The Finest Wool Socks of 2024

Not all socks are created equal. Wool socks are particularly identified for his or her technical prowess since they wick sweat away out of your toes, regulate temperature, and resist odor — an particularly necessary job at the hours of darkness, dank abyss that’s your moist shoe.

And, spoiler alert: wool doesn’t imply these socks are solely meant for chilly climate. Due to quite a lot of weaves and weights, you may put on wool socks trekking by means of the desert beneath a excessive midday solar (though we could query your life decisions). 

Nonetheless, there are actually 1000’s of wool socks on the market so it’s robust to resolve which is one of the best for you. We spend numerous hours mountaineering, snowboarding, operating and biking outdoors yearly, so we introduced a bunch of socks alongside for the journey. From slushy trails to abandon sandstone and powdery steeps, we put these socks to the take a look at. We deliver you our favorites.

Scroll by means of our picks for one of the best wool socks of the season, and you should definitely take a look at our complete Purchaser’s Information, Comparability Desk, and Worth & Worth part.

Editor’s Notice: For our November 5, 2024 replace, we added a Worth & Worth part to our Purchaser’s Information.

The Finest Wool Socks of 2024

Wool Socks Comparability Chart

How We Examined the Finest Wool Socks

Our Skilled Tester

Based mostly in Carbondale, Colorado, lead tester Heather Balogh Rochfort is a lifelong outside recreationalist with almost 15 years of gear-reviewing expertise as a journalist and creator of 5 books. She considers herself a jack-of-all-trades as she isn’t notably good at anyone sport however enjoys all of them, together with path operating, mountaineering, backpacking, tenting, mountain biking, snowboarding, bikepacking, paddling, and extra. 

She logs greater than 50 days snowboarding every season and no less than one other 30-40 days spent sleeping beneath the celebs. Balogh Rochfort as soon as tried counting what number of human-powered miles she earned yearly, however she shortly gave up — it was so much. 

Our Testing Course of

Along with intensive analysis and information, we wore these socks on the whole lot we did over the course of some months. We wore wool socks whereas mountaineering, mountain biking, path operating, tenting, alpine touring, and even whereas lifting weights.

We even turned them into our every day drivers whereas working and managing college drop offs, if solely so we might consider their sturdiness and stench resistance over time. Actually, there isn’t a climate situation these socks haven’t seen after concluding our testing course of.

For this information, we first checked out a vital part in these socks: wool. Whereas many of the socks use merino wool, we additionally thought of Alpaca wool as effectively. From there, we checked out a variety of components, together with total high quality, worth, design, consolation, amount of wool, wicking capabilities, and sturdiness.

Since most of those socks had been solely examined for just a few months, we take into account longevity with an asterisk since all socks ought to last more than that. In these circumstances, we thought of model guarantee applications, as effectively.

Lastly, we thought of fashion. Socks aren’t one thing that sometimes high the style lists, however it’s good once they look good and particularly good when they are often worn for quite a lot of actions. We additionally thought of components just like the sock’s minimize since that performs into fashion preferences.

Purchaser’s Information: How you can Select the Finest Wool Socks

Luckily, selecting one of the best wool socks for you is an easy activity. Nevertheless, there are just a few components to take into accounts.

Kind of Wool

A lot of the socks on this information (just like the Darn Powerful Hiker Micro Crew Midweight or the Minus33 Boot Liner) use Merino wool. This can be a kind of wool derived from sheep and is arguably the most typical wool used — for good motive.

Merino wool fibers are semi-hollow, which implies heat air will get trapped inside and helps retain warmth. On the flipside, this semi-hollow construction can maintain moisture — like your sweat — which pulls it away out of your pores and skin. This leaves the sock itself dry, your foot dry, and everybody usually comfortable.

Nevertheless, merino wool isn’t the one kind of wool on the market. We even have the Paka Efficiency ¾ Crew Sock that’s constructed with Alpaca wool. Many argue that Alpaca wool is a superior option to merino because the fibers are usually smoother so it’s much less itchy.

Alpaca wool additionally has a better tensile power than merino and Alpacas are thought of to be environment friendly grazers. They solely eat the a part of the plant they want and depart the remainder in comparison with sheep that mow on the entire thing, resulting in overgrazing and soil degradation.

For the sake of socks, each varieties of wool can be nice — it’s a matter of choice.

