Socks

[300m]

I wear Darn Tough hiker boot socks with full cushion. How about liners? What works for you? I wear Kenetrek liners.

 

[Mike Islander]

I have several pairs of the Darn Tough in various lengths and cushion. I love them. I’m pretty disappointed that it took me so long to find out about them and give them a try. I rarely ever wear cotton socks anymore. I also have some of the Farm to Feet socks and I do not like them near as much. Just not the same quality to me.

Same here. Farm to Feet are Flawed From my Familiarity.

I liked the original Farm to Feet crew socks, as they are warm and comfortable. But I wear knee high socks while hunting. Just tried a pair of their Waitsfield knee highs and hated them. The toe box is sewn more narrow than a foot width, which puts the seam over your toes instead of on the side of your feet. They are extremely tight in the calf, which for me made my feet cold. Almost nothing about them that I liked. The reason I tried them is that their knit technique is warmer than Darn Tough, but the design makes them unusable for me.

 

[805Bowhunter]

I used to be 100% all in on darn tough. They are epic and have a great warranty. Never had one issue with them. I have to say however, that Farm to Feet has dethroned them as my top hunting/hiking sock. Just as dependable/reliable, however, are more comfortable. They feel incredible. I wore the same pair this past september for my entire Wy elk hunt and they still didnt stink. I highly recommend them

 

[tdot]

Darn Tough have not consistently worked for my feet. Yes they last. But something about their mixture of materials irritates my feet. Their newer socks have been better.

Kuiu 100% merino have been very solid. I literally have 100's of days on my first pair and they are still going strong. I wasnt happy with the fit of their newer poly blend socks.

Dissent Lab compression socks. I've been using these skiing for the last few years and been very happy with them. Started backpacking with them on as a liner sock only a little while ago. So far I have maybe 75 miles with them and I might bump them up to Game Changer status.

 

[Mike Islander]

I used to be 100% all in on darn tough. They are epic and have a great warranty. Never had one issue with them. I have to say however, that Farm to Feet has dethroned them as my top hunting/hiking sock. Just as dependable/reliable, however, are more comfortable. They feel incredible. I wore the same pair this past september for my entire Wy elk hunt and they still didnt stink. I highly recommend them

For you, is the comfort in warmth or just overall? To me, the Darn Tough are more comfortable, but not as warm. Their knit technique does not capture nearly as much air, so they can't insulate as well. For some, this is a good thing.

I purchased the FTF Waitsfield knee highs to see how well they worked for sleeping, but they were so uncomfortable I couldn't wear them. I sent them back immediately. Maybe the toe box on some of their other socks are sewn full width. The Waitsfield's toe box was about 3.5 inches wide, which left the seams resting between/on my big and little toes. The toe box should end behind the toes; that's what they are designed to do. I may try some others.

What exact model FTF are you wearing? Model name? Crew or knee length? Many thanks for your experience.

 

[805Bowhunter]

For you, is the comfort in warmth or just overall? To me, the Darn Tough are more comfortable, but not as warm. Their knit technique does not capture nearly as much air, so they can't insulate as well. For some, this is a good thing.

I purchased the FTF Waitsfield knee highs to see how well they worked for sleeping, but they were so uncomfortable I couldn't wear them. I sent them back immediately. Maybe the toe box on some of their other socks are sewn full width. The Waitsfield's toe box was about 3.5 inches wide, which left the seams resting between/on my big and little toes. The toe box should end behind the toes; that's what they are designed to do. I may try some others.

What exact model FTF are you wearing? Model name? Crew or knee length? Many thanks for your experience.

Interesting. I love DT but they do have a tendency to "move" around a little bit. I like the FTF because they are more snug. I could see how this could be too much for someone. I use the Damascus Medium WT. Thin socks drive me nuts, even in September. I always choose a mid - weight sock. If you do end up giving them a try, I'd be curious as to how the Damascus or other FTF compare to the Waistfield. I have never used that sock.

 

[Mike Islander]

Interesting. I love DT but they do have a tendency to "move" around a little bit. I like the FTF because they are more snug. I could see how this could be too much for someone. I use the Damascus Medium WT. Thin socks drive me nuts, even in September. I always choose a mid - weight sock. If you do end up giving them a try, I'd be curious as to how the Damascus or other FTF compare to the Waistfield. I have never used that sock.

