The perfect socks for winter freediving

The Mares Flex Gold 50 Ultrastretch socks are made from 5mm neoprene. The interior is composed of open-cell neoprene with a gold coating. You don't need soapy water to put them on because the gold coating allows you to put the socks on comfortably when dry.

Features:

• Ultrastretch neoprene, 5mm
• Nylon-coated exterior, open-cell coated interior
• Double-sided coated, reinforced sole

The Mares Flex Gold 50 Ultrastretch socks are the best neoprene socks for winter: The interior coating allows easy on and off, preventing them from sticking to your feet. The thick material keeps your feet and toes warm and even allows for freediving in icy waters with warm feet.

Choosing the right size

Choose the neoprene socks a bit tight: If the socks are too large, folds can form in the instep area when putting them on, which become painful after a while. If your fins fit well with 1.5 or 3mm socks, you probably won't be able to wear them with these socks. If you force your foot in, it will hurt or be poorly circulated, resulting in cold, painful feet. My tip: Buy high-performance fins for the summer and the pool, and keep your plastic fins with a larger foot pocket for winter in the lake!

Tip: Pants over socks

My tip: First, put on your neoprene pants and then the neoprene socks. Fold the edge of the booties about 2cm up and pull the pants over them. The thick edge of the booties seals against the pants, and if water should get into the pants, it won't flow into the socks. Water in the socks makes your fins fit poorly and you could even lose them.

Tip: Crocs for your feet

Do not walk from the car to the entry point in your socks: First, you wear out the booties excessively, and second, your feet will quickly get cold in winter as the neoprene socks are compressed by your body weight and lose their insulation. Buy Crocs 1-2 sizes larger and you won't have cold feet anymore!

Tip: Fins for summer and winter

The thinner brother, the Mares Flex Gold 30 Ultrastretch socks, are ideal for the warm season when you want to feel free and light. For winter in the lake, however, you need the Mares Flex Gold 5mm socks, which offer more warmth and insulation. My recommendation is to choose the foot pocket of your favorite fins to fit the 3mm socks. This gives you the best power transfer and feel for training in the pool. When you switch to the 5mm socks in winter, the foot pocket of the fins may be too tight. This makes it difficult to get into the fins and take them off after the dive, especially with cold fingers and thick gloves. Alternatively, I recommend buying a second pair of fins with a larger foot pocket for lake training in the winter months. In winter, you don't dive to great depths in the lake, so a cheap pair of plastic fins, which you can also find used in my webshop, can suffice.