Good Socks?

I confess that I know little about socks other than the basics. I look at socks at stores that aren't cotton for "hunting or hiking" and then I look at the pricing and really don't have a good grasp of how to choose. For hunting and hiking, I wear two pairs of socks; one wicking (silk like) and another either wool in the winter or cotton in the summer. Yeah, I know, nobody likes cotton. I am going to look up some of the smart wool and Darn Tough brands to compare with what I already have. These brands or types mean little to me.

To me in terms of your feet staying tolerably warm in the winter when you are say standing or in a stand hunting, is the fit of your boots or shoes. If your thick wool socks result in your feet being cramped and stuffed into your hunting boots, your feet will get cold. The shoe or boot needs to be sized properly for the approximate thickness of the socks you generally wear. I think this is far more important than the socks you choose.
 
i bought a three pack of omni wool brand at sam's club. i use them for fall/winter hikes, and ice fishing. they are not too thick or too thin. reasonable priced. my feet being cold seems to be due to the type of boot im wearing more than the socks.

+1^

I use Smartwools as my kinda throw-away socks anymore (i don't buy new ones, the old ones i have are all threadbare and serve as light-duty when i wear shoes in the summer - a rare occasion). Thorlo and DarnTough are way ahead of any other brands i've used in any category that matters.
 
Smartwool have been both the warmest and longest lasting, so far. I bought several pairs of Wigwams four years ago and I have been disappointed with them. They were all heavy weight with one pair medium and in the highest percentage of wool they offer. Quick wearing, not warm, and seam failure has been my experience with them. I am going to try Filson but the price is brutal at well over $30 for their heavy weight. I have used Thorlo but not DTs.
 
I liked the Wigwams I had, as well as the Fox River brand ones I think both were made in the US, so if thats a thing you look for. Like has been mentioned, the main thing I find is getting enough room in the boots to keep the socks fully lofted, if you have tight boots, no amount of insulation will keep enough heat in, if the blood can't get there. I had the most trouble with this while wearing safety toe boots in the north. Try opening up your laces in the stand, or at least try to keep your feet moving/flexing a bit. Hot packs should be a last resort as you don't want your feet to sweat, but a little anti-persp can help there too.
 
I have lots of Smartwool and Point 6 socks, and both are excellent, IMO. The Point 6 midweights that I use for work are actually better made than my Smartwool socks, which show wear faster and have a seam at the bottom of the cuff that is much more fragile, but for me, nothing can touch the feel of Smartwool PhDs. I prefer to hike in lightweights, since my feet never really get cold. They've been fine for me into the teens.

Helpful hints:
-Wash them inside out to minimize wear and pilling on the outer surface. Woolite, wool specific wash, performance wash, etc. preferred.
-Dry on low heat only, or lay them flat to air dry.
-Maximize longevity and performance by using detergent with no dyes, perfumes, and especially fabric softeners. Fabric softeners lessen the material's ability to wick or absorb moisture-same reason you're not supposed to use them on towels.

Well...I typed all that, then remembered that companies like Icebreaker and Smartwool would have care instructions on their sites(which is probably where I originally learned most of that stuff, anyway):
http://www.smartwool.com/care/
 
I have several pair of the SmartWool (medium and light weight) for summer and winter hiking/hunting/camping. They are expensive, but they have proven themselves by keeping my feet dry, warm, and no blisters.
 
Smartwools - haven't found anything better.

Yup!

I have a pair of smartwools that are 15 years old - threadbare in a couple of spots, but no holes. Hang 'em to dry and they'll give you many years of good service. All my 'serious' socks for anything outdoor related are smartwools, any other brand I've tried has been a disappointment.
 
I like Wigwam socks because they're so many varieties and the prices are pretty good.
 
Check out some of Bass Pro's Redhead brand hunting socks. I've had good luck with them.
 
Bridgedale and Smartwool socks are both great....don't forget the thin liner sock which should wick away sweat.
 
I always buy a wool\poly or whatever blend as I will wear the back of a pure wool heal out quickly. If pure wool or close to it I have put a thin synthetic sock over the wool to avoid chewing the heel away too quickly. My winter boots have Canuck army surplus wool liners and wool on wool eats them up quicker than I would like.
 
Just got some Icelandic wool socks made in canada. - 40C and - 50C. You'll find them on the big river site. So far liking them. For sitting at the stand nothing beats big felt boots. I've got the Helly Hansen insulated boots. Hard to hike w but warm
 
After a 7 year hiatus but what the heck let’s go with it.

I’ve tried DarnTough, Wigwam, SmartWool, Thorlo Socks, Dickies, Carhartt, Wolverine and many many others.
The best socks I’ve had are new socks. Generally 6 months or so and most have lost “it” for me.
 
Darn Tough socks are by far the best I have ever had the pleasure of owning, you won't go wrong... they are a bit expensive for socks however they are worth it. I wear them daily... even got some of the active wear 1's for the gym and have kept me away from wearing any of my other socks since, unless they are all in the laundry!!
 
Shelled out and bought darntough vermonts. So far they seem well worth it. Thick boot high for work, and runner high for weekends.
There was a brand here in Aus called HoleProof, and they were good, but of course they got bought and so now are made offshore. I've got a couple pair of aussie merino that wear like cordura, but are still soft on the inside. I've got a couple pair of the offshore ones and they are not terrible, but not great. I've been given others, it seems that with wool its hard to get the stretch right, Some slack out and get holes really fast, and some seem to almost "felt in" after a while. I'm hoping that with care the elastic holds up in the darntoughs, nothing better than good wool when dealing with hot wet feet.
 
I've tested the Darn tough warranty, essentially you get a credit that will cover replacing worn out pairs directly from their online store. Just gotta mail in the old socks for recycling with a form. Easy and painless.
 
What i discovered this year, first season tree-stand hunting. My feet get cold! Just got new boots for next season a size bigger. My go to pretty good solution this year was liner socks, then heavy socks (both wool blend from Kennetrek) Then either my uninsulated Muck boots, or my el cheapo insulated hunting boots. Still got cold in 20's. I spent another $40 on the insulated boot "blankets" and that was a pretty good band aid for Dec/Jan. Walked into stand, put blankies on before climbing.

My take-away is liner socks are worth it, and I plan on buying more of the Kennetreks.
 
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