One of my latest obsession.... SOCKS

[Bill Douglas]

I only wear cotton socks. I find wool kind of heats up, synthetic is sweaty/clammy. Whereas cotton draws the sweat away and breaths.

"Bless your cotton socks" you say.

But life is never easy. I find all the socks are small and tight and I feel like my feet are being strangled. I don't know how people with huge feet get on.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

One doesn't wear socks with Sperry Topsiders.

Lubey wears black ones with flip flops .... pictures don't lie .

Was in Fayetteville, AR one weekend for a hippie jam band run of shows... my girlfriend and I bought some Birkenstocks .... I had on white athletic socks (walked to the store in "tennis shoes" ... all of 'em are) and we walked back to the hotel .... me in shorts, a tie-dye, Birkenstocks .... and white sock

She knew I wasn't "quite right" ... when the elevator door opened and a bunch of show hippies we knew were on it ...

You just had to be there

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

That's why I buy the "Slightly Irregular" other than them being just like me... they "only" cost $10 at TJ Maxx and Marshalls if they have them. I bought seven pair for myself another three pair for my son and gave my daughter one of my five so now I'm down to six. I have two pair each of the ones listed above. Then I have my MIC Tenysaf cheap ones from Amazon. They're thinner and I'm not convinced they have the same percentage of Merino wool that my DT's have.

OK ... I would splurge then! I have some .... don't know the brand .... redneck purchased .... at Northern Tool when I'd use a $5 off deal ... one pair at a time ... still 10 bucks. Bought quite a few .... then they stopped carrying them.

I wear ankle socks with boots now .... ankles won't let me wear Birks

CheapBastids-'R-Us

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

BTW, I didn't give the Willowace Alpaca socks much of a try. They weren't thick enough for the time of year I wanted them for. Never gave much thought to wearing them in the summer.

My uncle clued me in years ago ... light wool socks in the summer wearing Danners .... they wick & work great!

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I only wear cotton socks. I find wool kind of heats up, synthetic is sweaty/clammy. Whereas cotton draws the sweat away and breaths.

"Bless your cotton socks" you say.

But life is never easy. I find all the socks are small and tight and I feel like my feet are being strangled. I don't know how people with huge feet get on.

Have you tried Merino wool? I always thought of wool socks as itchy things that I put over a pair of socks to keep my feet warm when it was cold. The lighter pairs I have are comfortable in hiking boots even in 80 degree or warmer temps. There are a lot of varieties to choose from.

[billybek]

Having a hard time finding the Wigwam socks I have been buying for years. Not sure why stores in Canada have stopped carrying them.
They were a synthetic breathable blend of materials and for hiking.
The thing that I like about Wigwam socks is they are sized S, M and L. I have a hard time buying socks that say they fit size 6 through 12....

[cabmandone]

Originally Posted by billybek

The thing that I like about Wigwam socks is they are sized S, M and L. I have a hard time buying socks that say they fit size 6 through 12....

Darn Tough does S/M/L too. I have some M and some L. The M are a bit tight at size 10. L are comfortable.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I sit here (in cotton socks), reading this thread, basking in the sweatty jam between my toes, turning into trenchfoot as we speak.

I never noticed how bad cotton socks were until wearing wool socks.

Serious funk going on.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by cabmandone

Have you tried Merino wool? I always thought of wool socks as itchy things that I put over a pair of socks to keep my feet warm when it was cold. The lighter pairs I have are comfortable in hiking boots even in 80 degree or warmer temps. There are a lot of varieties to choose from.

Good advice thanks Nick, but I find all wool a bit itchy. Strange coming from the land of sheep. I'm OK with alpaca and angora.

[jcommin]

Another vote for Darn Tuff. I like them better than Bombas or Weldon.

[Steve Carlton]

I enjoy it when I wear my "Oddjob" socks. But I am going to get something wool to try out. My feet get clammy as the day wears on.

[astrochex]

Wool huh? Will have to try in the FL humidity. Now, my aerated shoes do most of the cooling work.

[Steve Carlton]

Not many choices after filtering down to men's merino lightweight work socks, but ordered these as a pair:





I've been working the other side of the equation with a Dryguy heated shoe dryer. Upgraded to a two pair machine after wearing out a smaller one. Works good:

[Racerbvd]

Originally Posted by KC911

Lubey wears black ones with flip flops .... pictures don't lie .

Was in Fayetteville, AR one weekend for a hippie jam band run of shows... my girlfriend and I bought some Birkenstocks .... I had on white athletic socks (walked to the store in "tennis shoes" ... all of 'em are) and we walked back to the hotel .... me in shorts, a tie-dye, Birkenstocks .... and white sock

She knew I wasn't "quite right" ... when the elevator door opened and a bunch of show hippies we knew were on it ...

You just had to be there

I am so looking forward having a few drinks with you.

[911 Rod]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I've been working the other side of the equation with a Dryguy heated shoe dryer. Upgraded to a two pair machine after wearing out a smaller one. Works good:

I have one of these to dry my snowmobile boots. Crazy how so much moisture builds up in the bottom with moisture wicking socks/liners/insoles.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I wish Tabby were here to mock me!
This thread got me thinking. Yesterday, I basked in the foot sweat of my cotton socks, doing basically nothing more strenous than sitting, wishing for wool dress socks. Got me thinking about shoes. Back in the 19th century day, broguing was used in basic shoes- basically brogues are holes in the sides, to let the shoes air out after walking in peat bogs. They were low class functional work shoes.

Fast forward to the 20th century, where, brogue shoes are considered higher class, but are being replaced in the 21st century by more casual shoes because people don't dress up as much. Lot's of high end shoe makers will probably go belly up soon, which is sad. That said- today's brogue shoes are not functional. They are decorative in nature only- holes 1/2 way through the leather with no function other than looks.

So for my latest project, I am punching the holes through and through on a crap pair of wingtips I own. This is a project in the name of SCIENCE to see what happens when the broguing is functional. My hole maker can only reach so far, so I will need to figure out how to reach all the holes, but this should be a fun offshoot of the wool sock thread, which will be made even better if I were to wear wool socks in a dress environment.

To my knowledge, there is very little info on functional brogues. A lot of shoe nerds pontificating, but little action in terms of actually doing it. The issue is even being relegated to revisionalist interpretation where it never happened at all.

Tabby would make some flippant comment ( he actually chastised this specific pair of shoes as coming from Thom McCan), but deep down inside he'd be jealous I beat him to the idea.

[Steve Carlton]

I was wondering if my issue with moisture was due to the soles on my shoes. Most of what I want to buy has foam or crepe soles. Does that reflect heat more than leather soles? I just received a pair of these- haven't worn them yet.

https://www.johnstonmurphy.com/p/mens-laceup/jenson-longwing/12770.html?dwvar_12770_color=Tan%20European%20Calf skin

[berettafan]

Well not for warmth but for overall comfort my shorts wearing socks are foot joy. big big fan.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Well not for warmth but for overall comfort my shorts wearing socks are foot joy. big big fan.

I wear short socks almost exclusively now ... even with Danners ... need more ... both pair are showing their age

I have some I like ... but they aren't light wool ... I will check those out...

Are there any short, light wool socks out there?
Dang ... even more rabbits...

"Here comes the sun... "

Yer welcome

[Steve Carlton]

The Darn Tough socks were shipped to me via DHL, then transferred to the Post Office. Tomorrow I can dip my toes in this Merino wool rabbit hole.