Injinji Tetratsok Outdoor Socks
Long Term Report
December 10, 2006

Reviewer information

Name	Marie-Noëlle Augendre	I started backpacking nine years ago, day-hiking in Ile-de-France all year round, and doing several one or two-week trips in more mountainous regions (Corsica, Pyrénées, Cévennes, Lubéron, etc.) each year. In the past three years, I have gradually lightened my pack load as I changed to a hammock, an alcohol stove, a light pack and running shoes instead of boots. After living the most part of this year in Quebec (Canada), I'm just back to France and currently settling right in the middle of the Cévennes, an area that is positively criss-crossed with hiking trails.
Age	49
Gender	Female
Height	about 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Email address	augendre.bgt@gmail.com
City, Country	St André de Valborgne (Gard), France

Product information

Manufacturer	Injinji
URL	http://www.injinji.com
MSRP	$16.00
Size	S
Length	Quarter
Weight (actual)	1.76 oz (50 g)

This report is the closing one of a series of three:

• for a complete description of the Injinji Tetratsok Outdoor socks and my first impressions, please refer to my Initial Report
• field testing during the first two-month period is related in my Field Report
• this last report describes the last part of the test, and presents my conclusions regarding the Injinji Tetratsok Outdoor socks after a four-month usage.

Testing conditions

Due to my recent move back from Canada to France, I had no opportunity to backpack in the past two months, but I have made 5 or 6 day-hikes in the Cévennes area since I arrived there. I took advantage of some warm and sunny days to walk trails in chestnut and pine forests, or more rocky tracks winding amid scrub and holm oak bushes. Elevations were in the 1150-4920 ft (350-1500 m) range, temperatures at least 59°F (15°C) and sometimes up to 72°F (22°C) on sunny sides. Except for a couple of drizzles, I manage to avoid rain, but my feet did get wet a few times when I couldn't steer clear of some marshes.

Observations

As I prefer to go barefoot as much as possible, I'm not a great fan of socks; so the most unobtrusive they feel, the better. Unfortunately for the Injinji Tetratsoks, I couldn't get rid of the feeling there is "something" between my toes, even though I have worn them very often during the past four months. The colder the temperatures become, the more I regret to have chosen the Quarter length, that doesn't cover much above the ankle. And though this might be nothing but an irrational impression, my toes have neither seemed as warm as with traditional socks.

I have always washed them with my usual Coolmax hiking socks, that are a bit thicker than the Tetratsoks, and all socks seem to have dried in quite the same time; so the maintenance doesn't seem a decisive factor. And I have worn them wet a couple of times, but they didn't feel more or less comfortable than other socks I have used.

Their look has been quite disappointing, as they began to pill outwardly almost from day one; of course, my other socks tend to pill with time too, but usually on the inward side - the fuzzy side - so they remain presentable for quite a long time.

Conclusion

I'm not saying I won't wear them any more after the end of this test; but given the choice, I'd rather wear any of my other socks. So I guess they'll remain handy for when I have no other clean socks, but I definitely won't go out my way to buy another pair of Tetratsoks.

I would like to thank Injinji and BackpackGearTest.org for giving me the opportunity to test the Tetratsok Outdoor socks.