Quick answer
Buy waterproof socks (from about £20) if you want to keep wearing shoes you already own and love: they turn mesh trainers into wet-weather footwear, protect higher up the ankle than any low shoe membrane, and move between every pair you own. Buy waterproof trainers (from about £60) if you want dry feet with zero thought every day: nothing to remember, normal socks, and better breathability than a membrane sock. The depth maths favours socks (a trainer membrane stops at the collar; a mid-length sock protects far higher), the convenience maths favours trainers, and for winter hiking the honest answer is both, with the sock cuff covering the shoe's one weakness.
Our pick: SEALSKINZ Wretham (Ankle, Bamboo)
Here is a question nobody selling you shoes will ask: do you actually need waterproof trainers, or do you need waterproof feet? They are not the same purchase. One is £60 to £145 of footwear with a membrane bonded inside it; the other is £20 to £40 of sock that makes any footwear waterproof, including the disgracefully comfortable mesh trainers you already own. We review waterproof trainers in depth and we have just done the same for waterproof socks, which puts us in the rare position of answering the versus question honestly: each wins different lives, and winter hikers have a strong case for both.
The decision in one table
| Waterproof trainers | Waterproof socks | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | £60 to £145 | £20 to £40 a pair |
| Protects to | The shoe collar (below the ankle) | Mid-calf or higher, depending on length |
| Works with | That one pair of shoes | Every shoe you own |
| Feel | Normal socks, normal shoe feel | Slightly thicker, more structured sock |
| Breathability | Better (membrane has a whole shoe to breathe through) | More limited; feet run warmer |
| When soaked over the top | Dries in a day or more | Sock swaps for a dry pair in seconds |
| Daily convenience | Zero thought, always on | Must remember to put them on |
| Failure point | Water over the low collar | Water over the cuff (higher up) |
The case for waterproof socks
They waterproof the shoes you actually like. This is the killer argument. The best-fitting, best-cushioned, most breathable shoe in your rotation is probably not waterproof, and a pair of Sealskinz Wretham or DexShell Ultralite makes it so for £20-odd. The commuter in mesh trainers, the runner whose shoes drain beautifully, the dog walker in battered everyday shoes: all solved without changing footwear.
They protect higher. A trainer's membrane ends at the collar, below your ankle bone, and our Salomon Aero Blaze review says what every honest low-shoe review says: step deeper than the collar and water comes in over the top. A mid-length waterproof sock raises that waterline by several inches; a knee-length one like the DexShell Knee High raises it to welly territory. For puddled towpaths, flooded gateways and long wet grass, the sock's protection ceiling is simply higher.
One purchase covers everything. Socks move between trainers, trail shoes and boots. A membrane shoe waterproofs exactly one pair.
The honest costs: they are a thing you must remember to wear; they feel slightly thicker than normal socks (choose thin models for snug shoes); feet run warmer in them; and in sustained rain you want trousers overlapping the cuff, because the cuff is their one way in. The full honest picture, sweat, washing, lifespan, is in the waterproof socks guide.
The case for waterproof trainers
Zero cognitive load. The shoe is always waterproof. No checking the forecast, no special socks in the drawer, no decisions at 6:45am. For the daily default shoe of someone who lives somewhere wet, which is everyone in Britain, that effortlessness is worth real money.
Normal socks, better breathability. A GORE-TEX shoe breathes through its whole upper while you wear whatever socks you like, including the thinnest summer pairs. Waterproof socks concentrate the membrane around your foot, which is why they run warmer: fine in November, less fine in May.
Underfoot wet is their home ground. Persistent surface wet, soaked grass, mud, drizzle-all-day paths, is exactly what a membrane shoe handles for hours with zero thought. Our best waterproof trainers guide ranks the current field, with the adidas Terrex Anylander proving the entry price is only about £60.
The honest costs: a soaked-over-the-top waterproof shoe is the slowest-drying object in your hallway, the membrane adds a little warmth and weight year-round whether you need it or not, and the protection stops at the collar forever; no sock swap can raise it.
The case for both: the winter system
For winter hiking, the belt-and-braces answer is genuinely the best one. The shoe's membrane handles the ground-level wet; the sock's membrane covers the shoe's one weakness, the over-the-collar moment in the flooded gateway or the misjudged stream, and raises the system's waterline to mid-calf. And if the worst happens anyway, you swap the socks and walk on dry; the wet shoe no longer matters to your skin. Cold-weather models like the merino-lined Sealskinz Starston add insulation a trainer never will, which is how a pair of low GORE-TEX trainers stays viable on winter fells long after conventional wisdom says boots.
Pairing note from both sock brands' own sizing guidance: waterproof socks are more structured than normal socks, so in a snug trainer choose the thin models (the Wretham or DexShell's Ultra Thin) or consider the shoe a half-size up if you are between sizes anyway.
Four real scenarios, answered
The commuter whose mesh trainers soak through: waterproof socks, no contest. £20 fixes the exact shoes you like walking in. (This is the single most-asked version of this question, and the answer never changes.)
The dog walker, twice a day, every weather: either works; the honest tiebreak is temperament. If you want never to think about it, waterproof trainers as your default outdoor shoe. If your walking shoes rotate, socks like the quarter-crew Ultralite in whatever is by the door, and the women's guide covers the wellies-alternative case in full.
The winter walker and hiker: both, as above. Trainer or boot handles the ground, sock raises the waterline and adds warmth.
The runner in winter: socks, in your normal fast-draining shoes. A waterproof running shoe fights how running shoes are designed to work; a thin waterproof sock (DexShell's running models run Coolmax linings with a compression fit) keeps rain and splash off while the shoe does its job. Honest caveat from the sweat section of the pillar: at hard effort the inside will be damp from you; in winter that trade is still worth making, because damp and warm beats soaked and freezing.