brasher Naturale Trail socks
Brasher Naturale Trail/Naturale Travel socks
Price: £11 to £12
Weight: not known
Colour: grey/lime; grey/pink; grey/charcoal; ecru/lilac
Fabric: bamboo viscose, nylon, Elastene, Lycra plus Coolmax polyester in Trail models
Country of manufacture: UK
Bamboo socks? Ouch!
Well, no not really. brasher’s new range of Naturale walking socks have a high proportion of viscose derived from bamboo fibres, rather than hard bits of the plant.
It’s claimed that bamboo fibres have a natural anti-bacterial property and these socks, produced in Nottingham for brasher, use these in combination with nylon and stretchy Lycra and Elastene.
The Trail models also have 30 per cent Coolmax polyester.
The men's Naturale Travel socks
The socks, both Travel and Trail, are described as two-season, and are aimed at walkers and travellers in the warmer months.
brasher supplied us with a pair of the Naturale Travel and a pair of the long version of the Naturale Trail, which are available in short, ankle and long versions, the first two costing £11 and the last £12.
The Naturale Travel socks just come in long versions retailing at £12.
Each come in women’s and men’s versions and are asymmetrical, so make sure you put on the ones marked R on the right foot and, well, you can work out where the L the other one goes.
Both are soft and well padded at the heel and ball of foot area and the area over the instep has a ‘moisture management vent’ to help keep the foot cool.
The toe seams are flat to add to the comfort.
The Trail socks have a support ankle cuff that stops slippage and rotation, while the Travel model has a thinner comfort fit cuff.
In use, both models kept feet reasonably fresh as the temperatures rose.
The Naturale Trail socks area aimed at walkers undertaking longish walks during the summer months. The lack of whiffiness after taking them off suggests they would be good for multi-day trips too.
The thinner Naturale Travel socks are designed for warmer climes and are thinner. Better for use in trail shoes or trainers, the Travel socks also have the ventilated panel on top of the foot area.
If you’re going to use them in boots, bear in mind they’re thinner so boots might need lacing more tightly.
Both models offer the kind of comfort on which brasher’s reputation has been built and, after a day’s walking, our feet felt no ill effects.
More details are on brasher’s website.
Performance 29/35
Comfort 29/35
Design 7/10
Quality 8/10
Value for money 7/10
Total score: 80/100
