Comfortable socks please

[original45]

Please share with me your experience on comfortable socks for hikes.
Looking for a good cushion , breathable none rubbing .
The feet have poor arches and get pain in toes balls of feet too.

Looked at the 1000 mile types, so many hiking walking socks I'm confused.

Looked on fleebay just so many and differances,what do you guys who have tyres many recommend without spending 20£ a pair or is it worth the extra money.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Goatboy]

Socks may not seem it but is a huge and convoluted subject. Was a big chunk of footwear fitting training when training up my staff.

Different things fork on different feet and with different boots. One thing that makes me wonder with 1000 mile socks is how they feel they can guarantee good fit when socks should be an integrated part of your whole footwear. That's why a decent boot fitter will want to to bring your socks, or get the socks while in the shop when fitting boots.

A lot of folk recommend wearing at least two pairs of socks; this does give extra padding/warmth, but can lead to slippage between the differing socks and cause blisters.

I must admit to having a preference for good merino socks, I find their moisture management (another source of softened skin that rubs) very good.

You mention that you have painful feet and fallen arches. This will exacerbate problems as the feet will extend and contract with the action of walking. Properly fitted boots and possibly some form of extra or custom footbed would probably be in order. John Fenna did a good review of Superfeet recently HERE though personally after training and fitting various types of footbeds over the years I find the Sidas Conformable one better for a wider range of problems.

To be honest I could type for pages on the subject, but the best bit of advice would be to find a good honest outdoor shop and ask to speak to their footwear specialist. Take your boots and current socks along (they can tell loads by wear patterns) and they should be looking at how you move and looking at your bare feet. It may sound a faff, but blistered and sore feet rob you of the enjoyment of being out and can be dangerous as it takes your mind off of where you are going. Most good outdoor shops should have a specialist and not charge you for having a fitting with them. Also if you can make an appointment for later in the day when your feet have swollen up and are tired all the better as this helps show up problems.

 

[British Red]

I must admit to having a preference for good merino socks, I find their moisture management (another source of softened skin that rubs) very good.

.

Wearing them now. Tog24 Heavy Merions are two pairs for £10 in the Tog24 clearance shop in Springields, Spalding at the moment. They only had four pairs in green. They now have none . They had black and other colours though.

 

[peaks]

I've been using 1000 miles socks in various forms for a long time. Tried other types but keep going back to them. A really good insole/footbed helps too - especially if you have foot problems. I've been using Sole moldable footbeds for a while as they really suit me. http://www.yoursole.com/uk/

You might want to try talking to a registered Orthotist who should be able to advise and possibly supply footbeds. A friend of mine had similar problems and used used to be in a lot of pain after a decent walk. After seeing an Orthotist + getting the footbeds fitted, they hasn't had any problems since.

 

[dwardo]

Merino wool socks all the way. Just dont expect them to last as long as synthetics.

 

[Countryman]

Bridgedale. Coolmax under hiking socks 2 pairs.

For general wear Orvis do something called "the invincible Sock" or and they genuinely are.


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[swotty]

Anything as long as its wool for me! Couldn't ever go back to cotton or synthetic and the smelly sweaty consequences

 

[cbr6fs]

Socks aren't going to give any cushioning and if they do it won't be for very long, so i'd say you are looking in the wrong place.
Try and find some shoes/boots/trainers that offer the cushioning and support you need, once you've sorted the shoes out pretty much any pair of socks will feel comfortable as long as they fit right.


Personally i've moved away from Merino and wool socks, i found it to be a terrible material for socks are it doesn't wick moisture well at all.

I know there are a lot of wool and merino fans here, so before anyone calls me out please try a test.
Get a pair of your wool socks, fit one side over say a pint pot stretched to the same sort of tension they would be on your foot (might be better to secure them with a laggy band).
Now put a drop or 2 of water on the surface and see what it does.

In all my tests from Icebreaker, Smartwool, Bridgedale etc etc the water is absorbed into the wool but it doesn't spread that moisture out.

Now try the same test with cotton socks or if you have them coolmax socks.
With the same test the moisture quickly spreads itself out over a wider surface area.


What does this mean in real world terms?

Well your feet are going to sweat, with merino and wool socks that sweat stays local to the point of origin.
This is bad for 2 seasons.
1/ It means the sweaty part of the feet get wetter and wetter while the parts that don't sweat as much will stay drier, so you will get very localised sweat spots on your feet that give blisters a good chance to start

2/ Because the sweat doesn't spread it means you have less surface area for the sweat to evaporate from, so you end up with wet feet for longer.


