How Do I Choose the Right Windsock For My Needs?

February 17, 2021

So Many Socks! How Do I know Which Windsock To Choose?

If its your first time buying a windsock, it can be a bit confusing. We’ve broken down the questions you need to ask yourself so that you can make a sound decision on which is the best windsock for you. You’ll need to ask yourself a couple of questions. What do I need my windsock for? How big should it be?

Once you know this, you will know what sock to get and what size to get and you will be well on your way 😊

What Do You Want Your Windsock To Tell You?

Windsocks are designed to tell you two things. Wind direction and wind speed. You might be working at a site where you have the potential of a dangerous gas leak, such as an H2S present location and you would need to know the potential of gas leaks being carried by winds. You would look at the windsock for the wind direction. The wind is always blowing in the direction of the mouth of the sock.

At airports it is important for pilots to know wind speed. The look to see how inflated or deflated the windsock is and that will tell them at how many miles per hour or knots the wind is blowing. The direction of the mouth of the sock will tell them in what direction the wind is blowing. They, then, use that information to land safely.

If you want to know wind direction only then you could purchase a standard orange windsock or one of our custom windsocks. If, however, it’s important for you to understand windspeed in addition to wind direction, then we recommend purchasing a variegated windsock. The stripes tell you important information about the speed of winds. To learn more about wind speeds, check out this link here!

Size Matters. How Big Does Your Sock Need To Be?

Now that you know the type of windsock you want, let’s talk about size. The size of windsock you get is determined by how visible you want it to be from a certain distance. Below are some approximate distances to help you get an idea of what size of diameter might be appropriate for you.  The length of the sock itself is up to you and is a matter of preference

** Be aware of any federal or state legislations that might mandate a certain size. This is common at international airports around the world. 

Windsocks are common in lots of locations. Generally speaking if you are purchasing a sock for non-industrial purposes such as a farm, highway, firing range, zorbing site, composting site or a private small landing strip or airport then you do not need to purchase anything too large. We recommend a sock that is between 24" and 72" in length. recently a skydiving and parachuting business purchased one from us and it was 72" in length. It worked out beautifully for them and looks great in the location. 

If you are using it for an industrial purpose then we recommend you follow the chart to determine from where you wish to view it. We also recommend you check out our blog post on how high the windsock should be situated. 

I Already Have a Frame. How Do I Know Which Sock Will Fit My Frame?

If you already have a frame installed, you need to measure from the top of the windsock hoop to the bottom of the hoop and it will give you the diameter.  If you cannot access the hoop but you have the old sock and you want to calculate its size to order a replacement, simply measure the circumference of the widest opening of the sock and divide by 3.14 to give you the diameter. Once you have that, you can calculate the length by measuring from the widest opening to the narrowest opening. Easy. Peasy.

Now you are an expert on choosing out a windsock. The trick is to know what you want it to tell you and from how far away you want to see it. If you know these two things, you know exactly what you want!

We hope you found this helpful. Feel free to leave us a comment or email us at info@custom-windsocks.com to connect.

Photo by bruce mars 

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