Toe Shoes, Barefoot or Minimalist Shoes, and Vibram FiveFingers Reviews, News, Forums | Birthday Shoes - Latest Comments on Swiss Protection Socks Review

Ruslan [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Ruslan [Visitor] — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:07:51 +0000

Here's my story. Being early adopter of everything cool, I ordered my pair online. I was looking forward to getting this pair and use it for all cool things they advertise it: hiking, rock climbing, etc.

Was very excited to get the parcel by mail and when opened - my excitement started to fade. There was a huge red disclaimer note attached to the packaging:

SPS is suitable for:
- “Outdoor on soft ground"
- Track across the fields, sandy paths, forest paths, sandy beach, gardens
- Water sports, board sports, swimming (protecting from cuts caused by shells, corals, stones)

SPS is not suitable for:
- Tarmac roads, paths with sharp obstacles, rocky paths to a limited extent
- Water sports where there are sea urchins (not sting-proof)
- As no sole, not suitable as footwear for lengthy walking and hiking with abrasive movement
- For reasons of liability law, we request that you comply with this specification.
- Not suitable for Surf- or Windsurf- Boards with rough “sanded “ surface with abrasion like asphalt
Special note
The Swiss Protection Sock is made using a knitted fabric where the principal yarn is one of the most resistant materials: Kevlar.But as with all knitted fabrics (stockings, pullover, wool socks etc) the knitting loops are extremely sensitive against pullout if you get caught on any even small hooking object. When you move away from such object the loop may be ruptured. Even one ruptured loop will open a hole at neighbour loops.We can not give any liability for such holes occurring in the use of the Swiss protection Sock.

It wasn't suitable for any of the cool advertised uses! Hm... I said to myself, but was still eager to try them on. Owing a few of vibram five fingers I was familiar with all aspects of sliding foot and adjusting fingers. Moment after trying to slide my foot into the sock, top part of the sock with the PLUS sign detached from the sock (it was sewed) and that's when my excitement disappeared. In addition the fabric didn't seem to hugely differ from wool/cotton, by slightly rubbing your finger against it (not even a nail) it would start to fluff and turn to lint.

My experience in dealing with the company. Wrote them following letter:

"Hello,

I'm writing today because I received my pair of socks today and was excited to put them on. As I tried to put the first one on the top part completely snapped at the seam. See the picture attached. Coupled with your warning notice attached to the package regarding you not guaranteeing that walking in this sock will not damage it, which was given to me AFTER the fact doesn't really make me very confident in your product. In fact it makes me very upset.

I'm waiting to hear back from you on your proposal for the resolution"

EXACTLY a week later... nobody replied. So I put together a follow up:

"It has been a week since I sent you a complaint and no one has bothered to reply. "

I received a reply next day:

"it seems you first eMail was not delivered, we are always replying within a maximum of 48 hours.
Anyway, if there is a technical issue on our side, please excuse this.

The problem that occurred is not your fault, we will send you a new Swiss Protection Sock as replacement,
from a new production which will be delivered in around 4 weeks. Currently we are sold out.

We hope that you are patient over this period of time, you can be sure to receive a replacement, a fully
functional Swiss Protection Sock, where this issue will of course not occur anymore."

Next day I received another reply:

"our CEO Dr. Dieter Hesch replied to your mail last Saturday. Please see the attached E-Mail message. Maybe there was a typo in the email address.

However we are still investigating in this matter and will come back to you as soon as we have received a statement of the manufacturer. We ask you to be patient and assure we will clarify the problem to your satisfaction. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Kind regards,"

The attached email was of the following nature:

"thank you for sending us your complaint which I take very seriously.

You got your Sock from the recent production which arrived recently. I hope that there will not be a general defect in this new production but at the moment this is unknown to me.

So maybe I reimburse you until we have more experience.

But be assured that in all former productions we had not that problem =
and no complaints from our huge number of customer.

Concerning the warning you mention, this does not say that you should not walk with the sock, this must be a misunderstanding at your site?

