SectionHiker.com Backpacking Gear Reviews and FAQs 
Rab Vapor Barrier Socks take a radically different approach to layering than what you’re probably used to. Vapor barrier clothing is not breathable and is normally worn next to the skin or over a thin wicking layer. It’s designed to prevent perspiration from wicking up through your layering system, so it’s good on multi-day trips when it is very cold and you have a limited ability to dry wet clothing. It’s very counter-intuitive, but it works surprisingly well.
The most common applications of vapor barrier clothing are in boots and winter sleeping bags, where perspiration can significantly degrade the insulation value of down or synthetic fill, particularly in cold temperatures on multi-day trips. Sleeping bag maker, Western Mountaineering, makes a vapor barrier liner called the HotSac VBL, which is used for this purpose. I used to own one and found it a bit uncomfortable, but some people swear by them.
Vapor Barrier Socks
I started wearing vapor barrier socks this winter as an experiment to see if they’d help keep my mountaineering boot liners dry on day hikes and winter backpacking trips.
For my winter boot system (see photo above), I’m using a pair of Rab Vapor Barrier Socks made of silnylon, which are seam-taped to prevent moisture from leaking out. I wear them over slippery black nylon sock liner and then cover them with an expedition wool sock from REI. Next, my foot goes into the heat-molded foam Intuition liner that came with my mountaineering boots and then into my plastic Scarpa Omegas. After the boot is on, I put on a set of Hillsound gaiters over my ankles and calves to keep snow from wetting my socks and to provide insulation for my calves.
Before I used vapor barrier socks, I’d completely soak out the liner socks, wool socks, and Intuition liners with perspiration on winter day hikes. On multi-day backpacking trips, that meant sleeping with my liners in my sleeping bag at night to keep them from freezing and to dry them out. As you can imagine, this is a somewhat unpleasant thing to do, even in a big -25 degree down sleeping bag.
But after I added vapor barrier socks to my boot layering system, the outside of the vapor barrier sock, the wool sock, and the foam Intuition liner came out of my boots bone dry at the end of a hike. It’s a pretty remarkable difference. So far, I’ve done a dozen major winter hikes using these Rab VB socks, with temperatures ranging from 10 below zero to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and I’m hooked. It’s convenient not to have to worry so much about drying my socks and liners after a hike or on an overnight trip.
Rab Vapor Barrier Socks
There’s nothing fancy about the Rab Vapor Barrier socks I’m using. They’re just made of silnylon and seam-taped to prevent moisture from escaping. They have a piece of elastic sewn in that holds the fabric flush with your leg at the shin and an additional piece of shock cord a bit higher up. Some people I know use bread bags to achieve the same effect, but I like the robustness of the VB socks, so far.
How does my foot feel inside the vapor barrier sock? It doesn’t feel wet. If anything, it feels like I’m wearing a sock that’s slightly too big over the black dress socks I use for my liner layer, but it’s not that annoying, and I quickly forget about it once I start hiking.
When I strip down after a hike, the black dress liner sock comes out of my boot slightly damp, but not soaking wet as one might expect. This has convinced me that my foot is really sweating less overall because the inside of the vapor barrier sock is so humid.
Moreover, when I pull the damp liner off my foot, the skin is not wrinkled and prune-like but looks normal. Nor do my feet smell bad, but the vapor barrier liners do pick up an unpleasant odor after a few days if not washed or rinsed out between hikes.
Warmth-wise, I haven’t noticed any difference between wearing a vapor barrier sock and hiking without one. That’s not that surprising since my mountaineering boots are rated for -30-degree temperatures and I haven’t been in that kind of weather this year.
Recommendation
Even though I’ve owned these Rab Vapor Barrier socks for a few years, this was really the first winter that I’ve started using them on a consistent basis. Honestly, they work great and I plan to continue wearing them this winter for all of my hikes and overnight trips.
If you’re interested in learning more about vapor barrier clothing and lightweight gear for mountaineering, one of the best sources I’ve read is Mark Twight’s Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, and High.
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Great article. I got my first pair of VB socks 30 years ago from Ragged Mountain Equipment back then I was concerned with my fleece-lined winter boots getting wet. Today I wear them with my alpine and x-country ski boots. I wear a liner sock then the VB Socks. I think they keep my feet warmer.
The best way to test these is to hike with a VBL sock on just one foot, and the other foot without a VBL sock. Compare the results side by side.
For multiple day trips what do you do with the damp/wet socks at night, put them in your sleeping bag? I started experimenting with the VB system last year on a trip where nighttime temps were around 0 to 5 degrees and daytime temps maxed out around 15. I found that after reaching camp and getting things set up that my feet gradually became quite cold. That was easily solved by taking off the VB and putting on thicker dry socks, but Then I didn’t know what to do with the damp VB and base layer socks. leaving them exposed caused them to freeze rather quickly. putting them inside my top layers didn’t dry them out, and I didn’t want all that extra moisture inside my bag. I used three layers inside my insulated Solomon’s: thin sock, VB, thicker Smartwool sock. Any suggestions for me?
First off, put the vbl directly over your feet, then socks over it. If you want to dry wet socks (they really shouldn’t be getting wet now), put them on your shoulders at night in the sleeping bag. Don’t want to do that, bring more socks and get to town every few days to a laundromat to dry stuff.
pull them inside out and freze dry the vapour socks out the cold wind. Make snow of the moisture.
do this often as you can to not get blisters
and also save fuel.
Remembered this article as I start getting my winter stuff together. I have reynauds plus my feet sweat . I day hike, most often in the Whites. I’ve had frostbite a couple of times despite Darn Tough’s best socks and good boots Wondering if vapor barrier socks might be worth a try. Heard anything that way?
Don’t know why you got frostbite, but I’d put my money onto really good boots before you go to vapor barrier socks. They’re primary use is to prevent perspiration from reducing the insulation value of your socks and boots by preventing sweat from retarding them. I reckon 600 gram insulated boots would be a better investment.