Socks

sasha said:
Am I the only one who wears plain cotton socks :rolleyes: ... I have the swedish army 100% wool socks that I think are the best I ever had. My problem is that my feet get way too hot. I did try to use diffrent brand of wool socks but they were just too hot for me. When going backpacking I would always carry one spare pair of wool socks in case it gets cold. Cotton socks served me well for all those years. I'm sure living in SO CALI does make some diffrence compare to living in a colder climate. Or it could be that I tend to over heat easy when moving around. I also noticed that when most people are cold and put on jackets, Im still hanging around with a t-shirt and shorts..

Sasha
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Cotton just holds moisture and sweat like nothing else.... plus they crush when wet. They used to be all that I wore.... I love me some wool or synthetics.
 
My favorites are Dahlgren Alpaca, but I like Darn Tough and Smartwool as well. I have some Columbia Alpaca and Patagonia Merino socks that are good too but I'm not sure they make them anymore. As far as wool not wicking well, I feel it does well unless deluged with moisture and some wool blends handle moisture a little better. I prefer to simply pack a spare pair of socks than wear some synthetic superhydrating techno socks. I've been down that road and went back to wool and wool blends.
 
Injini socks. I know a lot of you will refuse to wear toe socks. Here's the thing, I'm outside, on my feet, all day, year round. My feet, especially between my toes, sweat. Makes them uncomfortable in the heat, and quick to chill in the cold. The Injini toe socks have completely eliminated this problem. In the heat, I wear them stand alone. In moderate low temperature, I wear the high top wool ones. In cold, I wear the thin ones as liners under heavy wool socks. In extreme cold, I wear the high top wool ones as the liners. Best I've used!
 
Ive been through many different socks, and my feet sweat alot wearing boots all day. I have some columbia omni cools that are thin yet still cushion, darn toughs for when its colder it possibly wet, and i just grabbed some patagonias then other day that have the padded wool bottom with the thin material on top like the orthos and i love them.
 
Wool or wool blend here in cold weather. You can place a stone over each sock in a fast running stream, or any stream that moves. Leave them there over night. Hang dry or fire side dry the next day. This applies to larger garments also.
 
I have spent the past 6 years wearing costco merino wool blend socks that are under 15$ for 4 pairs.

And they compare fairly well to good pricey brands that I used to buy for hiking.
12 months a year these are worn unless I am wearing dress shoes.
Have a bit of chronic issues with athletes foot since 15 when my shoe size was my old mans and started getting his old shoes..........thanks dad.

Since wearing wool blend socks I very rarely have outbreaks and help with impact and foot fatigue . I do pest control and probably put 3 to 6km a day on boots plus hiking and fishing as often as I can.

If I am doing serious hiking/backpacking on rough terrain carrying some weight I go with the polypro liners and a heavier weight wool sock regardless of season. My feet sweat a lot so I change at lunch and tie them to the back of pack if dry to air then switch back in the evening.

My wife has grudgingly adjusted to me refusing to wear white cotton socks, I have not had a pair in 18 years even with shorts.........don't care.
 
I'm lucky in a way that my feet don't sweat much at all. I don't remember the last time I had my socks wet from sweat... But I always put clean and dry socks in the evening in camp or even better sandles or go barefoot. I found that when its cold and wet outsides I rather wear crocs or sandles this way my feet stay dry and warm.. While everyone else is commplaining of cold feet. My feet would just over heat if I use thick socks. But I'm a cold sleeper so at night camping I sleep with wool socks on to keep my feet warm.
 
In my 1st post advocating "Darn Tough" socks, I should have mentioned that I wear these socks in day-to-day use. They do see "outdoor" use, but I wear a couple different types of socks depending on which boot or shoe I'm wearing.

For instance, I also wear some hand-knit from hand-spun wool "rag wool" socks in my backpacking boots. I have several pairs (I think 7 or 8) of these handmade socks and all were bought from the "manufacturer" (an older lady I met in a village) when I lived in Bosnia. They're not soft on my feet, but I wear a liner sock under them and I'm GTG.

These socks are pretty tall - going nearly to my knee so I only wear them when it's cold, but they are functionally awesome.

Otherwise, in my climbing/mountaineering boots I only wear liners (2 pair). I bought these boots to fit snug (no thick socks) and they are really warm so my sock needs are not for thermal purposes. Wearing only liners help prevent blisters/hot-spots and they are super light and easy to clean.
 
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I got tired of chewing the heel out of my wool socks while walking in wool boot liners in the winter. I put a thin pair of nylon dress socks/ summer weight over the wool. Saves me from constantly buying pricey new wool prematurely.
 
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