I spent ten days hiking the canyons of southern Utah wearing Merrell hiking boots and SmartWool socks. Best decision I made!

I'll wear a blend, or poly socks in the winter. Summer, noting but cotton.

Good socks, you're going to pay for them. But it's worth it.
I had a pack from Carhartt, and they were excellent. Took me years to wear them out.

I grabbed a pack from Duluth Trading about a month ago, and so far, so good.

Check out the Wigwam Ultimax Cool Lite Hikers

https://www.wigwam.com/product....aspx?productid=2385

Darn Tough have been darn tough, I’ve got 4 pair and wear them at least once a week in steel toe boots. Yes, they were $20 a pair but have a lifetime warranty if I recall correctly. I’ve had one pair for a couple years and they are going strong still.

Amazon has Kirkland Signature Outdoor Trail men’s Merino wool socks, 72% Merino wool, 27% nylon, 1% spandex at $20.99 for a 4 pack right now and they’re great for the money.

Get some Smartwool socks on sale at any number of sites for about 1/2 retail if you shop around.

Good information and links here. I need some new socks.

Guns.....watches.....socks.

Welcome to the rabbit hole:

https://www.gobros.com/

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
Im looking for some new lightweight boot socks. I stopped in the local Red Wing shoes to see what they had. The employee showed me some cotton socks and I said I thought cotton was bad. She told me cotton is more breathable and the poly blends can be hotter since they are a form of plastic.

I did some web searching and im finding conflicting info. It seems the smart wool socks are by far the best but I cant bring myself to pay $20+ for a pair of socks.

I really recommend you try the Smartwool socks. You'll be amazed how great they are AND how long they last. Look for deals. I think I've gotten them in 3-fors before. Mind you, I'm referring to running socks. They are SO good. Life's little luxuries.

I have some issues with my feet and lower legs from diabetes so I switched to smartwool phd ski socks because they come up just below my knee. That limits the cutting off of circulation, it also means my socks don't constantly need to be pulled up and though they aren't real compression socks, they do add some compression support.

I buy them on clearance from rei for 12-14 dollars per pair. They last a good long while and my podiatrist says its one of the best decisions I've ever made and he has mentioned that he recommends them to other patients after seeing me with them.

You just can't wear them with shorts.

If you look into them, make sure you get the right ones, medium weight and ultra light/ light slope styles, I think are the ones I buy. The others have extra padding in shin and other area's which are probably good for ski and boot wear, but not so much for daily.

Im going to buy a pair of the wool socks and see how they go. I really should be looking at this like I did with the Duluth Trading underwear. I thought no way in hell am I spending $20 on a pair of undies. Needless to say I have a entire drawer full now.

quote:

Originally posted by Strambo:
I've been infantry my whole life and lately been doing a lot of running (like, training for 100mi ultra type running) so I know a bit about blister prevention and socks.

For everyday wear and gym workouts as stated above, cotton athletic socks are just fine and it is what I mostly wear.

For my training runs I go with running socks that are poly blend, I'm sure they are all different and I don't really care, it doesn't seem to matter.

For really long runs (we are talking over 20 miles), I do a thin polypro sock against my skin, then an outer sock based on the conditions. Smartwool for wet and/or cold, regular running sock for anything else. The thin polypro layer wicks moisture and provides friction protection, the 2 socks rub on each other. Longest race I've done so far is 50mi in mountainous terrain, 12hrs on my feet. Only got a tiny blister under my R big toe, not an issue and I blame the small toe box of my shoe not the sock system above.

For serious hiking/marching same as above; thin polypro base sock with an issue wool (or smart wool) outer sock. In a pinch a poly blend thin dress sock or borrowing your wife's calf length pantyhose would work as a base layer.

Smartwool is expensive, but I only own 1 pair of them currently as I rarely need them.

This is all spot on in my experience as well. Except for the running part. Fuck that.

I'm a Darn Tough fan. They make them in various thicknesses for different activities. They will eventually wear out, but I've always felt I have gotten my money's worth and then some for each pair I bought, so I've never taken them up on their warranty. I've got 3-4 pair of the same color for work that I rotate constantly and they always last well over a year if not two. By wearing out, they will eventually get thin compared to new, but I've never had one develop a hole in the heel or toes before I replace them. My dog likes to steal one once in a while and shred it too, but that's hardly the manufacturer's fault.

I finally broke down and bought two pair of Darn Tough socks this spring to take turkey hunting. (yes the options are a bit overwwhelming and don't mean much just to read them) I like them alright, but so far they haven't sold me on buying more.


My embarrassingly guilty pleasure when it comes to socks are toe socks. Though I very rarely wear them, I love them. When I know I'm going to be walking a lot (like spring turkey, or working a USPSA area match, or if I may be wearing them a lot longer than I really should, I put them on. Cuts way down on blisters. My feet also stay much dryer and "cleaner'. I've had a time or two due to odd circumstance where I knew I'd end up wearing them for several days straight. I did with pretty much no issue. If I did that with regular socks, my socks, feet and shoes would be a nasty mess.

I have a couple regular weight ones, and some thin liner ones to wear under other socks. If they didn't cost what they do, and weren't such a pain in the ass to put on , I'd wear nothing else.

I'll pile on...

Since I've been 18, I've worn boots for 50-80 hours/week.

I started in cotton socks, not knowing any different. In 2009 or so I bought some wool blend socks from Sams. They were Ok.

In 2010ish I bought a pair of Smartwools. I was poor, single income of $40,000 for a 4 person household. $18 for a pair of socks was insane.

Fast forward a decade, I wear Smartwool medium weight hikers 365 days a year (ok, minus a few lazy days in flip-flops).

Winter or summer, they keep my feet happy. Boots, shoes, dress shoes, whatever (though I'll wear some short smartwools when I'm wearing shorts on an off-day). 20 degrees or 100 degrees.

Earlier this year I was over a massive intersection during some event and it was about 35 degrees and downpouring. Just miserable. One of the officers helping with traffic at the intersection was wearing cotton socks and they were soaked. Mine weren't very dry, but I felt bad for the kid when he was so cold he actually asked if I had any extra socks (of all the "extra" crap I carry around, until then I didn't keep a pair of socks in my bag--just in my locker).


I would not work a shift without my wool socks. Now I've got probably 20 pair. Every one of my work "sets" (SMWool socks [purchased after recommendation of SF], 5.11 undershirt, Ex Officio underwear [also purchased after recommendation of SF]) gets put together and rolled into a roll. Wouldn't work without any of it, and I keep an extra roll at work, and (now) an extra pair of socks in my bag.

No cotton socks. They hold water. Wool, wool blends with poly, or good poly.

Smart Wool socks are worth the price of admission. I just got back from a week’s vacation in Canada, Northern Ontario; put a lot of kilometers on my feet, mostly clad in SmartWool socks and New Balance light hiking boots. From uphill jaunts to see waterfalls at Superior Provincial Park to hiking the perimeter of the island at Tidewater Provincial Park, to schutping my pack (grossly overloaded with the family camping equipment) around Moose Factory island, that combination served me well.
I’m going to have to figure out how to post pictures, because it was that awesome.
I went to the gravesites of Bill Barilko in Cochrane and Stompin Tom in Erin, if that means anything to our Canadian members... moments of dignity and respect.

If you have an REI store reasonably close stop in and try several different ones out.

About as wide a selection as you are likely to find. I buy REI brand medium or light weight hiker for work boots. They wear like iron typically, and after a few months you will be a merino wool evangelist.