer - it wicks away perspiration, the evaporation of which leaves behind only odor-causing bacteria (and maybe salt.) Is there a potential medical use for this bacteria-filtering fabric? In a thirst-quenching emergency could you filter creek water through your socks? Any test volunteers?:D

Eddie