Anyway sorry for any inconvenience and best regards

DRDH"

I went on and replied:

"Mr Hesch,

This clearly wasn't sent to the right address, it was sent to ..... and this address doesn't exist and was never mentioned anywhere. I do however appreciate the reply and would accept the offer to get refunded at this point until more information and reviews become available on the outcomes of walking in those socks. As I mentioned before all your disclaimers go against the advertised uses of this sock, while you show you can climb and walk and hike, you immediately say that if you catch a loop along the way, you are not responsible and I consider this ridiculous. So let's do a refund at this point.

Thanks,"

The CEO's conclusive reply was:

"Good morning,

I have advised the management to refund you.

I am sorry for this issue but please understand that we do not want to have further correspondence with clients who behave like you do.
So please do not send messages, they will not be answered anymore and go to Spam.

Regards

DRDH"

A week later, still no refund.

You make your own decision...

Marcel [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Marcel [Visitor] — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:57:17 +0000

If you wear the socks in soft sand, do the sand grains get inside the socks? I am thinking of using them for hikes on the beach away from the water.

Kasper Lund [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Kasper Lund [Visitor] — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:18:49 +0000

I am wondering the excact same thing as Allan Speers. Hopefully someone that has used them for some months can write a little bit about the durability :)

Allan Speers [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Allan Speers [Visitor] — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:31:05 +0000

I haven't tried them yet.

My big concern is durability, and I can find no reports about this online. At roughly $80 a pair, I can't afford to be replacing them every few months.

The material is only 50% Kevlar, probably not even ballistic Kevlar, and the soles are not Kevlar at all! Isn't that where you'd actually want it?

So, are there any durability benchmarks? how many miles, typically before the soles wear out?

Also,are these resistant to being cut by broken glass? not all Kevlar is.

Also: can these be washed multiple times? The manufacturer of Kevlar states that it can't be washed more than 10-12 times before it starts to wear or lose its properties. So ?

CitizenJosh [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

CitizenJosh [Visitor] — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 15:07:03 +0000

I rate the Swiss Protection Socks a "meh" at best after months of using them.

http://citizenjosh.com/avocation/19-fitness/49-swiss-protection-socks.html

Steven Rau [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Steven Rau [Visitor] — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:24:19 +0000

I just got my pair today. I put them on after the kids were asleep. I don't normally run at night, but putting these on reminded me of the first time I put on a pair of VFFs -- I just really wanted to go run. I didn't do a particularly long run, but I was quickly convinced. These are the natural next step in the barefoot trend. I love how in my well-worn KSOs that I can curl my toes with ease. With the Swiss Protection Socks, it's absolutely second nature.

I will put these to the test in a 5k race in two weeks. So far, they have indeed exceeded my expectations.

What remains to be seen is how long they will last.

Noah [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Noah [Visitor] — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:54:39 +0000

These dound like awesome socks - if a little bit unbelievable. If i could wear them w vffs sure but otherwise i wouldnt spend my money on them. If imma go on a rocky, muddy trail then imma put on my vffs and not have to worry about washing them... But still, this is an amazing concept an discovery of sorts.

Lis [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Lis [Visitor] — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:12:40 +0000

Why is there no size for 40/41?

Steven Rau [Visitor] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Steven Rau [Visitor] — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 17:43:19 +0000

FYI -- When you place an order from their web site & state the US as your delivery address, it removes the 19% VAT (value added tax) that a European customer would have to pay. Thus, the cost of a pair was, for me, €61,58 EUR, which is $80.67 as of today.

I wish they had the ankle-length available in men's sizes, but. . . well, I just had to get a pair of these. Can't wait to run a 5k in what looks like cotton socks.

Robert [Member] in response to: Swiss Protection Socks Review

Robert [Member] — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:53:43 +0000

It all comes down to personal preference on the design. I prefer a higher rise in my socks. I actually would not mind if these were a little taller. I actually don't like no-show or ankle socks. I think they look and feel weird. It all just depends on what you like in design and what feels comfortable for you.

I don't climb stuff anymore. I did not give that aspect a try. They do seem to be rather secure. I would imagine they would do a pretty decent job. The toe pockets help keep everything in place more then a single toed sock would.