Choosing the Right Socks for You

Admittedly, choosing the right sock can be confusing and complex undertaking. Read any of the product packaging and you’ll find yourself ambushed by a slew of technical names, sounding like a bunch of mambo-jambo. X-static, CoolMax, Ultimax, Lycra, Thermolite…ugh, enough already!

Let’s make this simple. It’s all about your physiology, or in other words, are your feet hot or cold, sweaty or dry?

The two things you want to keep in mind are temperature and dryness.

If you have cold feet, wool would be a great, all-year-round choice for you. Wool absorbs moisture away from your feet, while keeping you warm in the winter and cool during summer. Merino wool socks in particular offers a soft and comfy feel. Wool socks can also take up some of the slack when your boots are fitting a little big.

However, if your feet are warm and sweaty, go with a sock liners. In this instance, wool would be too warm of a choice for those of you with warm feet. Moisture control socks such as those by CoolMax typically use heat as a driving force to move the moisture away from your foot.

A word of caution regarding our old time favorite fabric: Cotton. Sure cotton is soft, comfy, and cheap, but it sucks like a Hoover when it gets wet. Cotton transfers heat and cold 23 times faster when it’s wet, making your feet even hotter or colder.