Reviews > Clothing > Socks > Teko Eco Merino Light Hiking Socks > Jennifer Pope > Initial Report

Teko EcoMerino Light Hiking Socks Initial Report October 3, 2005

Biographical Information

Product Information

Initial Impressions

Summary

Field Test

Biographical Information
Name	Jennifer Pope
Age	24
Gender	Female
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)
Weight	140 lb (64 kg)
Shoe size	Women's 8 US
Email address	Jennifer dot Pope at gmail dot com
Location	Los Angeles, CA
Backpacking Background Newbie. I’ve been a car-camper as long as I can remember and started backpacking in Northern California when I was 16. I'm just getting back into backpacking after a hiatus during college. I backpack in the Sierras as well as other National Forests closer to Los Angeles. I also spend time in the California deserts and the mountains and coast of Northern California. I'm a tent camper leaning towards lightweight; but I am a fan of gadgets and I like being comfortable. I also do a mix of short and long day hikes in and around Los Angeles.

Product Information (back to top)
Manufacturer	Teko
Manufacturer URL	http://www.tekosocks.com/
Year of Manufacture	2005
Fabric Content	58% Merino Wool, 25% Ecopoly Recycled Polyester, 14% nylon, 3% Lycra
Color	Sky with moon mist (light blue and gray) (also available in golden green with moon mist and black with moon mist)
Size tested	medium
Actual Weight	2.7 oz (77 g) per pair
MSRP	$16.95 US
Guarantee	one-year satisfaction guarantee
Care Instructions	Machine wash warm inside-out, tumble dry low, no iron, no bleach

Initial Impressions (back to top)

I was surprised by the thickness of these socks when I first touched them. There's only so much I could glean from the picture on the Teko website, so I was going mainly on past experience with 'light' hiking socks. I find this extra 'thickness' a good thing though. The socks seem tough and I like that too. They also feel plush and comforting on my feet. They're snug around the middle of my foot and slightly loose around the toe. The ankle cuff is tight, perhaps slightly too tight, but that may stretch a little after I wear them longer and wash them.

Product Description (back to top)

The socks I'm testing are a medium blue color with yellowish-gray reinforced toes and heels. The hang tag the socks came on contains extensive information about the socks, their features, contact information for Teko, and a logo acknowledging their Editors' Choice Green award for 2005 from Backpacker magazine (in English and French). Teko seems to be very concerned with the environment based on the information I found on the sock packaging and the website. There's almost more information on their environmental-friendliness than the other features of the socks. This is important to me, so I'm glad to see it. In particular it was encouraging to see this statement on the hang tag "We offset the impact of our energy use with clean, sustainable American Wind electrical power".

So far I haven't noticed any cosmetic or structural problems with the socks. They appear to be well made and free of loose threads or seams. (The small white spot on the center picture on the top is actually something I stepped on, not a color flaw in the sock.)

In my at home observations the socks fit well and feel comfortable with and without a sock liner. They also seem to fit nicely inside my trail runners (where they'll be used most extensively) as well as my hiking boots.

Summary (back to top)

So far these socks have met or exceeded all my expectations. They are comfortable so far and they fit well. I have nothing bad to say about these socks at this point.

Field Testing Information (back to top)

During the late summer and fall I will be taking trips into the San Bernardino and Angeles National Forests (other areas in Southern CA aren't off limits either). These generally aren't planned far in advance, but I'll likely be out a weekend each month. Temperatures on all these trips should be fairly mild ranging from the 30s to 90 F (0 – 30 C). Weather should be fairly mild as well with an always looming possibility of rain (which in turn leads to mud). Elevations range from 4,000 to over 10,000 feet (1,200 – 3,000 m). Day hiking in and around Los Angeles is always a given pretty much every weekend. The terrain of the trails near Los Angeles is mainly rocky, chaparral covered hills. The deserts in South-Eastern California are also a frequent destination for the fall and winter months (as long as the rain isn't as bad as last year). I also have a goal of taking one snow trip this year, but that depends on me learning more about that and getting up the guts to do it (I'm kind of a wimp in the cold). I will be in Northern California (the real Northern California, like almost to Mt. Shasta) for about a week in late December. While there I will probably be heading out on several day hikes depending on what the weather is like. Regardless of that, I will be experiencing some colder weather.



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Reviews > Clothing > Socks > Teko Eco Merino Light Hiking Socks > Jennifer Pope > Initial Report