For fishing and around the house they're fantastic, but on any higher level of activity where you are likely to sweat wool and Merino is a very poor choice for socks.

 

[Countryman]

Was reading "the one that got away" in the summer and Chris Ryan's German issue wool socks were responsible for destroying his feet on his 200mile walk.


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[Macaroon]

Spilling water onto wool or any other material is not in any way, shape or form comparable to what happens when the body perspires with that same material next to the skin; totally false analogy

 

[cranmere]

Another vote here for going and getting proper orthotics. I am hypermobile which means my foot joints are too lax and that's resulted in osteo-arthritis. Proper orthotics make a huge difference to comfort.

Then whatever socks fit well. I like high wool content socks and my feet are happy with quite coarse wool, but if you hve tender skin or you get damp and sweaty you might find that merino is better, or one of the good man-made fibres.

 

[original45]

Thank you all. wollen socks which whilst they stayed in situ were comfy but tend to work under the feet and fold causing discomfort I guess.
On reflection I think as said the shoe and insole to give correct support is paramount.
So I guess sock wise it's so long as feet don't sweat and blister as opposed to cushioning for comfort as such.
Gel insoles helped some but I think didn't help much with arch support.

I guess a pair of two types of sock is in order until preference is made but attention to well fitting supported yet cushioned footwear or insole is needid.
Thank you all for contributing informed decisions are always best .
Appreciated

 

[cbr6fs]

Spilling water onto wool or any other material is not in any way, shape or form comparable to what happens when the body perspires with that same material next to the skin; totally false analogy

I agree 100%

The object is to place a few very small drops, this more closely resembles how the socks react to sweat.

Should also clarify that how Merino/wool socks react to water is exactly how my socks act when hiking.


For lower level activities they're great, but for higher level activities were sweat is part and parcel, they're not as good at keeping your feet in good condition as say coolmax

 

[Macaroon]

If your socks are folding and dragging down into your boots then either the boots, the socks or both are a bad fit; nothing at all to do with the fact that they're wool. One of the problems with socks that are not properly made is the sizing; e.g. if you're a size 9 and the socks are sized 9 to 12 you'll probably have a sock that's too big for you. In the same way if they're sized 6 to 9 you'll have a sock that's too small and cramps your toes.
Like many things you almost always get what you pay for and the proper sizing and construction are a lot of what you're paying for.

 

[Swallow]

Wearing them now. Tog24 Heavy Merions are two pairs for £10 in the Tog24 clearance shop in Springields, Spalding at the moment. They only had four pairs in green. They now have none . They had black and other colours though.

Those 100% wool Red?

 

[British Red]

Sadly not at that price no, wool blend with some acrylic and elastane. Still pretty good for the price I think though - they are comfy under my riggers / wellingtons anyway!

 

[Goatboy]

If your socks are folding and dragging down into your boots then either the boots, the socks or both are a bad fit; nothing at all to do with the fact that they're wool. One of the problems with socks that are not properly made is the sizing; e.g. if you're a size 9 and the socks are sized 9 to 12 you'll probably have a sock that's too big for you. In the same way if they're sized 6 to 9 you'll have a sock that's too small and cramps your toes.
Like many things you almost always get what you pay for and the proper sizing and construction are a lot of what you're paying for.

Good salient points there, something I also forgot to mention is that lacing techniques can help tremendously. It's a bit hard to go into details in written form, pictures do make it much easier. All sorts of small problems like heel slippage, fallen arches and hyper-mobility can be helped to varying degrees. Backpacker magazine had quite a good guide with pics on their website. It doesn't cover everything but is a good start. Again a good boot specialist should be able to help you. (Also a lot of folks tie their boots once in the day. I'd generally recommend doing it at least twice, when you put on a cold boot onto a cold foot and strap it in that shouldn't be it for the day. Generally after about 30 - 40 minutes I'd be fine tuning things as both have changed in volume and flexibility.

 

[Countryman]

That's a really good point Goatboy. Mid day on Day 2 of a 60 mile walk several of my cohort were crippled including me. I found some relief slackening my laces after lunch without boots on but many were too scared to remove their boots. I made a young lady in our group scream when I released her laces and the bloodflow returned to her feet but she was able to walk again within the hour.


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