REVIEW: Korkers 3.5 mm I-Drain Wading Socks

I-Drain Neoprene Guard Sock, 3.5MM

Korkers is a client of ours through Blogs for Brands and they sent us some of their new wading socks for review. All opinions here are our own. These are the perfect solution for paddlers who portaledge in poison ivy or snake-infested areas, and anglers who wet wade in similar conditions, which is basically me, 2-3 times a week in small creeks in Arkansas.

Design/Aesthetics (4) ★★★★

Straight out of the package, you can see that the 3.5 mm wading socks are lighter and thinner than most wader booties. They’re sleek black and the stitching runs on the outsides of your foot whereas some bootie socks have stitching in the middle. The Korkers logo goes on the outsides which in my opinion looks pretty sharp and they have a foldable flap that either keeps rocks out of your boots when folded down, or protects your legs against poison ivy when folded up. Either way, they look good but hey – they’re wader socks. You can’t see half of it anyway.

My only qualm is the 3.5 MM version is still thinner than the booties on my Redington waders making the boots a little loose. I could see the 2.5 MM version being even thinner. 

Functionality (5) ★★★★★

The i-Drain Socks are unique in two ways. First, they drain near instantaneously. Second is the sleeve that folds upwards or downwards. My buddy and I hiked maybe 100 yards total and he ended up with a giant tick and several rocks in his wading boots which is the ultimate pain in the ass when wet wading because you have to untie your boots and take them off to get rocks out. He also got swamp foot after getting out of the water. Me on the other hand, no rocks, no ticks, no swamp foot. The sleeve that flips up also covers most of my calf protecting me against poison ivy. At one point a little cottonmouth snake swam toward me which got me thinking of someone who is portaledging a kayak through brush. Most likely you won’t see a snake and the flap gives some protection on your legs but also the option to flip it down to keep rocks out when in the water.

Durability (5) ★★★★★

Durability is interesting when it comes to draining booties because by design, they leak. These particular socks are backed by one of the best warranties out there in the fly fishing space, Korkers’ Rock Solid Guarantee, which is a no-nonsense lifetime warranty for manufacturer errors. But again, I just can’t see a scenario where a wader sock that is meant to drain would need warrantying.

Value (4) ★★★★

At $34.99, these socks are on the higher end of the wading sock category but as far as we could tell, no one else makes a drainable wading sock with the rock guard feature. Orvis makes a similarly designed and similarly priced foldable sock that keeps debris out, but they don’t drain. Anyone looking for a foldable flap with drainage (which should be everyone wet wading in the summer), these are one of your only options making them an excellent value.