Dahlgren Light Hiking Socks
Field Report by André Corterier

Personal Biographical Information:
Name: André Corterier
Gender: M
Age: 32
Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight: 80 kg (175 lb)
Standard shoe size: men's 11 (US); 45 (Euro)
Email: andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home: Bonn, Germany
DATE: 2005-01-17

Backpacking Background:
I began backpacking in my late teens using Europe’s “InterRail“-System – weight hardly mattered, as we were on trains a lot. I recently rediscovered backpacking and have started out slowly – single-day 15 mile (24 km) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes (pushing a stroller uphill through the woods). I am getting started on longer hikes, as a lightweight packer and hammock-camper. I’ve begun upgrading my old gear and am now shooting for a dry FSO weight of less than 10 kg for three-season camping. Not quite there yet.

ITEM: Dahlgren Light Hiking Socks
Year of manufacture: 2004
Manufacturer: Dahlgren
URL: http://www.dahlgrenfootwear.com/
MSRP: 15.50 USD

Weight Comparisons (per pair) - scale accurate to 5 g (0.2 oz)
Dahlgren listed weight: 2.9 oz
measured weight (size L): 85 g (3.0 oz)

Product Description:
The manufacturer writes (on its homepage) that the socks are designed for:
"Use with Hiking, Cross Training, and Approach Category footwear in warmer weather"
while describing the suggested climate as "Moderate to Cool":
The manufacturer lists the ingredients as:
"Toe/Heel Content: 27% Alpaca, 63% Merino Wool, 10% Nylon"
"Arch/Instep Content: 75% Wickspun Acrylic, 25% Nylon"
"Leg Content: 90% Wickspun Acrylic, 10% Nylon"
The manufacturer lists as "Special Features":
"Suitable for warm weather due to reduced alpaca content in toe and heel; alpaca provides blister resistance; Mid-weight cushion is ideal for close fitting shoes or boots; patented construction uses independent zones to absorb and transfer moisture; Arch Support zones; Anti-bunching flex panel".
On the hangtag it states (among other things):
"Alpaca socks become naturally fuzzy when you wear them. After washing, they will return to normal."

You may find a more detailed description of these socks in my Initial Report.

Field Experience:
I've used these socks throughout the field testing period, in both my Asics running shoes (my nice-weather hiking shoes) as well as my Columbia DayPack XCR hiking shoes. Temps ranged from about 5 C below freezing (25 F) to about 15 C (about 60 F), precipitation from none through light mist, heavy fog, light and heavy rain to light snow. Altitude was mostly insignificantly above sea level except for a week spent snowbound between 1500 and 1800 m (5000 and 6000 ft). FSO weight varied between 1.5 kg (3 lb) and 10 kg (22 lb), activity between brisk uphill hikes with pack and more casual strolls without. Most of my hiking was done on fairly well-maintained trails, some in snow.

Fit:
The socks have not noticeably shrunk through several washes in the washing machine. I do not possess a dryer, so they've been hung out to dry. No, really, I've been nice to them. They still hug my foot nicely. Pulling them on without creating folds anywhere is still just as easy as it was and I am still generally happy with their fit. I do not (yet) know how they interact with liner socks, having worn them without so far (after all, I was testing *these* socks). Still, to address this point of interest, I shall wear them with liner socks as well and report on my findings in the Long Term Report.

Comfort:
I have found these socks to be comfortable in both pairs of shoes in which I've worn them (I've worn them to work in casual dress shoes once, too, where they've also been comfortable, but haven't really put them through their - my - paces in them). The padding on their soles certainly seems (at least) adequate - I have no cause to wish for more. Even after a long day's walking, inspecting my feet immediately after removing the socks, I have found no spots in which particular problems resulted. With some socks, I can sometimes see - on my feet, afterwards - where the top rubber band was located on my foot during the day or be able to tell where the lower part of the sock was joined to the upper part, because there are marks left on my feet. This was not noticeable with these socks. This specifically includes any concerns I raised in my Initial Report regarding the seam on the top of the toes. I have had no blisters in them, but am neither particularly prone to them (though having had some nasty ones) nor have I worn them in new shoes. I sometimes experience a burning sensation on the soles of my feet, when wearing (soft) woolen socks in dress shoes all day. No such thing has occurred with these socks (though, of course, they've been worn in more comfortable shoes, too).

Warmth:
I was surprised to find these socks warm enough for hiking through the snow, without liners. The boots I was wearing them in are comfortable - for me - in fall and spring as well, so I do not believe they provided an uncommonly high amount of insulation. While my feet do not commonly freeze when walking, I do dislike cold feet and will put on socks in the morning before I put on a shirt. So I like this a lot (I wonder what Dahlgren socks for "colder weather" would be like).

Odour:
The way these socks fail to stink after a whole day in my boots has been much appreciated - not just by myself. ;-) I've been able to wear these socks up to three days in a row (not even taking them off at night) without them developing a significant odour (significant in this circumstance defined as such odour that I am capable of noticing it, without shoes on, inside a closed room, without bending down). While the hiking done in between wasn't the most strenuous sort and the weather also such that little sweating was called for, I was still amazed at this.

Drying:
I've never gotten these socks seriously wet (except in the washing machine). Sweat seemed to leave these socks at more or less the rate my feet produced it, leaving the socks no more than slightly moist whenever I checked them after hiking. This was also true for cold water leaking into my boots from above (where snow had been trapped under the cuffs of my pants when braking the sled I was on). While this event did lead to cold feet on my part, the wicking action of the socks combined with the heat generated by my feet and the membrane of the shoes seemed to allow a lot of this moisture to escape.
Hanging them out to dry after washing probably wasn't even necessary. Like other wool, synthetic and hybrid textiles, these left my washing machine's spin cycle (1200 rpm) almost dry. I've worn some such textiles straight out of the machine, and would not hesitate to do so with these.

Durability:
The socks have been washed in the standard washing program at 40 C (104 F). I'm not sure about the temperatures which US washing machines use, but I suspect this to be a little warmer and possibly more strenuous than the "cool wash, gentle cycle" which the socks' washing instructions referred to. This does not seem to have done any disservice to the socks, unless the following observations are the result thereof.
As noted above, the socks are supposed to return to "normal" after washing. Whether this was true in my case would depend on the underlying definition of "normal". I had at first suspected this to mean that the fuzziness the socks were supposed to (and did) evidence would go away, making the socks look as they previously did. This was not the case. If, however, one assumed that it meant only that the seemingly excessive fuzziness the socks evidenced would be ameliorated to the degree of felt-like fuzziness one would expect from worn woolen socks, then this was true. Either way, I personally have no issues with the way these socks are holding up so far.