Just ordered a pair and will let you know. I don't normally wear crew while hunting, but will see how these feel.

 

[Pigdog]

My go to sock setup is injinji liners with darn tough over the calf hunting socks. My feet have always been a weak point for me and with this system I have had no problems. I’ve got the start of a bunion on my left foot and before I started using the injinji liners I would get blisters between my toes. Haven’t had a blister, or even a hotspot in the last three seasons.

 

[Mike Islander]

One clarification. I have never had a blister on my feet (that I can remember). I have worn boots and hiked mountains since childhood (the last 55 years or so). Maybe I am suffering from Alzheimer's.

So good socks for me are comfortable and warm or cool, depending on my needs. Darn Tough are one of the most comfortable for me so far, along with Covert Threads. But man I do like the warmth of the Farm to Feet knitting technique. Hopefully the FTF Damascus are both warm and comfortable.

 

[Desertrek]

Darn tough “thin”

 

[Mike Islander]

Interesting. I love DT but they do have a tendency to "move" around a little bit. I like the FTF because they are more snug. I could see how this could be too much for someone. I use the Damascus Medium WT. Thin socks drive me nuts, even in September. I always choose a mid - weight sock. If you do end up giving them a try, I'd be curious as to how the Damascus or other FTF compare to the Waistfield. I have never used that sock.

Been wearing the F2F Damascus over the last couple weeks. Pretty nice. Not able to try in really cold conditions, but so far I like them.

 

[Clueless Wallob]

Smartwool merino liners.

Was thinking of grabbing some of these but I’d heard a few bad things about the redesign of it and the new logo placement causing some hot spots. Any experience?

 

[Catahoula]

Was thinking of grabbing some of these but I’d heard a few bad things about the redesign of it and the new logo placement causing some hot spots. Any experience?

The logo on mine are in the back (calf area). I have had no trouble with my current 6-7 pairs. Now, I have not seen this new design you speak of. I’ll have to go to my local retailer that carries them and have a look see.

 

[doverpack12]

Gore are my most comfortable and best performing. Problem is you can’t get them anymore and they were only available one year. (Stocked up and have 6 pairs). Hoping these last until Sitka re releases them and that they are as good or better than the originals. My feet stay drier and warmer/cooler than any others. Bridgedale coolmax liners are the best for me. I bought into the darn tough bandwagon back around 2012/13 and they worked well but my feet tended to get cold even in mild conditions. What I found is that super dense sock didn’t handle the moisture from my feet well. Bridgedale fusion, lorpen Merino light hiker ($7 camofire), KUIU, and now farm to feet all work better for me. I’m not a fan of smartwool they don’t hold up very well for me and are more expensive. The stone glacier socks have been promising and I’m really liking the farm to feet but only have one pair. Kuiu I liked a lot but after extended use they kind of lost their pliability and became stiffer and would bunch up under my arch. This was after a lot of wearing and washing. Lorpen is probably the biggest value and I would almost bet you could buy 3 pairs and one darn tough for the same price, a single pair of the lorpen will be right there with darn tough until they both fail. Lorpen will pill a little bit they just keep performing. I’ve purchased and sold 6-8 pairs of darn tough over the years, had to send 3 pairs in for replacement. One was heel wear, one was bottom of arch and my latest pair going back has a hole at the front of the ankle just off center. I’ll say darn tough are good socks but for my feet there are a whole bunch of better options.

 

[Rock-o]

I wear https://darntough.com/products/hunter-over-the-calf-extra-cushion.

 

[ceejay]

Thanks for all the great responses. Lots of good information.

 

[gleason51]

I’ve been trying out the stone glacier socks, so far I love em. I’ll see how they do on some extended trips in terms of stink, etc. I was skeptical about using synthetic socks, but so far they have been great.

 

[Honyock]

Smartwool with liners

 

[jackmat69]

Darn Tough

 

[Laelkhunter]

I wear Darn Tough hiker boot socks with full cushion. How about liners? What works for you? I wear Kenetrek liners.

I use the Kenetrek Alaska wool socks over the Kenetrek Ultimate Liner socks. They have reinforced toes, heel and shin padding that makes them super comfortable. From reading most of the replies, I need to look at the Darn tough socks when I need to change, but right now I am quite happy with the Kenetrek sock system.