For the past couple of years New Zealand ski fields have been going through hard times. Not only missing out on mint snow conditions due to lockdowns, they have also been faced with unseasonably warm winter conditions and lack of natural snow fall. It would be an understatement to say the NZ Winter Storm of 2022 has been anything less than spectacular with many of New Zealand’s ski fields plump with snow and open for business by mid June.
Lucky for timing. This year my family and I booked our first ever family ski trip. We have been enjoying some amazing conditions at Cardrona Ski field near Wanaka.
Sitting out the rain today. Rugged up inside enjoying the mountain views as the clouds lift. I can honestly say I have been loving my many merino layers although this week’s ‘latest news’ is not about neck scarves, layers or long sleeves. Better yet, I thought I could write a little bit about my knee socks.
Being fairly new to the sport, I will not claim having much skill when it comes to skiing. I have always enjoyed being up in the mountains and more recently being up a mountain in the snow. I enjoy it even more when I have really good gear to keep me warm. This past week has been a fantastic stretch of time wearing my striped knee socks for multiple days out skiing through a range of snow and wind conditions. Every day I have been over the moon to have warm feet tucked up inside my ski boots.
Colourful stripes from top to toe these beauties were designed and knitted using a performance ski sock fit. For those who are not sure what this means, the socks are padded in the heel and toe, firm fitting around the arch and ankle, comfortable stretch around the calf, and a wide firm fitting cuff at the top. The finishing height is all the way up to the knee. Knitted using NuYarn© merino they are amazingly warm for such a smooth thin pair of socks.
Knowing that I don’t have a lengthy background in skiing… there were other reasons behind my want to make a really good pair of ‘ski socks’. A few years ago someone suggested trying ski socks for winter running and mountain biking. I found myself hooked on the freedom of wearing long socks with shorts rather than short socks with longs. That is really the long and the short of it. 😬
While in the ‘knee sock planning stages’ I spent a bit of time talking to an amazing friend of mine who lives for skiing. He happily went through every pair of ski socks in his collection and provided a break down of what made them good through to what made them great. Brilliant input to say the least. Maybe one day when he is not out on the slopes I might manage to get him to write his own review of the Yank Merino Knee Socks for me to share.
In the meantime I can conclude with my own experience:
The positives > I have now biked, hiked, run, and skied in Yank Knee Socks. Definitely happy with the end of result. The smooth thin knit is super comfortable and amazingly warm even when hitting the hills in pouring rain. They fit really well and do not slide down or move around while adventuring. The firm fitting smooth knit also makes sliding into my ski boots much easier.. and it is pretty cool having such a brilliant collection of colours pop out of my ski boots at the end of a day on the slopes.
The negatives > Really I have very little negative to say about the knee socks. Sizing is a little bit limited only being made available in 2 sizes. When the time comes to make more knee socks I will be certain to scale sizing into 3 sizes as I have done with the Performance Quarter and Performance Ankle Socks.