ArmaSkin liner socks are a premium product. They are hand made in Australia using a specially treated textile that delivers many practical care advantages to the skin.
They have a very high efficiency in preventing blisters for endurance hikers and runners as well as proving effective blister prevention for those playing active sports such as football, hockey, netball, extreme frisbee etc. In some cases debilitating skin conditions such as those exhibited by EBS sufferers can be mitigated to enable lifechanging day to day activities that most of us take for granted.
ArmaSkin has a primary focus of increasing customer satisfaction. Customer feedback is thus highly valued. Over recent years modified sizing charts, added right and left foot tags, a toe sock variant have been in response to customer input and in addition we've extended our product warranty.
Customer satisfaction is a combination of many factors in addition to the obvious one of preventing blisters. Another is the lasting power of ArmaSkin.
Each year we run a customer satisfaction survey from which we have determined the average experience is around 4-500 km wear for a pair of ArmaSkin.
While this is a very good result especially when compared with other blister prevention strategies such as tapes which are binned after each event we are keen to lengthen our customer experience.
Following is a collation of factors that cause wear of socks generally and ArmaSkin in particular and which can be moderated with often simple actions.
There are a number of factors that can affect wear rate. If one or more of these rings a bell with you, some simple actions can extend your wear rate.
1) ArmaSkin is designed to function most efficiently when complemented by a suitable outer sock. Our preferred option is a merino wool outer sock but have discussed options and this aspect in greater detail in a blog that is on our website.
2) When putting ArmaSkin on, especially for newcomers, there can be a tendency to try to pull the sock on rather than "roll" it on. Here's a link to a video for putting ArmaSkin on : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioj8rl0S2fM The tell tale sign that the ArmaSkin has been overstretched is if the wear pattern near the heel area occurs outside the two heel seams.
3) Sand, grit or stones being left in the shoe for extended periods. While it is not always possible, at breaks in the hike taking shoes off and shaking out any sand etc, will help.
4) At the end of a day's hike or as is convenient, giving the ArmaSkin a rinse in water (or even washing them in a normal wash) will remove troublesome wear causing dirt.
5) As shoes wear out there may be irregular edges, often forming on the insole. Any rough edge will be more inclined to cause wear on your outer and inner socks. Replacing an insole is often a suitable option to buying a new pair of shoes.
6) While ArmaSkin is designed with a low friction outer surface to enable it to keep skin layer shear forces to a minimum, there is no great benefit of excessive sliding in the shoe. We recognise the importance of having plenty of room inside the shoe especially to cope with natural foot swelling, but also suggest that excess sliding can be reduced by a good lacing techniques such as:
Heel lock: Surgeon's knot
7) Just as for ensuring happy feet on a hike, it is important to give close attention to toe nail maintenance. A sharp edge on a nail inside the tight fitting ArmaSkin can lead to hole development, not to mention increasing the possibility of a black toe nail.
Hopefully some of these tips will help you extend the wear and satisfaction with your ArmaSkin.
If you have any other tips or comments please let ian@armaskin.com know. We'd love to hear from you.
Happy trails!!
