Product Overview:

The Full-Cushion Boot Socks are made out of a combination of Merino Wool (69%), Nylon (27%) and Lycra Spandex (4%). Specifically designed for trekking, the socks feature high-density terry-loop padding, knit-in elastic support at the arch, form-fitting toe boxes, ribbing at the ankles and sculpted heel pockets. 

 

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Darn Tough - Cabot Hosiery Mills, Inc.

Website: http://www.darntough.com 

Phone: 1.877.327.6783

Model: Darn Tough Full-Cushion Boot Socks

Model Year: 2005

Materials: Merino Wool (62%), Nylon (34%), Lycra Spandex (4%)

Color: Forest

Sock Size: Large

My Boot Size: Women's 10.5 US (42.5 EU) 

Manufacturer's Weight:  Not listed

Actual Weight: 3.5 oz (99 g)

MSRP:  Not listed

Locations ranged from highly-deciduous old-growth forest to open pine-forests and meadows in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan. Late-fall to early-winter weather varied from overcast and rain to overcast and snow. There are very few sunny days in these climes at this time of year. Temperatures ranged from 40F (4C) to 8F (-13 C)  with humidity in the normal range of 60 to 95 percent for those areas. All of the trips were at low altitude ranging from 600 ft (183m) to 2000 ft (610m), with a moderate amount of elevation changes - back country climbing and descending prevailed. 

 

Field Tests Overview:

During the field-testing period of two months, I have worn the Darn Tough Vermont Boot Socks on an extensive and almost daily basis. I have worn them on two multi-day backpack trips, many day excursions and most recently have worn them for at least a dozen cross-country ski multi-hour outings.

Backpacking Trips

In the last two months, I have worn the Darn Tough Vermont Boot Socks on a total of eight days during two backpacking trips. Both trips were in semi-sloppy to wet conditions including rain and snow. I customarily wear gaiters over my footwear to further protect my feet from getting wet from the outside. On the first trip, I wore Gortex-lined leather boots and during the second trip I wore a waterproof-insulated winter-boot made out of rubber and leather. Because of their waterproof nature, both of these boots usually keep my feet dry from the outside but not necessarily from the inside. The socks I wear seems to be the big variable. I have switched over to wool products in the last few years that have kept my feet relatively happy. I was anxious to try the Darn Tough socks as many of their additional features seemed to be ideal.

Comfort is always a big concern to my feet. I generally wear socks that don't have a lot of padding, so I was initially concerned that the Darn Tough Socks with their terry-loop padding  would be too bulky to fit into my footwear. This concern was immediately dismissed as the terry-loop padding is knit-in very smoothly and doesn't take up any extra space in my footwear. The toe box area is finished off to be remarkably smooth so it doesn't bunch up or hang up while trying to insert my feet into my footwear. Overall the socks are easy to pull on my feet and they don't have to be adjusted after the initial process.
 
As mentioned in my initial report, the only downside in comfort for me is the length of the socks. Its not really a style issue,  I generally prefer shorter-length socks even in the winter season. I have continued to fold down the top 3 in (7 cm) of the socks to accommodate my needs. When worn full length, the top bands are too constricting and they hit my calves at midpoint. I simply prefer socks to end below the calf muscle.

Did my feet stay dry?  I am happy to report that after several long days of backpacking, when I pulled my feet out of my boots each night, the socks were only the slightest bit damp. In fact, there wasn't enough dampness for me to consider changing into a drier pair of reserve socks. On each trip, I took the additional two pairs of Darn Tough Socks as back-up, but I didn't need to use them. I did take the socks off my feet to test the "smell factor" but found them to retain little odor after multi-days of backpacking in waterproof footwear, what more could I ask for?
 
Overall the comfort level has been extremely high, my feet have been warm, smell relatively good and have had adequate support by the Lycra Spandex that has been knit-in the socks.

Cross Country Ski Outings

The Darn Tough Socks have become my staple for cross country skiing. I have skied almost daily since the snow started to fall, switching between my classic ski-boots and my skating ski-boots. To make it basic, the biggest difference between these two types of boots is that the classic ski-boots allow my feet to flex whereas the skating ski-boots are very stiff, so that my feet stay relatively unflexed -did the Darn Tough Socks work for both? Generally a warmer sock is needed for a skating boot as the foot is more stationary and doesn't warm as easily. My feet have stayed warm so far in the Darn Tough socks for both boot types. Conditions have been as low as 10 F (-12 C ).

The support features of ribbing at the ankles and the knit-in elastic support at the arch have made my feet very comfortable in my ski boots. As mentioned earlier, the socks do not bunch due to these form-fitting features. It has been readily apparent as I don't have to make adjustments when inserting my feet into my form-fitting boots. This is highly important when skiing for hours as any irritating factors will show up quickly and result in sore spots on my feet. The heels of the socks stay remarkably in place even with hours of repetitive movement.

Everyday Wear/Care

When I am not skiing or hiking, I wear my Darn Tough Socks shoe-less in my apartment or I wear them with a pair of UGG winter-boots to town to do errands and such. Because I have worn the socks so often, they have been through countless washing cycles using ordinary liquid laundry-soap. The hang tag that came with the socks suggested that the socks be washed inside-out. Although I had good intentions of doing so, I have simply not bothered to wash them in that manner unless I somehow took them off that way. So far, there haven't been any adverse effects. The socks terry-loop padding is uncompressed, there is little-to-no fuzz on the exterior and they smell good after washing. I'm not sure what the manufacturer's recommendations were implicating, but I haven't had any problems with not turning them inside-out. I wash and partially dry the socks and then let them air-dry on a drying rack.

The Darn Tough Vermont Boot Socks have been highly impressive socks so far.  In the long term phase I will be looking at a few additional issues such as wearing the socks with a vapor barrier, long term durability and wearing the socks with additional types of footwear including moosehide mukluks.

Likes:

• Easy to care for
• Socks keep my feet dry and happy
• Good Looking socks

• Height of socks
  

Thanks to Darn Tough Vermont and BGT for this great opportunity to test such an outstanding product.