In search of socks for particular actions? Try a few of our sock roundups, together with Finest Mountaineering Socks and Finest Operating Socks.

Amount of Wool

You’ll shortly discover that whereas wool is almost all ingredient in all of those socks, it’s not the one fiber. That’s as a result of wool socks want artificial fibers (typically nylon) so as to add stretchiness and sturdiness. Nevertheless, the amount of wool dramatically varies. For instance, the Injinji Outside Midweight Mini-Crew socks have 71% merino wool, whereas the Ortovox Alpine Gentle Comp Mid solely has 39% virgin wool. 

Professional tip: Hold an eye fixed out for a wool sock that has lower than 30% wool. Whereas that isn’t usually a nasty factor, these socks received’t doubtless have the basic “wool advantages” like odor resistance and will carry out extra like a standard artificial sock.

Consolation

When you get past the technicalities, consolation is the highest consideration. If the sock isn’t comfy, you received’t put on it. For a lot of outside fans, consolation is a matter of choice. For some, closely cushioned socks just like the Smartwool Hike Traditional Version Second Minimize Crew socks really feel higher underfoot because of all of the padding. However for others, thinner liner-type socks just like the Minus33 Boot Liners are extra comfy since they’re much less apt to bunch or wrinkle.

The minimize of the sock can also be an element to think about for efficiency. Mini-crew cuts sometimes finish simply at your ankle bone, so that they preserve grit out however sit decrease than a full crew or calf-length sock. Nevertheless, some individuals favor taller socks just like the Darn Powerful Hiker Micro Crew Midweight sock that sits about 5 inches above the boot. And additional nonetheless, some of us like socks that attain to the center of their calf muscular tissues. There isn’t a one proper reply; you simply need to resolve what you want finest.

Sturdiness

We’ve bought some excellent news and dangerous information. The dangerous information: all socks will kick the bucket finally. Nevertheless, the excellent news is that wool socks final admirably lengthy — and plenty of manufacturers supply stable warranties to maintain you coming again.

Darn Powerful has a lifetime guarantee on all of their socks, so you may at all times ship them again to get a brand new pair. We’ve used it earlier than, and it really works. Whereas not as beneficiant, Minus33 has a two yr guarantee when you register your socks with them in the beginning, so you continue to have loads of time to make use of ‘em, abuse ‘em, and exchange ‘em.

Worth & Worth

Whereas wool socks are costlier than your commonplace cotton socks from the grocery retailer, they’re efficiency objects. They wick sweat away out of your pores and skin, retain their form, resist odor, and thwart blisters. For us, it’s price spending the additional cash to get all of that safety.

Funds

And for some socks, it’s not all that a lot extra cash. The Minus33 Boot Liners will solely run you $18, however they pack a hefty 61% wool mix. They provide the entire moisture-wicking and anti-odor properties of their costlier brethren, however resulting from their thinness, they virtually actually received’t final as lengthy. And that’s what you’ll discover with many of the socks on this value vary — a scarcity of sturdiness. Discount wool socks are a terrific entry level to expertise the perks of wool, however finally, chances are you’ll wish to spend money on just a few hardier pairs.

Mid-Tier

On common, be ready to spend anyplace from $20 to $25 on a great pair of mid-tier wool socks. That is the vary the place many of the finest socks reside, and also you’ll principally be including some thickness, cushioning, and sturdiness. The Darn Powerful Hiker Micro Crew sock ($25) is a superb instance of what you’ll discover on this vary — comfy with a dense weave, these socks are simply comfortable sufficient to supply help and are so sturdy that they provide a lifetime assure on each pair.

Premium

On the upper finish, you may anticipate to spend $30 and extra. Which will appear to be so much for a pair of socks (you’d be proper), however that is the value vary the place you begin discovering specialty socks, just like the Ortovox Alpine Gentle Comp Mid ($35). These compression socks supply a uniform compression that’s designed to cut back fatigue throughout lengthy days in your toes. In case you’re searching for any particular options past a moisture-wicking, stink-free sock (which is already so much to ask of a sock), be ready to shell out just a few extra bucks.

Whereas these costs are all costlier than your commonplace cotton socks from the grocery retailer, they’re efficiency objects. They wick sweat away out of your pores and skin, retain their form, resist odor, and thwart blisters. For us, it’s price spending the additional cash to get all of that safety.

Continuously Requested Questions