Topic: The Best Hiking Socks of 2023 (Read 75 times)
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While nearly all of the best sock brands are based out of the U.S., Farm to Feet takes this to the next level by sourcing the raw materials (merino wool, nylon, and spandex) from U.S. suppliers as well. That supports American workers and businesses, and cuts the overall carbon emissions by shrinking the distance raw materials travel to Farm to Feet’s North and South Carolina manufacturing facilities.
Farm to Feet’s Damascus sock is well padded on both the top and bottom. They are made from a high-performing blend of merino wool and nylon. For our testing crew, the elastic along the upper was a hair tight on our calves (serious backpackers rarely have skinny legs), and the extra bulk from the upper padding took up a noticeable amount of space in our shoes. While this sock doesn’t quite have the versatility of the Darn Tough Light Hiker, it’s an excellent mid to late season option. When the temperatures run even colder than that, check out Farm to Feet’s Kodiak.
Trail runners need socks that can put up with abuse after abuse and still perform. The Smartwool Athlete Edition Run Mountains start with a big chunk of of merino wool (excellent for moisture management and temperature control) and then add in almost as much nylon for durability. To tackle one of the biggest failure points for running socks (the toes), these also have an extra chunk of cushioning—useful if you bang your toes on an errant root during a run. I’ve also found during testing that these socks stay in place better than anything I’ve tried. I never think about them when I’m running, which also means they’re always the pair I reach for before heading out.
The Purist turned me from a merino die-hard to a yak cashmere evangelist. Whereas wool fibers are naturally scaly, yak cashmere—the fancy term for the hair that is closest to the yak’s body—are smooth. They’re also co*pletely hollow. This traps warm air inside to warm your feet and (merino fibers are semi-hollow) stay warmer for longer.
I tested these socks on a 250-mile section of the Colorado Trail, and they kept my feet warmer than wool socks and wicked moisture equally well. The only ding was that they were showing more signs of wear than my other hiking socks (although not enough to be retired from rotation). For those looking for the performance benefits of yak cashmere with greater durability, Happy Yak makes The Adventurist, which incorporates nylon. Air drying these socks also helps improve their lifespan (which you’re doing for your on-trail hand washes anyway, right?).
The only thing keeping The Purist from taking over my sock drawer is the high price ($55 at the time of testing). For that reason, this sock usually stays in my pack until the last day of a trip. That’s when my feet need a little luxury to get through those final miles.
Feetures’ Merino 10 is one of the few no-show socks that actually stays in place on all-day adventures, without slipping under the arch or tugging on the tab. The secret here is extra spandex woven into the arch for a fitted feel that, I was happy to discover, also helped my feet feel fresher over the long haul. The merino and thin weave ensured that moisture wicked out as soon as it built up and kept one tester’s feet dry on a drizzly day in muddy conditions.
This sock has a high nylon percentage, which makes it unusually durable. It only showed slight fraying under the balls of the foot and at the toes (back of the heel looks like new) after a full season of use in the Oregon Cascade Range. The tester said that this sock was just a hair too thick to wear on blistering trail runs during the height of summer, but that their feet appreciated the padding during the rest of the year.
Keeping your feet dry during the heat of summer is one of the most important things you can do to keep blisters at bay. Usually, that means choosing a thin sock so heat isn’t trapped next to your skin. But these midweight socks buck the trend by incorporating carbon (from volcanic ash, of all things) into the knit. This sped up the natural wicking properties of the already high merino wool content—which made these some of the least smelly socks I’ve tested.
I was also impressed by this sock’s durability. One pair of 37.5s got an unfortunate first hole when a perfectly positioned stick jammed through the undersoles of a tester’s shoes during a trek through Southern California. Rather than ditch them for a new pair, they took a stroll for another 150 miles. That hole never got any bigger, so they kept the socks.
Hemp is not a traditional fiber for hiking socks, but the Venture Crew shows that maybe it’s time for that to change. On a humid overnight in Nebraska when the mercury broke 90, these socks kept the sweat away from one tester’s skin better than their merino counterparts. This is because the channels running down the fibers help move sweat away from the body unlike merino.
The texture on this sock is hard to describe. It isn’t soft—at times, it almost felt like it was exfoliating my skin—but it ranked high for co*fort co*pared to traditional wool socks and ended up as a top choice to take on a section of the Pacific Crest Trail. My only co*plaint is that trail debris tends to hang onto the cuffs on longer treks, making trail laundry more of a chore than I’d like.
