My site is dedicated to exploring national parks and the USA so what does that have to do with socks? The answer is everything. A bad pair of socks can ruin a travel experience and even force you to cut your exploring short in extreme cases. So I’m doing this product review to sell you the best hiking socks ever.
I happen to be cursed with feet that blister very easily (I’ll spare you the photos). Up until a couple of months ago, it was a forgone conclusion that I’d have blistered feet and toes after just about any hike over a couple of miles. Over the past two years, I’ve experimented with different socks and I’ve finally found a pair that I know I’m going to stick with.
Over the past couple of years, I tried random hiking socks found online at Amazon, at sports and outdoors stores, Target, and also even tried the extra thick dri-FIT football socks made by Nike, Under Armor, etc. Yet, none of these worked to prevent blisters. Even when I put on two pairs of socks, friction between the inside sock and my foot still resulted in blisters. I found myself using Newskin (which works amazing but can burn like hell) after every hike or long period of walking. But now I think I’ve found the solution: the perfect hiking sock.
So what is the perfect hiking sock???
They are called People Socks. They are wool blend calf socks and are the most comfortable socks I’ve ever used. They are made in the USA by a small business and they’ve gotten great feedback on Amazon. At $23 for four pairs, they’re reasonably priced. These socks actually keep your feet dry and warm as well. I’m sure there are other good socks I missed on Amazon, but for whatever reason these seemed to do the trick. Also, I wore the same Oakley hiking boots for all of my hikes so I really think it’s the socks that helped me.
Another thing I discovered that was useful was wearing liner socks. I tried two different kinds. The first pair was made by Fox River and they did a decent job of eliminating the friction between my foot and the sock. The only problem was that I still got a blister or two in-between my toes. That’s when I discovered toe-socks. I used to think toe-socks were some kind of gag-gift but when they popped up in my search for hiking socks I decided to check them out.
The pair I bought was from Amazon and made from the company, Injinji. After wearing them on my last hike in Sequoia National Park, my feet and toes were blister free after the hike. We only went a couple of miles but we did those miles in snowshoes, which usually blister my feet twice as quickly. One drawback to these socks is the price of $15. Now, I don’t know if all toe-socks are pricey like that so it may be in your best interest to do your own research to find a better deal. Also, my only complaint is that the socks are so thin (even for liner socks) they feel like they may not last very long. Still, these liners socks seemed to protect me from those inner-toe blisters that are a pain so I was pretty pleased with them.
But back to the best socks ever, if you already have your go-to socks for hikes and long walking excursions then go with that you know. But if you’re tired of the same miserable experience with blisters it may be worth it to give these a shot. Or if not People Socks, then definitely give wool socks a try over cotton socks if you haven’t already. While some of the other wool socks didn’t give me the same comfort as People Socks did, wool is definitely the way to go.
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