Sealskinz sock sizing

[Manotea]

Thinking about getting a pair - not so much for audax but for going swimming (eh? I ride to my local open-air pool which thanks to COVID also features open-air changing. Yes, I know, well 'ard in winter though they do give us a no-sided marquee to change under. Problem is the ride out has been wet and cold there is nothing worse than putting on wet socks and shoes for the ride home).

Anyways, the sizing guide says for a EUR44 which is my regular shoe size buy a Sealskinz L but the Sealskinz heel-to-toe measurement guide says I'm a solid M.

Normally I'd go with the L but as sealskinz socks are thicker than normal I don't want to buy a L and find I cannot get my shoes on but they're also none stretchy so I don't want them too small to put on.

What to do?

[L CC]

Take a spare pair of real woollen socks.
Sealskin socks are awful.

[Kim]

Sealskinz socks are brilliant, but not for riding a bike in (unless you enjoy soggy ming feet).  What fboab said.

FWIW I'm a EUR 42 and find L in Sealskinz fit well.  I'm not in the habit of cramming them into cycling shoes, thobut - they're strictly a sandals and wet campsites solution for me.  Barakta has a set of M, and I can fit in them, but they're a bit on the snug side and I'd anticipate a rapid hole in the membrane at the end of my big toe (this seems to be their failure mode) if I walked around in them too much.

TBH, I'm not sure the size is going to make a huge difference to how easy they're going to be to cram into your shoes, the thickness isn't going to be any different.

[T42]

The elastic tops on my current Sealskinz have ambitions of reaching the bone.  I usually come home with furrows round my calves.

[Frank9755]

I'd go for the larger size as they are not at all stretchy.

I find the new ones very breathable. A problem with my other socks meant that I had to wear a pair to ride 1000km over 3.5 days in the balkans last summer and they were very comfortable.

[phantasmagoriana]

FWIW I'm a EUR 42 and find L in Sealskinz fit well. 

Same. I use them mainly for walking, and haven't tried them in cycling shoes - but I reckon M would be very tight if you're a 44.

[fuaran]

Try some neoprene socks if you want to keep your feet warm, even while damp. More effective than Seakskinz in my experience (and cheaper).
Though they are kind of bulky, so won't fit if your shoes are tight.

[chrisbainbridge]

I really like my sealskinz.  They fill that gap between thin socks and ordinary cycling shoes and woollen socks and winter boots.  When it might rain on the ride but not generally be so cold that i want to get the winter boots out.

Then when it is really winter the boots come out and i go back to thick merino and my long bib tights