Teko Eco Merino Wool Hiking Socks

Long Term Report

Report date: February 21, 2006

 

Biographical Information:

Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 36

Gender: Male

Height: 6’0” (1.83 m)

Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

Shoe Size: 9 1/2 (USA)

 

Email address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com

 

City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina, United States

 

 

Backpacking Background:

I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking for the past ten years. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one man tent camper for now until something I like better comes along. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.

 

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Teko

Sock Size: Large

Color: Sky with Moon Mist

Style: Crew

Content: 65% Merino Wool, 23% Ecopoly Recycled Polyester, 10% nylon, 2% Lycra

Year of Manufacture: 2005

URL: www.tekosocks.com

MSRP: $17.95 (US)

Listed weight: no weight listed by manufacturer

Weight as delivered: 3.8 oz (108 g) (pair)

 

Product Features (taken from web site):

·  High Moisture transfer keeps feet dry

·  Prevents blisters

·  Fast drying

·  Merino® Wool: Our Merino Wool comes from New Zealand sheep farmers who have been practicing environmentally sound techniques for hundreds of years. The wool is shrink resistant and we dye it to meet Oekotex 100 standards.

·  Ecopet® Recycled Polyester: Ecopet, a product of Teijin Ltd. in Japan, uses advanced technology to recycle polyester products and PET bottles into highly pure, raw polyester. It has great moisture transfer, soft hand, and is incredibly durable.

 

Initial Report

Field Report:

           

Long Term Report:
            Although my previous reports have shown my likeness of the Teko Eco Merino Wool Hiking sock, I have somewhat changed my opinion on these socks the more and more I wear them. Since my Field Report, I have worn the socks on numerous day hikes and a few overnight trips. The day hikes were in the Jones Gap area where the temperatures ranged from 72 F (22 C) for the high and 55 F (12 C) for the low. The conditions during these days were great. I mean, who wants to plan a day hike in the pouring rain or the freezing cold? These were the days that I decided that I didn't like the socks as well as I did when I first started wearing them. The socks still continue to be comfortable but my dislike is when my lower leg, below my calf, gets sweaty it is very difficult to pull the socks up after walking a while. The socks fit very tight and there is not a lot of elasticity to the leg portion of the sock to be able to pull them up. It's not that they slide way down but after a while I like to pull my socks up. The over night trips were to the Great Smoky Mountains area and to the Pisgah National Forest area. On these trips the temperatures were 65 F to 55 F (18 C to 12 C) during the day and 45 F to 30 F (7 C to -1 C) at night. The socks definitely kept my feet warm at night. I really liked the comfort and the warmth of the sock during cold and windy conditions. A few times at night I was able to lounge around the camp with just my socks and sock liners on. My feet never got cold and I never felt any breeze through the sock. I wore these socks a lot during my test period and I am unable to record every instance that I wore them but over all they kept my feet warm and dry.

                      

Final Questions and Answers

            Below are some questions that I was able to answer through out my testing period. The answers in blue are answers up to my Field Report and the answers in red are answers up to my Long Term Report.

Fabric:         

• How soft is the fabric against my foot? Very soft, no scratchy feel of wool. Still no scratchy feel of wool fibers, still very soft.
  
• Will I feel any scratchy fibers that usually come along with wool? No. No.
  
• Will I need a liner? So far I have not needed a liner. I haven't needed a liner but I use them for extra warmth.
  
• Will the sock be too thick for my boots? Not at this time; but I have not needed a liner either. Even with a liner they are still not too thick for my boots.
  
• With the variance in size, will the critical parts of the sock hit my foot at the proper areas? Yes. After several washings, the socks have drawn up a bit but the critical areas are still in the right spot.
  
• How well does the wool/acrylic fabric breath? At this point in the testing period, very well. I have to say that the sock portion that is in my boot or shoe breaths well but the leg portion doesn't seem to breathe as well; under the leg portion of the sock gets very sweaty very easy.
  
• How durable is the elastic throughout the sock? I will comment on this in my Long Term Report. To me, the socks do not stretch very well. The sock is very tightly woven and does not allow very much elasticity.
  
• Does the cuff of the sock hold to my calf or do I have to constantly pull them up? The cuffs of the socks stay at the base of my calf even after hiking all day. Every once in a while the socks tend to slide down a bit but for the most part, they stay at the base of my calf.
  
• Will the sock hold up to countless washing cycles? I will comment on this in my Long Term Report. The durability of the socks has held up but the socks have shrunk slightly. I wash them in a washing machine and hang dry; except for the first couple of times.
  
• Will the sock draw up when dried in a dryer? If so, will it draw up smaller than my foot? So far they have shrunk very little. Still true, very little.
  
• Is the toe and the heel of the sock reinforced for constant wear in that area? Yes. The sock and toe area has held up very well.
  

Insulation:

• While wearing these socks around without a shoe or boot on, will my feet stay warm? Yes, so far. As mentioned above, they keep my feet very warm even in cold and windy conditions.
  
• How well do they keep the cold air out? I will comment on this in my Long Term Report. Very well, with a sock liner on I did not feel any cold air or breeze through the sock while lounging around camp without my boots on.
  
• Will the wind or cold air make the moisture that was wicked away, cold and in turn make the sock cold? I will comment on this in my Long Term Report. No, the sock wicked away the moisture away from my foot therefore leaving my foot warm and dry.
  
• How well do they perform as a Winter sock? I will comment on this in my Long Term Report. Very well, my feet stayed warm every time I wore the socks.
  

 Wicking:

• Will the ventilation panel work as well as the web site claims? So far, the ventilation panel works very well. It still works well; however, the leg portion of the sock does not seem to wick away the moisture as well as the foot portion.
  
• How well does the Ecopet technology wick away moisture? So far, the socks wick very well. Still very well, I suggest using this technology in the leg portion of the sock also.
  
• Will it wick fast enough to keep my feet dry? Yes, so far. Yes, it still continues to wick very fast to keep my feet dry.
  

 

Thank you Teko and BGT for the opportunity to test these socks.